About the Event
Global dynamics has become very complex as the world gravitates into a global village making team building and networking a veritable tool for global success. End-users needs could become divergent as you traverse the globe due to differences in culture, believes, way of life, interest, personality among other factors. This means that start-ups wishing to serve the society must begin to think of building teams and networking across boards to serve a global stage within and outside their immediate communities.
Many startups have failed for not having the right team. Team building and networking are now hallmarks of businesses providing various solutions for end-users. In this WES panel series, we are inviting seasoned entrepreneurs, business experts as well as professionals in the military who have managed teams to achieve set objectives to share insight on how their experience could help entrepreneurs, businesses, founders and researches build viable teams for success.
The panel will be moderated by David Izuogu (WES President).
About the Panellists
Venture Capitalist at Northzone
Fredua is a medical doctor turned VC who currently works at the European and US venture capital fund, Northzone. He's also the Co-founder and CEO of OTHERTECH, a platform and podcast about diversity and inclusion in tech and VC. Prior to that, he was a Venture Manager in AI and Health for tech accelerator Creative Destruction Labs, where he sourced, led due diligence and guided founders building early-stage startups.
His experience spans three continents: working as a GP in rural and metropolitan communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, as a researcher and data analyst in medicine and public health in the US, and as a consultant evaluating and recommending sectors for Creative Destruction Labs' expansion into the UK and Europe.
Fredua holds an MD from the University of Ghana, an MPH in Applied Biostatistics and Epidemiology from Yale University, and an MBA in Finance and Strategy from Oxford University.
Director General Joint Force Development and Defence Academy
Edward Stringer joined the Royal Air Force via its University Cadetship scheme and an engineering degree from Liverpool University. After officer and flying training he was posted to the Jaguar Force where he became a Qualified Weapon Instructor and spent a tour at Boscombe Down in Operational Test and Evaluation.
He has completed many operational tours including the Gulf war of '91, the 'No Fly Zones' over Iraq and Bosnia between '91 and '03, and the recent counter-insurgency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Edward’s command tours include: OC 54(F) Squadron, when he was also the Jaguar Force Commander for Operation TELIC in Iraq in 2003; Station Commander RAF Leeming and, concurrently, Tornado F3 Force Commander; CO 904 Expeditionary Air Wing based at Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2008; Commandant Air Warfare Centre, from ’09 to ‘11, during which he was also the UK’s first Air Contingent Commander for Op UNIFIED PROTECTOR, the NATO Operation in Libya.
He has completed staff tours in the Air Warfare Centre, the Directorate of Operational Capability in the MOD, and as Assistant Director (Operations) in the Air Staff, also within the MOD. Edward was Head of Joint Capability in the Security Policy and Operations area of the MOD until his appointment to Washington as the UK Chief of Defence Staff’s Liaison Officer to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs in Oct 2012. His military education includes advanced staff college in Canada in '99, the Higher Command and Staff Course in the UK in '06, the USAF’s CFACC course at Maxwell AFB, and the Royal College of Defence Studies in ‘09. He completed an MA in International Relations at Kings College London in 2010 and undertook a Slessor Fellowship at Oxford University, researching Pol/Mil relations and strategy-making. He was appointed as the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff on 5 April 2013 and subsequently Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Operations) on 20 March 2015. Edward became Director General Joint Force Development & Defence Academy on 11 April 2018.
Awards include the MBE in 2000, the OBE in 2003, CBE in 2009 and CB in 2017. Edward is married to Louise, a GP in Yorkshire and has two children.
Social entrepreneur, mentor and enterprise educator
Dr Yuliana Topazly is an award – winning social entrepreneur, mentor and an enterprise educator. In 2016, Yuliana was named ‘Top 100 Most Inspiring Mentors in the UK' by The Sunday Times and the Centre for Entrepreneurs; she won Croydon Business Awards and was included in WISE 2020 Inspiration List: Women of inspiration: 100 social enterprise leaders showing COVID who is boss'.Yuliana is a founder My OutSpace www.myoutspace.co.uk, which specialises in supporting women especially those with young children into employment and self-employment and was featured in Alison Rose's Report on Female Entrepreneurship in 2019.
Yuliana also a Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at Kingston University; she also leads on the accelerator Launch programme at UCL and has a proven track record of sound business acumen, extensive knowledge of the business cycle and experience of working with a wide range of businesses.
Head of Production at Sookio
Matthew Harris has been a commercial video producer for nearly 20 years. After completing his undergraduate degree he went on to teach film and media in both Further and Higher education. During this time he completed his Masters in Philosophy at The University of Cambridge in 2010.
After graduation, he set up his own production company, which specifically produced marketing videos. Through his company, he worked with the University of Cambridge's Careers Service in providing match-funded work placements for recent graduates. Up until recently, he was an Associate Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University where he taught employability in the media industry.
He is currently the Head of Production at Sookio. An assured self-shooter and video strategist, he has great creative insight to online community building and digital optimisation using video.
He is experienced in networking (both real and virtual) and team building. He has been directly involved in these within the remit of his business within the Cambridge ecosystem and UK at large.
Senior Advisor, Head of Product, Analytics & Data at Boss Insights
Simon Brightman is presently a Senior Partner with Global Data Insights (data analytics advisory & investments across FinTech and other xTech domains) where he advises FinTech firms including BossInsights.com as interim Chief Product, Data & Analytics Officer.
Simon's first job was in the IDF, where he served in Military Intelligence for over 7 years, including roles as platoon and company commander in high conflict zones. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Ottawa, Telfer School of Management. His research interests include global strategy, data analytics and Artificial Intelligence-driven decision making in government, international organizations, as well as private corporations.
Simon has advised, lectured and taught technology commercialization, innovation, product validation and product development for over 16 years in private, public and academic organizations. He has served in various executive roles leading data analytics product technology firms in the USA and Canada, including Head of Data Strategy & Open Banking at TransUnion (Credit Reporting Agency), co-owner and Chief Product Officer at Panvista Analytics (a US wearable geo-location analytics firm), Head of Agile & Product Management at Points.com (Nasdaq traded, $350M leading global loyalty e-Commerce provider to Airlines & Hotels) and as a Senior Manager at KPMG (strategic program management.
Simon holds a BSc. in Computer Software & Business Management, an MBA in Technology Management as well as a Masters in International Relations (Global Strategy & Decision-Making) from Cambridge University. Connect with Simon on Linked in
Date: Monday 30 November 2020
Time: 18:00 - 19:30 (GMT)
Location: Live across the listed platforms (see hyperlinks below)
Twitter - @wolfson_wes
Facebook - Wolfson Entrepreneurs Society Facebook page
Youtube - Wolfson Entrepreneurs Society YouTube channel
