LONDON, May 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
- Leading global tech figures signed up as London Technology Week Ambassadors, including Sir Martin Sorrell, Michael Acton Smith and Martha Lane Fox
- 60 events already registered as part of week
- London Technology Week to take place across the capital from June 15-21
Leading figures from the world of technology have signed up to help support and promote London Technology Week 2015, which will take place from 15-21 June.
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The new group of London Technology Week Ambassadors will help broadcast the success of the capital's booming tech sector through supporting and promoting the series of events, which will bring tens of thousands of tech entrepreneurs, investors and developers to the city.
The group includes Mind Candy founder Michael Acton Smith, Brightbridge Ventures CEO Dan Cobley, Lastminute.com founder Martha Lane Fox, London Stock Exchange Group CEO Xavier Rolet, and WPP Group CEO Sir Martin Sorrell, to name just a few.
Featuring major global brands, including sponsors Bloomberg, Accenture, Stack Exchange and Goldman Sachs, as well as home-grown London-based tech companies such as Funding Circle and Blippar, London Technology Week will showcase the city's role as the digital hub of Europe.
Events taking place range from new start-ups showcasing their products to presentations featuring the world's most important tech companies, including the flagship Interop London 2015 trade show at the ExCeL Centre from June 16-18. Around 60 events have already been confirmed as part of the week.
Dan Cobley, CEO of Brightbridge Ventures, said: "Hundreds of events. Thousands of entrepreneurs. One great city. London Tech Week shows why the UK's capital city is the very best place in Europe to start a new tech business. Nowhere else comes close."
Gordon Innes, Chief Executive of London & Partners - the Mayor's promotional company for London - said: "London's position as the tech capital of Europe is attracting global attention, as companies here are creating more life-changing products and attracting more funding than ever before. London Technology Week showcases our tech expertise to the world, and I am delighted that so many industry leaders are on board, helping us to put on what is sure to be an amazing series of events across the city."
Adrian Newton, Group Director for Aviation & Technology at UBM EMEA, said: "After last year's inaugural London Technology Week it has been fantastic to see such enthusiasm for the 2015 edition. Already we're seeing a great range of events listed, including our own global brands Black Hat and Interop, which are both coming to London to take advantage of the buzz surrounding this European festival of tech events. The support we've received from the tech community is exemplified in the ambassadors line-up and I for one am very much looking forward to seeing the themes of talent and diversity in the tech space come to the fore."
The London Technology Week Arena within Interop London will feature keynote speakers from the UK and the wider global tech industry, who will share their insights and experiences on this rapidly moving sector.
Speakers on Tuesday 16th June include Accenture's Arabel Bailey, Croydon Tech City co-founder Sarah Luxford, andJacqueline de Rojas of Citrix debating how to encourage more women into tech.
On Wednesday 17th June Lord Wei of Shoreditch will present 'Techlash and what we need to do to avoid it' and Stuart Cochran, CTO of Huddle and Eileen Burbidge, partner at Passion Capital, will discuss what investment and funding is needed to speed up the transition from start-up to scale-up in the UK, while speakers on Thursday 18th include Box's David Quantrell and Joel Spolsky, CEO of Stack Exchange.
The range of venues hosting events during London Technology Week is wide-ranging. Large-scale and high-profile venues such as ExCeL London, Canada House, The Ritz and The Shard are set to host events. Tech co-working spaces are one again well represented too, with events already confirmed to take place at Central Working, Rainmaking Loft and The Trampery.
For more information about London Technology Week 2015 and an up-to-date list of events, visit http://www.LondonTechnologyWeek.co.uk. Press accreditation can be applied for at http://londontechnologyweek.co.uk/apply-london-technology-week-press-accreditation/.
London Technology Week is organised by UBM EMEA, in association with London & Partners - the Mayor's official organisation for London, ExCeL London and Tech London Advocates. Tech City UK and techUK have also joined the steering group as strategic partners.
London hosted its first technology week in 2014, with the event being hailed as a huge success. Tens of thousands of people from countries around the world attended events in the week, which comprised more than 200 independently run events and involved speakers including the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson; Chairman of Sequoia Capital, Sir Michael Moritz, and Simon Breakwell, co-founder of Expedia.
Notes to Editors
London Technology Week Ambassadors include:
- Michael Acton Smith OBE, founder, Mind Candy
- Dame Helen Alexander, Chairman, UBM
- Omid Ashtari, General Manager, Citymapper
- Oliver Benzecry, Managing Director, United Kingdom & Ireland, Accenture
- Jo Bertram, Regional General Manager,UK Ireland & Nordics, UBER
- Eileen Burbidge, Partner, Passion Capital
- Pete Cashmore, Founder and CEO,Mashable
- Dan Cobley, CEO, Brightbridge Ventures
- Stuart Cochran, Chief Technology Officer, Huddle
- Sherry Coutu, NED, Angel Investor and on the board of LSE
- Dennis Curry,VP & Director of Business Innovation EU/EMEA, Konica Minolta
- Tim Davie, CEO, BBC Worldwide and Director, Global
- Samir Desai, CEO and co-founder,Funding Circle
- Joanne Hannaford, Global Co-Head of the Enterprise Platforms Group, Goldman Sachs
- Taavet Hinrikus, co-founder of TransferWise
- Gordon Innes, Chief Executive Officer, London & Partners
- Bindi Karia, Vice President, Silicon Valley Bank
- Lord Jim Knight, Managing Director -Online Learning, TES Global Ltd
- Martha Lane Fox, Co-founder, lastminute.com
- Sir Edward Lister, Chief of Staff and Deputy Mayor, Policy and Planning & Chairman, London & Partners
- Sarah Luxford, Co-Founder, Croydon Tech City
- Kathryn Parsons, Co-CEO and Co-founder, Decoded
- David Quantrell, Vice President and General Manager of EMEA, Box
- Jacqueline de Rojas, Deputy President, VP & General Manager, Northern Europe, Citrix
- Xavier Rolet, CEO, London Stock Exchange Group
- Russ Shaw,Founder,Tech London Advocates, Non-executive Director and Investor
- Phil Smith, CEO Cisco UK & Ireland, Chairman UK Technology Strategy Board
- Sir Martin Sorrell, Group CEO, WPP
- Joel Spolsky, Co-founder and CEO, Stack Exchange
- Michel van der Bel, Managing Director, Microsoft UK
- Lord Wei of Shoreditch
- Derek White, Chief Design & Digital Officer, Barclays
About UBM EMEA
UBM Live (http://www.ubm.com) connects people and creates opportunities for companies across five continents to develop new business, meet customers, launch new products, promote brands and expand markets. Operating in more than 23 countries, UBM EMEA organises many of the world's largest, most important live events, awards and community sites in a wide variety of industries. Its technology events include Interop London, Technology for Marketing & Advertising, eCommerce Expo, Black Hat Europe and London Technology Week.
About London & Partners
London & Partners is the official promotional company for London. We promote London and attract businesses, events, congresses, students and visitors to the capital. Our aims are to build London's international reputation and to attract investment and visitor spend, which create jobs and growth.
London & Partners is a not-for-profit public private partnership, funded by the Mayor of London and our network of commercial partners.
For more information visit http://www.londonandpartners.com
About Tech London Advocates
Tech London Advocatesis a private sector led coalition of over 500 expert individuals from the tech sector and broader community who have committed to championing London's potential as a world-class hub for tech and digital businesses. Founded by Russ Shaw in 2013, it strives to support London's tech start-ups and high-growth businesses in finding new investment, new talent and continued success.
For more information about Tech London Advocates, visit http://techlondonadvocates.org.uk/
