Technology

Posted on May 24, 2016 by staff

Sky bigwig confirmed for ‘Tech in the Northern Powerhouse’

Technology

A key figure at one of the UK’s unicorns will speak at BusinessCloud’s ‘Tech in the Northern Powerhouse’ event at the 2016 International Festival for Business.

The early evening event on Thursday 30th June in Liverpool will look at the role the digital and technology sector can play in the North’s industrial rebirth.

Sky Betting and Gaming Chief Technology Officer Andy Burton, pictured taking part in a recent BusinessCloud roundtable on the Yorkshire tech sector, has agreed to appear on the panel.

The £800m Leeds-based company runs SkyBet, Sky Vegas, Sky Casino, Sky Poker and Sky Bingo, as well as Sky’s free-to-play games Sky Sports Fantasy Football and Sky Sports Super 6.

Fellow big-hitters Claire Braithwaite – Tech Advisor at Manchester Growth Company and former head of Tech North – magneticNorth CEO Lou Cordwell and Liverpool City Council chief executive Ged Fitzgerald had already confirmed their spots.

Amy De-Balsi, owner of Herd, and Graham Pearce, who leads KPMG’s Technology, Media and Telecommunications business across the North, will also speak.

Held jointly by BusinessCloud and The Edge and sponsored by Liverpool City Council and KPMG, the event in the Oh Me Oh My building, West Africa House, is part of the IFB2016’s Creative and Digital Week between June 26 and July 1.

There are growing calls from entrepreneurs for technology to underpin the Northern Powerhouse, with thriving digital sectors in Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle.

BusinessCloud editor Chris Maguire will ask the entrepreneurs and experts what does the wider North needs to do next and consider the potential of tech to boost the region’s economy.

That same morning BusinessCloud will host a half-day conference at the IFB examining the challenge of embracing big data in business, with RealityMine CEO and co-founder Garry Partington confirmed as a speaker.

 

Panel

  • Claire Braithwaite, Tech Advisor at Manchester Growth Company
  • Lou Cordwell, CEO, magneticNorth
  • Ged Fitzgerald, Chief Executive, Liverpool City Council
  • Amy De-Balsi, Owner, Herd
  • Andy Burton, CTO, Sky Betting and Gaming
  • Graham Pearce, Technology, Media and Telecommunications Lead, KPMG
  • Professor Ahmed Al-Shamma, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Liverpool John Moores University
  • Chris Maguire, editor, BusinessCloud (chair)