Speakers

10:30 - 11:45 | KPMG R&D Tax Credit Session (livestreamed on 'Beyond')

Amy Todd (KPMG)

Amy is a Partner in KPMG UK’s Corporate Development Unit, driving the initiation and execution of a portfolio of long-term strategic investments.
Amy has been leading the development and launch of KPMG Private Enterprise Beyond, a new digital connectivity platform bringing together tailored insights and exclusive peer communities for business leaders. Previous to leading Beyond, Amy was the Head of Special Projects, leading and executing multiple complex and strategic projects. 
Amy originally trained in KPMG and re-joined the firm in 2019, having held senior finance roles in John Lewis and A.S.Watson (Superdrug & Savers). As part of her Executive MBA at Oxford University, Amy founded and exited an award-winning education start-up business in South Korea, leveraging social media marketing. Amy was named one of the Herald Korea newspaper's “Power Korea CEOs” in 2019.

Dan O’Toole (KPMG)

Dan has been supporting innovative businesses over the past 10 years with their creative industry, R&D and patent box tax relief claims. Dan has experience with supporting clients from a wide range of creative industries including video games, film and television production, as well as supporting a wide range of industries for R&D and patent box including manufacturing, science & technology, nuclear, civil engineering and aerospace and defence.

 Debbie Reith

Debbie leads KPMG’s Innovation reliefs and Incentives team across the north who specialise in advising businesses throughout their innovation lifecycle, from funding through tax reliefs to how to monitor the effectiveness of your innovation against best practice. 
Debbie has a broad portfolio of clients incorporating large multinationals, inbounds, owner managed businesses and fast growing technology businesses across a wider range of sectors.  She has a particular interest in supporting her clients on innovation to achieve net zero targets.

12:00 - 12:45 | LCR Angel Network Pitches

  1. Hexis – David Dunne

  2. Financielle – Holly Holland and Laura Pomfret

  3. Reakt360 – Richard Turner

  4. Gaia Learning – Kate Carney

  5. Yoni health – Karli Büchling

13:10 - 13:40 | Where you work is as important as what you work on...

Mayor Steve Rotheram

Raised in Kirkby in a family of eight children, Steve left school at 16 to pursue a career as a bricklayer, starting out as an apprentice. In later years he went on to work for the Learning and Skills Council. 
Steve began his political career when he was elected to serve as a councillor in 2002, representing Fazakerley ward on Liverpool City Council and held the ceremonial title of Lord Mayor of Liverpool through the city’s European Capital of Culture year in 2008.
In 2010, Steve was elected as the Member of Parliament for the Liverpool Walton constituency. While in Westminster, he led campaigns for justice for the Hillsborough families; in support of blacklisted workers; for compensation for those suffering from mesothelioma and asbestosis; and to change the law on the use of old tyres on buses and coaches
In 2017, Steve was elected as the first ever Liverpool City Region Mayor, representing 1.6m people across the boroughs of Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and the Wirral.

Claire Lewis (Baltic Ventures)

Claire is the co-founder and CEO of Baltic Ventures. She began her career in finance, then went on to become the founder of a digital sustainable beauty startup which was acquired by a technology investor. 
Since then Claire has taken on a number of roles including CFO for an impact investment bank that helped tech for good startups raise angel and seed stage capital, launching Tech North, a government initiative that was part of Tech Nation, and Ventures Director at Coop Digital. 

Stefan Lindström (Embassy of Finland)

Stefan Lindström is the Finnish Foreign Services first Ambassador of Digitalization and Technology. He is a result-driven diplomat, business advisor and networker with 20+ years of global experience in branding, business/export promotion and building successful partnerships. His passion about emerging opportunities in technology and digital transformation drives his work.
Stefan is a member of Boardman and partner at five venture funds. He is an energetic performer who speaks frequently at technology events (Slush, Mobile World Congress, Arctic 15 etc) and to company boards all over the world. He is a specialist in geopolitics, global scenarios and analyzing paradigm changes.
Prior to his present assignment, he worked as Consul General/Ambassador at the Finnish Consulate General in Los Angeles, as Deputy Director at the MFA in Helsinki, and as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Finnish Embassies in Lisbon and Jakarta. Before that, he was the adviser to the undersecretary of state and served with the Finnish missions in the USA and in India. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Mr. Lindström worked as legal adviser for the European Commission in Brussels and as a research assistant at the London School of Economics.
Mr Lindström has a Master's Degree in Economics from the London School of Economics and a Master's Degree in International Law from the Åbo Akademi University.

13:45 - 14:15 | Successfully navigating the journey from pre-seed to seed

Jenny Tooth OBE (UK Business Angel Association)

Jenny Tooth OBE is Executive Chair of UK Business Angels Association UKBAA, the trade body for angel and early-stage investment in the UK that she established in 2012 where she was CEO until 2020. UKBAA supports and builds the angel and early-stage ecosystem across the UK with over 86 angel groups, representing 18,000 Angels,  together with VC Funds, online platforms, accelerators and a range of wider organisations.  Jenny is an Angel investor herself and brings over 30 years’ experience of supporting businesses to access investment. Before setting up UKBAA,  Jenny ran her own strategic innovation consultancy  operating in London and Brussels and also co-founded Angel Capital Group, incorporating London Business Angels which was sold to Newable in 2017.

Sam Simpson (Founder Catalyst) 

Sam Simpson is the Co-founder of FounderCatalyst, on a mission to simplify and accelerate the early-stage investment legal journey by making funding round legals more transparent and affordable.
As well as building for founders, he's lived the challenges of fundraising himself, having co-founded and exited several tech start-ups, including the 17th fastest growing company in Europe 2017 (going from £0 to £27m in less than 4 years). He's now an active angel investor (31+ investments in 5 years), and board advisor.

Patrick Molyneux (KPMG Acceleris) 

Patrick Molyneux is a Partner at KPMG Acceleris, focused on venture capital fundraising advisory. Patrick combines extensive professional services expertise with entrepreneurial experience, having spent his early career at a high-growth technology startup. Patrick’s experience on both sides of the table ensures Patrick is well placed to partner with early-stage high-growth companies when navigating their capital strategy. Recent deals include advising on a £20m Series A fundraise in Agtech and a £6m fundraise in Cleantech. Further experience includes working on transactions from pre-seed through to pre- IPO and IPO transactions. Patrick is a Member of the ICAEW, having secured the Corporate Finance Qualification, sits on the advisory committee of the EIS Association and is part of the Mayor of the City of London’s international Fintech delegation.

Rebeca Garcia (Cubode)

Rebeca is a global entrepreneur and the CEO and Co-founder of Cubode, a platform that allows data analysts to create AI models visually in minutes. Prior to Cubode, she served as the CMO of Fuertafit, where she designed customer acquisition strategies that helped the startup grow from pre-product to over €2.5M ARR. With a MSc in Marketing & International Business, fluency in four languages, and a passion for equality of opportunity, female leadership and diversity in tech, Rebeca is a champion for a more inclusive tech industry.

14:20 - 14:40 | The State of UK Tech

Henry Whorwood (Beauhurst)

Henry started and runs Beauhurst’s Research & Consultancy department which produces research on the UK’s startups and scaleups. He has worked on briefs for clients including the British Business Bank, HM Treasury, BEIS and Innovate UK. Henry is an expert on business finance, entrepreneurship and innovation and regularly gives presentations on market trends at events around the country. He studied Classics at the University of Oxford.

14:45 - 15:15 | UK Tech News: Liverpool City Region report launch

Rob Scammell (UKTN)

Rob is the Editor of UKTN. UKTN is the go-to online media brand for the UK technology industry. It covers the country's entire tech ecosystem, from early-stage startups to exited tech unicorns. Writing for entrepreneurs, investors and professional services workers, UKTN's reporting covers the key tech trends affecting the whole UK - from Bristol to Liverpool and from Cardiff to Edinburgh. 

Matt Johnson (Form / Gather)

Matt has over 25 years of experience growing and exiting a variety of creative, digital, and technology companies.
As the Managing Director of a certified B-Corp, Form is a Strategy and Leadership consultancy that works globally, supporting clients including Crema,ORCHA and &us in developing their strategic, commercial, and leadership capabilities. This support is provided through the lens of creating clarity and positive impact.
In his years of consulting, key themes that Matt identifies as contributing to the creation of sustainable scaling companies are:
1. Do one thing well.
2. Excel at business development.
3. Provide psychologically safe environments for their teams to thrive.
Matt is also the co-founder of the global charity 'Be One', a subscription-giving platform that has raised over £750,000 since 2010 to impact the lives of millions of people in the global south. He lives with his family in Liverpool, enjoys live music, red wine, travel, and is a podcast enthusiast

Lorna Davidson (redwigwam)

A pioneer in the flexible work space, redwigwam is an online platform which uses innovative technology to match it’s 250,000 - strong community of workers with businesses offering temporary or part-time roles. Lorna is an entrepreneur with a history of successfully building, managing, and exiting businesses. She started her working life at Kellogg’s as a Sales Executive and worked up to Field Sales Manager before moving to Mars as Client Manager, then National Account Controller. 
Lorna has worked with many of the UK’s leading household names, including Heinz, Innocent and Cadbury’s. While at Mars, Lorna used a number of Field Marketing agencies that, “... never impressed me. I wanted to go back to the basics of having salespeople who would make a difference on every call and deliver a measurable return on investment.”
As a result, Lorna started her first business, Tactical Solutions, a market leading agency in 2000 and
enjoyed 13 years of profitable growth. Lorna sold the business s 2011, and realising she was not ready for retirement set up redwigwam in 2014. 
Using redwigwam’s software, employers can post jobs for free 24 hours a day. The roles are then matched to fully vetted workers who have the correct skills and time to take them on. Find out more about redwigwam at www.redwigwam.com

Prof Anthony Hollander (University of Liverpool)

Anthony Hollander is Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research & Impact and Professor of Stem Cell Biology.  He provides strategic leadership for the development of research policy and for ensuring impact of the University’s research programmes in Liverpool and around the world.  He is also responsible for commercialisation of research, for developing partnerships with companies and other external stakeholders and for the training of postgraduate research students.
Anthony’s research career has focussed on the development of stem cell therapies for treating diseases of cartilage.  His spin-out company, Azellon Ltd, is developing a stem cell treatment for torn knee cartilage and he was previously part of a team that created the world’s first tissue engineered airway.  He is former President of the International Cartilage Repair Society and is Chair of Utrecht University’s International Scientific and Societal Advisory Board for Life Sciences.

Helen Cross (Growth Platform)

Helen is the Digital & Creative Cluster Lead at Growth Platform, the city region’s economic development agency. Her career has spanned the private and public sector with business engagement experience across the professional services, energy, chemicals, education and charity sectors. Her current role focuses on ensuring Liverpool City Region provides the right conditions for growth of the digital, creative and tech businesses that are based here and helps to attract complementary organisations to the ecosystem. She works across business support, inward investment, talent and skills development and infrastructure on behalf of our business and connects the digital, creative and tech business voice with our public sector policy, strategy and funding decisions.

15:15 - 15:50 | Comfort Break

15:50 - 16:10 | “Ask Me Anything” Session with Supplywell, Betmate and Make Thread

16:10 - 16:40 | Keynote 1: "AI - Pay Attention or Die!"

Oli Yonchev (Flight Story)

Oliver is an entrepreneur, speaker and CEO of Flight Story, a marketing and communication company founded with Steven Bartlett.
Flight Story exists to help brands stay at the forefront of what’s possible - through a range of strategy, content and media services.
Previously Oliver was Managing Director of Social Chain AG, a world leading social media and e-commerce company. Within 5 years the company grew from a UK start-up, to a 750+ employee, $600m+ revenue business, operating across 21 locations.
For a decade, Oliver has been at the forefront of digital marketing and transformation, helping guide the management teams of many of the worlds most successful companies including: Amazon, Apple, Coca-Cola, TikTok, Twitch, Apple, Disney & Uber to name just a few.

16:40 - 17:10 | Panel Session: Deep Tech

Professor Chas Bountra OBE (Oxford University Innovations)

Chas Bountra is Pro Vice-Chancellor for Innovation at the University of Oxford. He is Professor of Translational Medicine in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine and Associate Member of the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Oxford.  He is also a Visiting Professor in Neuroscience and Mental Health at Imperial College, London. Chas is an invited expert on several government and charitable research funding bodies, and an advisor for many academic, biotech and pharma drug discovery programmes.
He trained at King’s College London and the University of Edinburgh before taking up a post-doctoral fellowship and college lectureship in Physiology at Oxford. Prior to returning to Oxford, he worked for 19 years in the pharmaceutical industry, where he was involved in the development of candidate drugs for several diseases, including novel treatments for cancer chemotherapy and IBS. In 2018, he was awarded the “Order of the British Empire” in the New Years Honours list.

Dr Srijan Jindal (phenUtest)

Dr Srijan Jindal is the Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at University of Liverpool spinout PhenUtest Diagnostics. His PhD research led to the foundation of PhenUtest’s technology, a rapid point-of-care diagnostic kit for Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs). He currently has 3 patents filed, 1 approved and has helped in raising about £5M in past two years for his company. His academic and entrepreneurial achievements have been recognised with multiple awards including one at the UK parliament. With his technology, he aim to tackles the global crisis of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and feminine health, he recently gave a TEDx talk on the same. Srijan is very active in the field of start-ups and helping budding entrepreneurs set up a successful business.

Ben Miles (Spin Up Science)

Scientist, Entrepreneur, Investor, and Communicator.
Dr Ben is the CEO of Spin Up Science - an organisation empowering scientists to launch breakthrough ventures. Co-founder of Science Angel Syndicate - an angel network investing in pre-seed and seed science-backed ventures. And host of the Dr Ben Miles YouTube channel with over 125,000 subscribers.  Dr Ben's work focused on raising the visibility of science and scientists to tackle global challenges.

Lorna Green (Lyva Labs)

Lorna’s career spans 30 years in the health tech industry working in the NHS, industry and investment. Key achievements include securing >£50m investment for SMEs and commercialising over 40 products nationally and internationally.   She founded LYVA Labs in 2021 with funding from Liverpool City Region Combined Authority with the aim of supporting businesses in the region to grow through investing in R&D and providing vital early-stage funding for healthtech and deeptech start-ups.

17:10 - 17:40 | Keynote 2: “The journey to an 8-Figure exit”

Amman Ahmed (Co-founder, ‘Music for Pets’)

Amman Ahmed, the founder of RelaxMyDog and RelaxMyCat aka "Petflix", has been producing relaxing music and TV for pets based on in-house research for 7 years.
Self funded, profitable, scaled to 50 million users and acquired for an undisclosed 8-figure sum by a major Rap/Hip Hop Record Label in Hollywood.