Black Tech Fest

Our

2023

events

10.10
Join us for an immersive online experience
11.10
Our immersive summit for future leaders + early careers, get up close to the latest tech
12.10
Flagship conference featuring iconic and emerging leaders of business, culture and trends

Who`s attending

3500

IRL attendees

40%

Executive & Managers

45%

Engineer backgroud

15k

virtual attendees

72

countries

A lot

of amazingly talented folks

Who speaks

The biggest names in tech, business and culture have graced our stages (and our virtual screens) to share, to inspire and celebrate.

Adrian joined BT Group in February 2020 and is the Managing Director, Data and AI where he leads a team of over 1500 data, cloud and AI experts to drive transformation across the BT Group.

Prior to BT he was a senior Partner at EY for 3 years and the Head of the UK Data, Cloud and Analytics practice for Financial Services.  He joined EY with over ten year’s cloud, digital, platform, data science and analytics experience gained in senior leadership roles at Google, and a further 15 years in industry and consultancy.  At Google, he held senior executive roles in Search, Ads, Analytics, Cloud and was the Managing Director of Google Enterprise EMEA.

Adrian was also a Non-Executive Director to the UK government (Home Office) from 2016-2020 where he advised on data, digital transformation, and diversity and inclusion, and served as a NED to the Cabinet Office People Board where he advised on the future of the workforce and on diversity and inclusion.

From January 2012-2017 he was Chair of the Race Equality Board, the race campaign of Business in the Community, and continues to serve as an Advisor to BITC.  He was awarded an OBE for services to equality and diversity in business in the 2019 New Year’s honours list, was announced as the most influential Black, Asian and minority ethnic technology leader in the UK by the Financial Times and Inclusive Boards in 2018.  He has featured in the Black Powerlist and Empower list on multiple occasions.

In January 2021, Adrian joined the UK AI Council following prime ministerial approval, where he advises on the national AI strategy, and joined the Board of Direct Line Group as a Non-Executive Director.  He holds a degree in econometrics, an MBA with distinction and an honorary doctorate in business management.

 

Adrian Joseph OBE
Managing Director of Data and AI Officer & Non Executive Director, Direct Line Group

Candice Brathwaite is an author, journalist, TV presenter, and founder of Make Motherhood Diverse – an online initiative that aims to ensure many more people see
themselves reflected online.


Candice started blogging in 2016 to tell her own motherhood story keen to show that young black families weren’t just surviving but thriving and her straight-talking, original content really struck a chord with fans and brands alike.


A self-confessed beauty and fashion obsessive Candice now has a regular style segment on Lorraine on ITV where she has become known for gently encouraging people to be bolder about embracing colour in their wardrobes. Candice is a Contributing Editor to Grazia and regularly appears on national radio and television news channels to talk about maternal mortality rates for black women in Britain.


Her debut book I Am Not Your Baby Mother - about being a black British mum – published in May 2020 by Quercus made the Sunday Times Bestseller list.

Candice Brathwaite
Author & journalist

Craig David is a critically acclaimed British singer-songwriter. Aged 18, he burst onto the scene with the garage classic 'Rewind' and, following the phenomenal success of his debut album Born To Do It, he has continued to top the charts over the past 22 years, amassing 17 million album sales and over 1 billion streams, to date.

Through his unique blend of R&B, garage, dance and pop, Craig has delighted his fans with live performances on stages across the world, while also becoming one of the biggest DJs on the dance scene with his TS5 sets, and his renowned pool parties in Ibiza. He has received 14 Brit Award nominations, two Grammy nominations, four MOBO awards, three Ivor Novellos honouring his songwriting and, most recently, an MBE for his services to music.

Craig remains one of the UK's most loved performers and is at the helm of his own distinctive, authentically British sound, making him one of the most successful artists in UK chart history.

Craig David
Singer, Songwriter, Author, Presenter & DJ

Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu is a New York Attorney and Solicitor of England & Wales with broad expertise in the financial services industry, writer, public speaker and political commentator featured in mainstream and online media. A political & women’s rights activist, she has taught intersectional feminism to female refugees and asylum seekers, scrutinizes government policies from a gender and diversity inclusion perspective; and coorganises women's marches and social campaigns.

She founded the Women in Leadership publication as a platform to drive positive change on topical issues that impact women globally through inspiring personal leadership journeys; and established She@LawTalks to promote women & BAME leadership in the legal profession through universities and secondary schools. An academic enthusiast, she has an Executive MBA (Cambridge), PhD (Birkbeck); LLM (London School of Economics & Political Science); MA (Westminster)  and LLB Hons (Buckingham University).

Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu
Lawyer, Founder of Women in Leadership Publication; Political & Women's rights activist

Fisayo Longe is the founder of Kai Collective- a London-based brand of attainable clothing with luxury aesthetics, intentionally crafted for ultimate confidence. We make unique thoughtful pieces that fill the gap for statement high-quality pieces that don’t break the bank, and encourage our customer to take up space and embrace their individuality.

Fisayo Longe
Founder of Kai Collective

Digital Anthropologist. Tech Strategy Alchemist. Talent Space Maker. Iconic Brands Ways of Working Curator. Next Gen Collaborator.

Lisa Smith, a Deloitte Digital Partner and Unlimited Reality™ UK & NSE Practice Lead. Unlimited Reality™ is Deloitte's ground-breaking new offering focused on spatial computing, Web 3.0 (AR/VR), blockchain and generative Al experience integrations. Lisa spends her time helping global and UK headquartered brands develop new enterprise digital strategies in the face of emerging technology driven changes, whilst enabling the delivery of accelerated strategy across the enterprise the right way, the first time around with changes that stick.

As a Global Strategy and North South Europe Practice Lead for Unlimited Reality™, Lisa works not only as a Private Sector Consumer Partner, however, also partners to directly advise both the Public and Financial sectors CEOs and Boards of Directors regarding understanding future proof disruption of their businesses and how to prudently shape and deploy investment capital to achieve their enterprise transformation outcomes.

Lisa is also Deloitte’s partner sponsor for inclusion for the Consulting Business, where she is leading a DE&I agenda at scale with a focus on Intentional Inclusion by Design, Equality is not Equity and Diverse Intersectionality. Lisa also is a member of the Ethnicity Council and spends time supporting Deloitte’s partnership with Blueprint for All and the Prince's Trust.

Lisa Smith
Partner, Deloitte Digital

Renee has been part of the tech industry for over 30 years and has built her career delivering high quality software engineering in commercial organisations.  
Renee earned a Bachelor’s degree from Penn State University, she holds an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin and is a veteran of the US Army Signal Corps. 


In her career, she has been fortunate enough to work with amazing organisations like: Ford Motor Company, Vodafone, Deloitte, NICE, Oxford University, Sky and now ComparetheMarket (the one with the Meerkats!). 


She has a passion for building and leading high-performance teams.  Renee is an excellent motivator, coach, and mentor, who has a strong track record of developing leaders. Renee is now focused on FinTech for Good with an amazing team of engineers, product managers and other business partners at Compare the Market. Together they will take the brand that everyone loves and make financial decision-making a breeze for everyone.  


Renee has many interests her favourites are cooking, sport, sci fi, fashion, Women-in-STEM, art, music and opera, taking her passion a step further by vice chairing for OperaNorth, the largest regional opera company in the UK. Renee has been a supporter of West Ham United Football Club for over 20 years. She loves to travel
and all things orange. Renee now lives with her husband Michael in London.

Renee Hunt
Chief Technology Officer (CTO), ComparetheMarket

Tunji is a Senior Director at LinkedIn leading the UK and Ireland Enterprise Solutions Group. He has previously held senior leadership positions at PwC and Cisco.

He currently serves as a Senior Independent Director at England Athletics, a patron of the autism charity CASPA, trustee at the Personal Best Foundation and a BTEC Ambassador for Pearson.

Passionate about Diversity, the Arts, Science & Technology, Sport and Social Mobility, Tunji has previously resided on the councils of Grant Thornton, techUK and Teach First.

He mainly supports his passions through his Ilesha Charitable Trust, making impact and long-term donations to these causes.

Tunji was awarded an MBE in the Queen's 2018 New Year's Honours List for services to young people from ethnic minorities in Science & Technology.

Tunji Akintokun
Senior Director, Head of Enterprise Solutions - UK and Ireland, LinkedIn
More 2023 speakers to be announced soon

Don't just take our word for it - here's what attendees have to say

Remel London

@RemelLondon
"My mind is blown at how inspiring it was to not only attend but host @BlackTechFest today!"
TWITTER
Oct 13, 2022

Sadiq Khan

Sadiq Khan
"Black Tech Fest is a fantastic festival that celebrates Black culture and brings together innovators, creators and leaders. Tickets are free, and I want you to get involved"
TWITTER
Oct 19, 2021

Teagan

@teagan_c
"What this event gave to me I can not explain to you in words. Come with me next year! ... This was a 10/10 event with a 10/10 venue, food, resources, organisations, guests and hosts. Thank you @blacktechfest @colorintech"
Instagram
Oct 13, 2022

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BTF in pictures