Amy De-Balsi, founder of the Leeds Digital Jobs Fair, has joined Bruntwood SciTech as Head of Innovation and Partnerships in Leeds.
Based at Platform, home of one of the city’s leading tech coworking spaces, Amy is focused on bolstering Leeds’ tech cluster. Working in partnership with universities, professional services providers, investors and corporate tech teams in the city region to create opportunities for businesses to start and scale as well as helping to attract a wealth of tech talent to the city.
Amy brings a wealth of experience to the role and has a long track record in championing entrepreneurial tech talent across the region.
As well as launching the Leeds Digital Job Fair, Amy has worked in both the private and public sector. She spent five years at Yorkshire Forward overseeing a portfolio of projects to develop the region’s digital sector and also held a number of senior positions at Sky Betting and Gaming. In her time as a consultant, Amy’s clients included the NHS Digital Delivery Centre, Leeds Beckett University and Leeds Trinity University. She also spent some time as the Director of not-for-profit, independent tech hub, Leeds FutureLabs.
Amy said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to help build the Leeds tech sector as part of the Bruntwood SciTech team.
“I’ll be working hard to provide our tech start ups with vital business support through a wide network of organisations that can accelerate their success – from academic institutions to investors and professional service providers.
“The city regions’ leaders are building the future economy around the tech industry and Platform is right at the centre of this – constantly enriching the sector with new innovators and talent.
“We’re at a point in time where there’s an opportunity to do something really big and speed is an important factor; we want to act as a catalyst, helping to reap economic benefits for the regional economy sooner rather than later.”
Phil Kemp, CEO of Bruntwood SciTech, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Amy to the Bruntwood SciTech team. We have a long-term commitment to Leeds, which is one of the cities driving the Northern Powerhouse economy forward. The tech cluster in the city is going from strength to strength and our focus is to build on this success.
The tech incubator at Platform launched in 2018 and already hosts 80 businesses.
Northcoders, the UK’s leading coding bootcamp for graduate outcomes, recently launched a brand new campus at Platform to complement its existing Manchester operation.
