Judges

Dave Maclean Packt Publishing Dave is founder and CEO of Packt Publishing. Producing over 700 new video, course and book titles annually, Packt’s mission is to help software developers globally keep their tech skills up to date. Packt has a global team of 600 split between Birmingham and Mumbai. Dave is the Chair of the WMCA Digital Board, helping deliver Mayor Andy Street’s digital vision for the region, and is MD of WM5G, the new body taking the WM Region to global 5G leadership.

Marc Reeves Reach PLC Marc Reeves is West Midlands editor-in-chief for Reach plc, and editor of the Birmingham Mail and its website, BirminghamLive. In a 30-year career in regional media, he has held senior positions across the country, but in 2006 returned to his home town as editor of the Birmingham Post. Since then, he has led the company’s transformation into a digital-first business, and BirminghamLive, with 38 million monthly page views, is now one of the largest regional news sites in the UK. BirminghamLive was launched from the foundations of the Mail’s previous site, and its digital-only approach is built on a raft of innovations from podcasting to video journalism. The site has also continued the Mail’s campaigning heritage, with an appeal for the city’s foodbanks on target to collect 100 tonnes of food.

Richard Hill Natwest Richard Hill is Head of Automotive and Manufacturing at NatWest, primarily responsible for the strategic development and driving growth for these sectors. He is a prominent figurehead in industry, representing the  RBS Group and the banking sector on key bodies such as the UK Automotive Council, WMG HVM Catapult  and The ScaleUp Institute. He also provides thought leadership across a number of channels including academia, trade and Government. Richard is passionate about the critical need for a globally competitive manufacturing base. Graduating in Business Studies, his career has revolved around the Auto and Manufacturing sectors. He joined the RBS Group in 2005 as Head of Sales at Lombard Vehicle Management; and subsequently led the Automotive Sector in 2010 and the Manufacturing Sector from 2015.  Prior to this, he headed up Group Sales for Manheim Europe, the world’s largest provider of vehicle remarketing solutions.  He has also held various senior sales and marketing positions with BMW Financial Services Group and Rover Group.

Roy Meredith West Midlands Growth Company Roy Meredith works in a senior role for the West Midlands Growth Company leading the tech, digital media and creative sectors for the organisation, providing support for companies looking to set-up or establish their businesses in the region, advising on business planning, property, funding, recruitment, training, marketing, and all other aspects of their commercial operations. He has spent his entire career within the tech industry and has held senior commercial and software development roles across global digital media companies such as Disney, Electronic Arts, Sony, Universal, and Square Enix. He has held responsibility for numerous brands on both a regional and global basis within commercial management, marketing and software development perspectives and across a range of formats and media (online, physical, smart phone / tablet) working with multi-nationals, small studios and developers alike.

Sarah Windrum Emerald Group Sarah is the Co-Founder of the Emerald Group, an IT consultancy based in Warwickshire. The Group works with businesses and organisations wanting to harness technology to achieve their desired goals. She is a Board Director of the Coventry & Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership leading on economic growth of the digital creative sector and a member of the West Midlands Combined Authority Digital Board supporting digital transformation across the region and securing investment in new infrastructure including fibre and 5G. Passionate about our future digital talent, Sarah is on the Industry Advisory Board at Warwickshire College and working with Ukie, the national trade body for interactive entertainment, on their Digital Schoolhouse Primary School programme. Beyond this, Sarah is also a Governor at Myton School and an Enterprise Advisor at Campion School supporting young people to ensure positive outcomes for all. In 2018, Sarah has become an industry partner in the £40m Institute of Coding programme for Coventry & Warwickshire and is taking a leading role on the development of local creative clusters with key national and regional stakeholders. She is also the West Midlands Regional Policy Adviser for the Federation for Small Business.

Tim Kay KPMG Tim is a Director at KPMG in the Midlands where he heads up the regional Technology and Media sector team. He has spent 18 years with the firm in London, Birmingham and further afield. In his 16 years based in London he advised Fortune 10 software companies, Oil and Gas Majors and telecoms providers on issues as diverse as datacentre compliance and supplier management. In 2011 he set up the High Growth Technology Group based in Shoreditch with the aim of making KPMG relevant to the burgeoning start-up and high growth tech sector in the UK. After a detour into innovation for KPMG he has come to the Midlands to support the rapidly expanding local tech scene.