Women 4 Technology Manchester launches this Thursday (23 November) with an event for women and men in commercial leadership roles across technology, digital health and life sciences.
The expansion of Women 4 Technology to Manchester follows nine years of Women 4 Technology events in Cambridge and London, which have featured in WIRED Magazine's roundup of top technology networking events; Huffington Post and The Guardian. Women 4 Technology now numbers over 1,200 international female entrepreneurs.
The Manchester launch event - Looking for funding?- will welcome guest speakers: Nicola Broughton, Investment Director at Mercia Technologies; Jenny Tooth OBE, CEO of the UK Business Angels Association; and Ann Fisher, Founder of Women 4 Technology and Co-founder of Bailey Fisher Executive Search.
Nicola Broughton is Investment Director at Mercia Technologies, leading a team of university specialists covering Mercia’s 19 partnerships. The team are actively sourcing new university spinouts across all of Mercia’s sectors at the early stage, as well as being responsible for managing a portfolio of spin-out companies. Nicola has a wealth of experience in both life sciences and university commercialisation, having founded her own IP commercialisation company working as a transfer and licensing advisor to many universities across the UK. She also spent 10 years as a commercial director for a University of Leeds spin-out. Nicola holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the Imperial Cancer Research Fund and King’s College London. She also holds an MBA from the University of Northumbria at Newcastle, a BA in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford, and a Diploma in Law from the National Association of Paralegals.
Jenny Tooth OBE is CEO of the UKBAA, the trade body for angel and early stage investing, representing over 15,000 investors around the UK. Jenny has over 20 years’ experience of facilitating SMEs access to investment, in the UK and internationally. She ran her own consultancy on access to finance for SMEs, including spending nine years based in Brussels, working closely with the EC. In 2009, Jenny co-founded Angel Capital Group which incorporates London Business Angels, one of the most established and active angel networks in the UK. Jenny is an angel investor and in her role at UKBAA she focuses on building the angel community around the UK, connecting investors to good deal flow and assisting entrepreneurs to attract investors. Jenny sits on the steering group for emerging technologies and innovations for Innovate UK and the advisory board for the London Co-Investment Fund. Jenny is an experienced speaker on angel investing and entrepreneurship both in the UK and internationally. She has an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Jenny was awarded an OBE in 2015 for services to small businesses.
Ann Fisher co-founded Bailey Fisher Executive Search in 1998, a boutique search firm with offices in Cambridge and London, operating globally to identify impactful talent across technology, life sciences, digital health and private markets. Bailey Fisher thrives in one of the most exciting technology clusters outside Silicon Valley, and has contributed to the success of some of the most impressive companies to have emerged from the UK market in recent years. Bailey Fisher is always conscious of the impact that the management team has on the future growth of their clients’ businesses. Ann is also the founder of Women 4 Technology, a business forum for 1,200 international female entrepreneurs, CEOs, CXOs, Chair/NEDs and investors. Ann is passionate about enabling the next generation of entrepreneurs, having founded her first business aged 27, which she built to a successful exit within 5 years. The acquiring company is regularly featured in The Sunday Times Top 100 companies. Ann supports Girl Talk, a University of Cambridge platform providing career events for female students and hosts events through Bailey Fisher for first time CEOs and identifying the next generation of talent.
To find out more about the launch event for Women 4 Technology Manchester, including how to register: www.baileyfisher.com/women-4-technology/