Gillmore Centre hosts London Tech Week fringe event

Warwick Business School’s base at The Shard will showcase the West Midlands as a rising force in the UK’s digital economy as part of London Tech Week.  

On Wednesday the School’s Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology is joining forces with the West Midlands Growth Company to host the Breakfast Takeover as one of more than 70 fringe events being held across London. 

London Tech Week 2025, which begins today, brings together more than 30,000 participants, including start-ups, enterprise leaders, and investors, and features more than 500 speakers such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, inventor of the web Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology.  

The event at WBS London will explore how the West Midlands is accelerating technological advancement at scale and pace with keynote talks from Thomas Morrissey, Goldman Sachs Managing Director and Global Head of Liquidity Risk Applications, and Tim Kay, Deputy Chief Scientific Officer for the UK Government’s Department for Business and Trade. 

Ram Gopal, Director of the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology, will also give a talk and believes the event is a timely opportunity to highlight West Midlands’ growing influence. 

“From fintech to AI, the region is home to a vibrant ecosystem of start-ups, researchers, and investors who are shaping the future of technology,” said Professor Gopal. 

“The Gillmore Centre is playing a pivotal role in producing the world-class research and expertise that will help drive the growth of the fintech industry in the West Midlands, which is seen as the UK’s fastest growing tech sector. 

“We are working closely with the West Midlands Growth Company to drive innovation, attract investment, and foster growth to help make the region a major tech centre in the UK. 

“Our mission is to bridge the gap between academic research and real-world application, fostering collaboration between scholars, industry leaders, and policymakers. This event, as part of London Tech Week, will helps us do that.” 

At the fringe event the West Midlands Growth Company will officially unveil the next phase of its Global Growth Programme, which is designed to help ambitious businesses enter and scale in the UK market, supercharging their international expansion. 

It is supported by Innovate UK and the Connected Places Catapult, as part of the DIATOMIC Innovation Accelerator Programme; the 'Invest in UK University R&D - Midlands Campaign'; Bruntwood SciTech; Birmingham City University; the University of Warwick; and the University of Wolverhampton.

Neil Rami, Chief Executive of the West Midlands Growth Company, said: “There has never been a more exciting time to be part of the West Midlands’ business ecosystem; its burgeoning tech sector, world-class talent pool and exceptional R&D infrastructure make it the ideal environment for innovation-led international companies to turbocharge their expansion plans. 

“Over the past two years, our Global Growth Programme has proven a successful blueprint, providing disruptive and dynamic international companies like OPT/NET with the right support to realise their UK growth ambitions. I look forward to working with a whole new wave of companies in 2025.”  

Ashlene Smith, Innovation & Scale Up Manager at the West Midlands Growth Company, will have a fireside chat with Taras Matselyukh, CEO and CTO of OPT/NET, an AI-powered data analytics firm, at the Breakfast Takeover, which will also see a talk from Melissa Nover, Founder and CEO of Nourished, which uses 3D printers and AI to produce healthy personalised snacks.  

“We’re excited to bring the energy of the West Midlands to London Tech Week,” said Professor Gopal. “This is more than just a conversation - it’s a call to action for collaboration, investment, and growth, with world-class research and academic excellence at its core.” 

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