Russ Shaw is the founder of Tech London Advocates and Global Tech Advocates. He originally founded Tech London Advocates in 2013 to give the private sector in tech an independent voice. Since then he has been championing London as a global tech hub and campaigning to address some of the biggest challenges facing tech companies in the UK – diversity, digital skills, immigration, infrastructure and access to funding.
Key achievements for Tech London Advocates (TLA) include successfully campaigning for the introduction of a Chief Digital Officer for London and placing digital jobs on the Shortage Occupation List for the first time.
Russ is a founding partner of London Tech Week, a London Tech Ambassador for the Mayor of London and Advisory Board member for Founders4Schools and the Government’s Digital Skills Partnership. He is a Trustee for Modern Muse Charity, which supports young women and girls who want to study STEM subjects.
He is one of the world’s leading experts on the success of London’s tech ecosystem and has been invited to tech hubs around the world to share his experience. In 2016, Russ created Global Tech Advocates, which now licenses the TLA operating model to countries around the world, including Scandinavia, Belfast, the Bay Area, the North of England, Singapore, Shanghai, Spain and Bogotá.
Russ was previously the Chairman of The Marketing Group of Great Britain following senior positions at Skype, Telefónica, O2 and CEO of a later stage startup called Mobileway. In his role as Marketing Director for O2, Russ brokered the relationship with The O2, the most successful indoor venue in the world.
He is an angel and venture investor and has been non-executive director of a number of high growth businesses, including Dialog Semiconductor and Unwire.
He has a BS from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Speaker sessions
12:00 - 13:15
Inward Investment Global Growth – Opportunities and Challenges: China
Sponsored by Penningtons Manches Cooper and James Cowper Kreston
Taylor’s Yard
In this session we will hear from investors from China about why technology developed in Oxfordshire is attracting interest and investment from China. We will also hear from Oxfordshire companies who have explored commercial opportunities in China who want to share their experiences with those considering a similar path.
Panellists: Mike Karim – Oxford Endovascular, Qing Lin – James Cowper Kreston, Mark Preston – TECHEETAH Formula E Team and Kegang Wu – BCC LinkToChina
Chaired by Russ Shaw – Global Tech Advocates