Two major festivals are helping to shape the business landscape in the North East.
Sunderland Business Festival, which returned for a fourth year starred headline speakers including hairy biker Si King and TV architect George Clarke.
Over in Middlesbrough, experts with ties to F1, Uber and Vinted are taking part in a major new free event.
The week-long Sunderland festival was attended by almost 1,000 people, with organisations taking part including the Bank of England, North East Combined Authority, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), Sunderland AFC and Hummel.
Patrick Melia, chief executive of festival headline sponsor Sunderland City Council, said: “Sunderland Business Festival provided a fantastic opportunity to showcase our changing city to a business audience from across the North East and to shine a light on the many ways in which the city is positively contributing to the regional economy too.”
The festival was organised by Sunderland Business Partnership. Chair Rob Lawson OBE, said: “There were so many inspirational talks during the week as well as what I’m sure will be really useful takeaways for businesses.”
Sharon Appleby, chief executive of Sunderland Business Improvement District, said: “There were some amazing announcements and the positivity was incredible. And I know there’ll be many productive conversations sparked off the back of it.”
Sunderland Business Festival was sponsored by Sunderland City Council, the North East BIC, BDN, Creo Comms and Sheepfolds Stables.
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In Middlesbrough, TechJam 2024 has been launched to help companies across the Tees Valley utilise digital technology to grow their business and has attracted speakers, including former Dragons’ Den investor Piers Linney.
The event is a passion project of renowned local businessman and LikeUs CEO Shak Asghar. A former DJ, Shak sees TechJam as a mix of music festival and business conference.
Other speakers at the November 6 event include branding and marketing expert James Peach, who has worked for both Uber and Vinted, along with data scientist Neil Martin, the former Head of Strategy for both Ferrari and McLaren’s F1 teams.
Shak said: “To attract speakers of this magnitude is a huge coup for the Tees Valley as they are easily among the most respected and knowledgeable names within their fields.
“Our speakers will showcase how digital innovation can solve many problems business owners face, whilst lowering costs and increasing sales.
“The Tees Valley has become a major force in the tech and digital sectors, and companies ranging from video game developers to search engine specialists now proudly call it home,” said Matthew Ord, Deputy Chair of the Tees Valley Business Board.
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