Creating a digital government – Tech Secretary Peter Kyle
Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, discusses the enormous challenge of transforming government services for the automated digital age, how the government plans to create millions of skilled AI workers and Labour’s hands on approach to the tech sector. Kyle was given the reins of the Tech Department when Labour came to power in July 2024. The MP for Hove and Portslade has been tasked with overseeing one of the government's most ambitious missions, turbocharging the tech sector to meet the growth demands of the nation.
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Preparing for a new era of warfare, Gary Waterfall, Air Vice Marshal
Air Vice Marshal Gary Waterfall, a retired senior officer of the Royal Air Force, discusses the desperate need to ensure domestic defence is able to keep up with the advancements of technology, the surprising parallels of a career in the military and a career as an entrepreneur and the historical links between the military and the development of technology. Waterfall discusses the recent focus of the government on investing in advanced defence technology in the context of global threats across the world.
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Ignoring the sceptics, Ahti Heinla, CEO, Starship Technologies
Ahti Heinla, CEO of Starship Technologies and one of the original creators of Skype discusses the surprising truth behind Estonia’s digital transformation over the past three decades, the massive and enduring impact of Skype and why whether its video calls or delivery robots, his businesses have always been the target of sceptics. Heinla helped create the iconic video conferencing software back in 2003. Today, the Estonian is focusing his efforts on Starship Technologies, which develops autonomous last mile delivery robots.
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The UK doesn’t have to be Silicon Valley – Elena Pantazi, partner, Northzone
Elena Pantazi, a partner at Northzone, discusses the challenges founders have managing startups in a fluctuating industry, why the UK might not need to compare itself to Silicon Valley and how VCs can unfortunately treat male founders very differently to women. Northzone is a multi-stage venture capital fund based in London. It has backed some of Europe’s largest tech companies, including Spotify, Klarna and Kahoot. Pantazi talks the importance of mentorship and competing against tech giants in the war for talent.
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Balancing regulation and innovation, Jessica Lennard, chief strategy officer, CMA
Jessica Lennard, chief strategy officer at the CMA, discusses how the regulator has to balance its work with the world’s largest tech companies with the vast startup market, how the CMA’s competition regulation is evolving to suit innovation and why the wider regulatory regime as a whole is changing in the era of the modern industrial strategy. The Competition and Markets Authority is the UK’s regulator for corporate competition. Overseeing areas such as mergers and acquisitions, ensuring companies meet pro-competition requirements and consumer protection.
Each week, Jane Wakefield sits down with some of the key movers and shakers from the UK tech ecosystem for the UKTN Podcast. Learn growth strategies from both seasoned and up-and-coming founders, hear market sentiments from investors, and understand the tech policy affecting businesses across the country.
The UKTN Podcast provides insight into the most influential people in the UK’s innovation economy, exploring their personal and professional journeys and hearing their views on the hottest tech topics of the day.
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