Est. 2015
The digital technology sector employs around 1.46M people across the UK and is predicted to outperform all other occupation categories by 2020. 75% of the digital companies driving the growth of the digital economy exist outside of the capital.
Today, the Northern Powerhouse is establishing itself as a centre for global excellence in digital innovation. The UK’s only FTSE 100 Technology company, Sage, was founded and is headquartered in the North East. Two of the biggest tech IPOs of 2014 were Manchester-based and – founded companies – AO.com and Boohoo. It is home to the UK’s fastest supercomputer at Tech Daresbury in Cheshire and its universities are undertaking groundbreaking R&D in areas from health to data and cloud computing. From global excellence in health tech, media tech, data analytics, gaming and ecommerce, the North’s digital economy is driving real change and growth.
At the heart of our mission is the desire to create prosperity and opportunity for the next generation, ensuring the North is and continues to be part of the UK’s ongoing journey to becoming the world’s leading digital economy.
Established in 2015, Tech North is a government-funded initiative delivered through Tech City UK. The specific goal of Tech North is to accelerate the development of the North’s digital economy through the promotion and support of digital entrepreneurship. Our remit is to attract talent, entrepreneurs and investment to the North of England specifically the seven cities of Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and Sunderland.
Working in collaboration and partnership with stakeholders across the North we aim to address the challenges tech entrepreneurs face in accessing finance, support, mentorship and talent. We champion initiatives that support the development of the North’s digital economy working with local and central government to inform policies that help accelerate growth. Working with Tech City UK, we’ll give digital entrepreneurs in the region a national and international voice.
Head of Content
Interim Head of Tech North
Head of Events
Head of Programme Delivery
Research Manager
Programme Lead - Founders Network
Senior Digital Marketing Manager
Financial Controller
Deputy Head of Tech North & Head of Trade & Investment
Head of Investment Strategy
Chief Digital Officer of The Co-operative Group
EVP & MD, Sage UK & Ireland
Founder and Managing Partner of GP Bullhound
CEO, Co-founder & President of WANdisco
Interim Head of Tech North
Chief Digital Officer of The Co-operative Group
Mike has been Executive Director of Digital for the UK Government since July 2011.
He is also Chief Data Officer for the Government, the first person to hold this role. His responsibilities have included overseeing and improving the Government’s digital delivery of public services and leading on the work to transform public sector services to a “digital by default” model.
Prior to joining the Government, Mike worked at Guardian News & Media as Digital Development Director for nearly four years; co-founded e-democracy site My Society and was a Director/Shareholder at technical services company Wavex. He was awarded a CBE in the 2014 New Year’s Honours list in recognition of the digital transformation of public services, and for working to develop football in the borough of Hackney.
EVP & MD, Sage UK & Ireland
Lee Perkins joined Sage in 2011 as Managing Director for the Start-up and Small Business Division, and became EVP and Managing Director for Sage UK and Ireland in February 2015.
Lee has extensive experience in IT business. For nearly 20 years Lee has worked in senior commercial roles, including Country Manager at Tech Data UK, Business Unit Director at Computacenter and General Manager at IQ-Sys.
Lee is passionate about SMEs, the Northern Powerhouse and Digital Skills and is a frequent commentator on the issues affecting these topics. In addition to his responsibilities with Sage, Lee is a member of the Tech North Advisory Board and is a leadership committee member for the Princes Trust.
Founder and Managing Partner of GP Bullhound
Hugh Campbell is a Founder and Managing Partner of GP Bullhound. Hugh is passionate about technology innovation and entrepreneurs with 15 years’ experience advising and investing in Europe’s current and future Unicorns. He has worked with all the leading growth equity funds in Europe and has sold businesses to Real Networks, Tesco, Disney, Accenture and Experian amongst others.
Hugh opened the Manchester office in 2012, is a Manchester Grammar School alum and graduated from Pembroke College, Oxford.
CEO, Co-founder & President of WANdisco
David is CEO, President and co-founder of WANdisco. Since co-founding the company in Silicon Valley in 2005, David has led WANdisco on a course for rapid international expansion, opening offices in the UK, Japan and China.
David spearheaded WANdisco to a hugely successful listing on London Stock Exchange (WAND:LSE) and shortly after the acquisition of AltoStor, which accelerated the development of WANdisco’s first products for the Big Data market.
With over 15 years’ executive experience in the software industry, David sits on a number of advisory and executive boards of Silicon Valley start-up ventures. A passionate advocate of entrepreneurship, he has established and successfully exited several highly successful Silicon Valley technology companies.
Prior to WANdisco, David was the founder & CEO of Librados, an application integration software provider, and led the company’s acquisition by NASDAQ listed NetManage, Inc. in 2005. David currently serves as a non-executive director and interim non-executive chairman of London Stock Exchange listed 1Spatial plc.
David is a frequent commentator on a range of business and technology issues, appearing regularly on Bloomberg and CNBC. He frequently writes for the US and UK press, with recent articles appearing in Re/Code, TechCrunch, CNBC and City AM.
David holds a BSc degree in Computer Science from the University of Huddersfield, England.
Members of the Tech North team operate from several co-working offices across the North of England, including spaces in Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Newcastle upon Tyne. Each month, individual members of the Tech North team will host Office Hours sessions across the Northern cities.
If you work within the digital sector across the North of England and are interested in finding out more about Tech North, please sign up for an Office Hours appointment. Equally, if you’re interested in getting involved with the digital sector in the North of England, please do book a time to talk to a member of the Tech North team.
Below you’ll find our initial schedule which will grow over the coming months. We look forward to hearing from you.
