Well-known trio to headline this year’s Manchester Expo.
The north of England’s biggest digital and IT event has called upon the services of three high-profile names to promote next month’s Digital Transformation Expo extravaganza in Manchester.
Taking place at Manchester Central, on Wednesday, May 17th, and Thursday, May 18th, Digital Transformation Expo has been held annually for seven years and forms part of the city’s popular Tech Week.
In 2023, Digital Transformation Expo (DTX) will be headlined by a trio of well-known personalities, namely Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham, former director general of MI5 Dame Stella Rimington, and World Cup-winning rugby player Matt Dawson.
Next month’s gathering will welcome IT and digital professionals and entrepreneurs to an event which annually attracts thousands of people. This two-day Expo includes keynote speeches, regional case studies, interactive panels, technical workshops and community socials.
According to a press release issued by the organisers, the aim of this event is ‘to connect leaders in cloud, networks, data and cybersecurity’ to tackle the coming challenges together.
‘Attendees can discuss and debate how to optimise tech stacks; unravel legacy data systems; design a next-gen engineering strategy; operate feature-rich modern workplace toolsets; build threat-responsive ecosystems; and meet changing customer demands.’
Tickets for the Expo can be acquired for free online and is the centrepiece of Manchester Tech Week which runs from May 15-19. The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, will discuss the city’s tech vision in a speech titled Digital Blueprint for 2023-26.
Meanwhile, Dame Stella Rimington – the first woman to be boss of the UK Government’s security service MI5 – will give a talk on how to lead organisations during times of challenge and change. She will reveal how she navigated a life of unexpected opportunities and discuss why human insight is still critical to the success of assessing information, despite the rapid onset of artificial intelligence.
Matt Dawson, who was England’s scrumhalf when they won the World Cup in 2003, will reflect on a long and varied career during a keynote interview called ‘Finding Your Edge.’ He will discuss how he overcame weakness, and learned to trust his intuition, which he firmly believes is vital for those in positions of power and influence. He will offer insights on how to build a world-class team culture and what it takes to be your best on and off the field.
The press release added: ‘Other big hitters on the line-up include: John Hobson (chief information officer at Kellogg Company); Ben Morris (global director of cyber security at The Hut Group); Mivy James (digital transformation director at BAE Systems Digital Intelligence); Adam Lindsay (director of business operations at Groupon); Leanne Fitzpatrick (director of data science at The Financial Times); Rob Black (technology director at Beauty Bay); and Risk Alkunshalie (head of technology at Manchester Airports Group).’
There will also be discussions on case studies, regarding innovation projects taking place across the north of England. These will include: Sykes Cottages, Slater & Gordon, Newcastle Building Society, Linklaters, Co-Op, Jaguar Land Rover, the Department for Work & Pensions, AJ Bell, Price Waterhouse Cooper, On the Beach and National Grid.
Various brands will be in attendance to showcase their cutting-edge IT technology which will power our digital future. High-profile companies involved are: Dell, Okta, Ring Central, Blue Jeans, Sophos, Intel, Sentinel One and Gamma, along with many other exhibitors.
Head ofresearch and portfolio development for DTX, Natasha Taylor, said: “Manchester is a world-leading hub of technology and innovation. That’s why it is the perfect place to host the biggest digital transformation and IT event the north has ever witnessed. This year is going to be the best yet. It features a phenomenal line-up of guest speakers, a huge variety of exhibitors and some surprises too.
“We’re proud to bring together teams from across every industry. They will share ideas, tackle the latest challenges and troubleshoot tricky problems. Every year, we witness the real-time collaboration needed to drive the delivery of ambitious transformation plans. Manchester is the place where great minds discuss ground-breaking digital and IT ideas. We can’t wait to hear what the big topics of conversation will be in 2023.”
Manchester Central is located in Windmill Steet (M2 3GX). To register for your free ticket for DTX Manchester 2023, please click here.
