Stephen Hilton has a strong interest in what makes cities smart and liveable. He is therefore well placed to be Bristol City Council's first Director of Futures. 

As Director of Futures, Stephen has helped Bristol to become 'European Green Capital 2015', a 'Rockefeller Global Resilient city', a 'Super Connected City' and an internationally recognised 'Smart City'. Stephen has led Bristol's work on Open Data, autonomous vehicles and on creating Bristol is Open - a joint venture between Bristol City Council and the University of Bristol, delivering a city scale Internet of Things experimental tested. Stephen also supported the council's early work to develop its own renewable energy company.

Previously, Stephen set up and led Connecting Bristol, the city's digital partnership and managed the Bristol City Council Consultation and e-Participation Team, establishing a leading role for Bristol in the area of Local e-Democracy. The city was named European City for e-Democracy and Stephen received a personal award as Innovator of the Year in the Government Computing Awards.