Independent Advisory Board
We’re committed to ensuring that our activation of the grant is optimised to positively impact the UK tech and entrepreneurial ecosystem.
With this in mind, all UK Government funded activity will be supported by an Independent Advisory Board that is made up of representatives from across the UK who are already established individuals in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, representing:
- The UK investment landscape
- The education sector
- Under-represented business communities
- Regional ecosystems and/or local authorities
- The innovation sector
- Sophisticated startups and scaleups on three-month rotations
The Board will meet bi-monthly and their role will primarily be to provide a strategic lens and challenge or advise us on the delivery of the UK Government funded activity and to determine the allocation of Ecosystem Partnership Programme funding.
Meet the Independent Advisory Board members
Ian Browne
Ian is a successfully exited founder, investor and currently the Managing Director of the National Digital Research Centre (NDRC) based in Dogpatch Labs, Ireland. Previously he was Chief Operating Officer of Ignite - helping revitalise the Northern Irish startup ecosystem, strengthening ties with Europe and North America and propelling startups to raise over £100m in venture capital funding. He holds both non-exec and chairman positions at venture backed startups.
Dr Phil Clare
Phil is CEO of Queen Mary Innovation Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Queen Mary University of London. Previously he was Director of Innovation and Engagement at the University of Oxford and also worked at the Universities of Bath and Bournemouth. He is a Registered Technology Transfer Professional and a Member of the Institute of Directors. He used to be a chemist and has degrees from Kings College London and the Universities of Bath, Bournemouth and Oxford.
Charles Ebubedike
Charles is CEO and co-founder of Clinova. He sets the strategy for the company and oversees all aspects of the global operations. He has opened retail and digital sales channels in the UK, Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific and the USA. He is a part of the leadership team launching Clinova’s ‘Healthwords’. Healthwords is a health app/website for smart self-care. Prior to Clinova, Charles held positions in business development and strategy at mid and large cap pharma. His educational portfolio includes a Master’s in Pharmacy from the University of Portsmouth; and Therapeutics at the School of Medicine, University of Newcastle.
Chris Elphick
Chris is a Senior VC Manager at the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA). He leads on all policy areas related to venture capital and works closely with BVCA members to promote the role industry plays in the UK economy by supporting entrepreneurs and businesses. Chris has represented the organisation on a wide range of influential consultations and reports, including the Patient Capital and Khalifa reviews. Prior the BNCA he worked in several public policy and government roles in Westminster.
Katie Gallagher OBE
Katie currently runs two successful not-for-profit organisations, Manchester Digital and the North West Cyber Resilience Centre, both of which play a key role in the development of the region's tech and cyber ecosystem. She is also the Chair of the UK Tech Cluster Group, which brings together the UK’s regional tech organisations to work together to share knowledge, connections and best practice.
Katie also sits on the Government’s Digital Skills Council to drive forward policy around supporting the UK’s tech ecosystem, developing startups, as well as creating the right levels of talent and skills.
Her work at Manchester Digital includes creating an industry-led software developer apprenticeship programme and an inspirational programme, called Digital Her, which supports women throughout their tech career, and works to inspire and encourage young women into the tech industry.
Irene Graham OBE
Irene is the founding CEO and a board director of the ScaleUp Institute, a private sector, not-for-profit company focused on making the UK the best place in the world to scale up a business.
She is a former senior banker at Standard Chartered where she held both European and global managing director roles. She set up, ran and scaled several of the bank’s key client and product businesses across its corporate and institutional bank and led several global M&A activities. Working internationally across Europe, the Americas, Middle East and Asia, living in Singapore for a period of time.
Julie Grieve
Julie Grieve is the Founder and CEO of Criton, a guest engagement and integrations platform for the hospitality sector which she sold in 2022. Previously Julie founded and was CEO of Lateral City, a luxury serviced apartment operator in Scotland when she had the idea for Criton to connect hospitality sector and tech world. Prior to Lateral City Julie was the MD of Abbey Business Centres, a serviced office company which she sold to Regus in 2011. Julie is also a mentor of Techscalers and Barclays Eagle Labs, a director of Women in Tourism and an Ambassador for Women’s Enterprise Scotland.
Alisdair Gunn
Alisdair is recognised by his peers as one of Scotland’s prominent professional advisers amongst Scotland’s digital and technology sector. The founder of Framewire, Scotland’s first advisory practice dedicated to developing Scotland’s Digital and Tech Ecosystems, Alisdair also leads the development of the Glasgow City Innovation District - Scotland’s first Innovation District. Alisdair is the co-founder of the internationally acclaimed Turing Festival and at the inaugural Scottish Tech Startup Awards and being a board member of BIMA in Scotland. He also provides strategic advice to the UK and Scottish Government’s on developing Scotland’s tech sector and is a member of Johnston Carmichael’s Tech Advisory Board.
Louise Harris
Louise is Co-Founder and CEO of TramshedTech, which operates flexible, tech-enabled work spaces for companies to connect, collaborate and thrive across Wales and in partner spaces across the UK and Europe.
Louise has advised Welsh Government as part of the International Strategy board and UK Government as part of the DCMS Tech Cluster group and is considered a female leader in Tech and Digital.
A strong advocate for diversity and inclusion in the Tech industry, Louise is an active board member and a keen mentor for organisations that champion women in technology.
Steven Roberts
Graduating from Cambridge University with a degree in Natural Sciences, and with a PhD in Geophysics, Steven began his Barclays career three decades ago. Over this time, he has held a variety of roles in Operations and Change across a range of business and support areas and he was instrumental at Barclays in creating and leading the Strategic Transformation team for seven years which had a wide-ranging remit to drive cultural and digital transformation. This included overseeing the launch of Barclays Eagle Labs. Last year, Steven became Head of Culture and Transformation for Barclays UK.
Roei Samuel
Roei Samuel, Founder and CEO of Connectd, is a successful serial entrepreneur, angel investor and startup mentor. Included in the BBC's Million By 30, Roei is a leading voice for diversity and inclusion in startups, speaking from his own experience as ADHD and dyslexia being his entrepreneurial superpowers. In 2014, aged 23, Roei launched one of the world’s most successful eSports platforms, RealSport, which he scaled to over 9 million monthly users before leading the company through a full acquisition by gaming company, Gfinity.After exiting, Roei turned to angel investing (15+ companies) and advising startups.
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