Mentors and supporters
Meet our Top Tech Yorkshire mentors and supporters from across the Yorkshire tech ecosystem. They’ve all experienced what it’s like to start or work with a growing tech business and have inside knowledge of the highs and lows associated with bringing new products or services to market.
Our mentors have each committed to engage in the Top Tech Yorkshire in a genuine mentoring capacity, i.e. to make the time, in both group and one-to-one format, to engage in full in the series of structured mentor to member networking and mentoring activities which will take place across the full Top Tech Yorkshire programme. You can read more about that here.
When we approached potential mentors about participating in Top Tech Yorkshire in a mentor capacity, and explained the commitment which would be required to do that, some very reasonably felt unable to make that level of commitment but very generously committed their support in a profile-raising and networking capacity. We are very grateful to them for doing so.
Hear from some of this year’s mentors and supporters to find out a bit more about why they’re taking part in Top Tech Yorkshire and what they’re looking for from 2025’s member businesses.
Meet our mentors
Jordan Dargue,
Co-founder, Lifted Ventures
Jordan Dargue, is a founder, senior executive, investor, NED and seasoned investment expert. Her boundless passion for innovation, coupled with a remarkable track record of achievements, positions her within the realms of growth and investment.
Jordan's transformative influence is evident through her leadership in orchestrating multi-million equity-based investment rounds, cultivating award-winning investor networks, and offering unwavering support to thousands of SMEs on their journey toward expansion and investment.
Stuart Clarke
Festival Director of the Leeds Digital Festival
Stuart is the founder of Paceline marketing and PR consultancy, working with firms in the tech sector, as well as a non-executive director to numerous start-ups, and the creator of the Leeds Tech Map and the PARSE peer-to-peer roundtable programme for start-up founders.
I’m a co-founder and the Festival Director of Leeds Digital Festival, the UK’s largest open tech event. I’m also the founder of UK Tech Week, which brings together regional tech festivals in the UK.
Georgie Lynskey
Founder and Director, G. Digital
As founder of G.Digital | G&T (girls and tech!), Georgie has scaled a 7-figure business with £0 investment and in the past 2 years, which has seen 800% year on year growth, tripled its headcount, had an 815% increase on turnover and has expanded its offering across the pond.
G&T (girls and tech!) is the biggest community of female techies in the North and Georgie is passionate about amplifying the voice of the WIT community and bridging the gap between non techies and jobs in tech.
Georgie will bring her specialist knowledge in diverse hiring to the Top Tech programme. She knows what businesses need to do to attract and retain female tech talent.
Jonny Sharp
Co-founder and Director, Cerelo Advisory
Jonny has been advising technology and media companies on mergers, acquisitions and fundraising for over 10 years. At Cerelo Advisory we provide specialist advice to companies in the software, gaming and high growth media & digital transformation markets.
Jonny volunteered to be a Top Tech mentor as he loves seeing new tech businesses coming through the Yorkshire region. Jonny enjoys helping companies scale and believes he can offer valuable input around all aspects of funding and fundraising. He is looking for companies that believe they can become a category leader in their industry or scale rapidly with investment.
Gordon Bateman
CEO at CSRI
Gordon has worked with early-stage and high growth businesses for over 30myears. Working with both founders and investors to design, build, develop, retain and engage high performing teams.
In addition, having worked with active investors for the same period, Gordon works with a number of accelerators, incubators and investment readiness programmes. As the founder of Investor Ladder, not only does he understand the current investment landscape, but is also well connected with regional, national and international investors.
Tariq Javaid
Corporate Finance, Azets
Tariq is one of the Corporate Finance Partners for Azets in Yorkshire, assisting owner managed clients with implementing growth strategies through acquisitions, raising funding for growth both debt and private equity.
The Yorkshire market has a thriving tech eco-system and by joining Top Tech as a mentor, Tariq will be able to empower businesses with the knowledge and support they require to thrive in a fast pace and constantly changing landscape. Tariq is excited to work with the Top Tech members and looks forward to travelling on the growth and succession planning journey.
Gareth Llewellyn
Investment Director, Northern Gritstone
Gareth is a University of Sheffield alumnus, graduating with a 1st Class masters degree in mechanical engineering. Gareth moved into early-stage technology investing with Grosvenor Food & AgTech, an evergreen investment group with a global mandate to invest in businesses and technologies delivering efficiency gains in all elements of the food supply chain.
More recently Gareth has taken on operational roles in several portfolio companies, initially as CEO of a Canadian tech company and later taking on the COO role in a data analytics business he co-founded.
Iain Marlow
Head of Investments, Traditum
Iain leads the private equity investment function of Traditum, a Private Investment Office representing the private equity and venture capital interests of a number prominent and successful high net worth entrepreneurs and their families across the UK.
Iain has advised on and latterly led private equity investments across multiple sectors in the UK and Europe and since joining Traditum in 2021, Iain has been responsible for leading investments into many mature and early-stage technology businesses.
Iain hopes that his involvement with the Mills and Reeves Top Tech initiative, and that of Traditum’s wider network, will be to help more Tech businesses turn early promise into successful commercialisation.
Andy McKinlay
Patent Attorney, Page White Farrar
Andy is a UK and European patent attorney based in Leeds. He helps businesses by drafting patent applications that provide protection for cutting-edge software developments, with a particular focus on innovation in AI. Andy also helps growing businesses set up their IP strategy and put in place processes for capturing innovation. Andy has a PhD in computer science and more than 10 years of experience acting for innovative tech businesses, which allows him to act as a bridge between the equally complex worlds of IP law and tech.
Andy loves the brilliant, open, and welcoming tech scene in Leeds. As a mentor, Andy will be aiming to give back some of that support – providing introductions and signposting, as well as helping the members to understand what they can do to protect their valuable innovation.
Harry Smith
Intellectual Property Manager, SIA Group
Harry has spent the past five years as an IP Valuation Specialist, working with a range of clients from start-ups to established corporations. He is committed to supporting the local tech community by helping tech entrepreneurs understand the value of their intellectual property and access alternative funding sources, especially those facing financial challenges.
As a mentor in the Top Tech programme, Harry will bring his expertise in IP valuation, strategic financial planning, and experience with distressed businesses to provide valuable guidance. He seeks Top Tech members who exhibit a passion for innovation, resilience, a willingness to learn, and an understanding of the strategic importance of their intellectual property, while being proactive in their development journey.
Ross Webster
Director, Board Equity
Ross has worked in Executive Search for over 27 years now with the last 20 of them focusing on building Boards for PE/VC backed businesses and privately owned businesses looking for investment.
With a head office in Leeds and regional office in London, Board Equity help businesses become more investible by upskilling key Board positions which in turn enables businesses to scale at pace.
As a mentor, Ross will be looking to help businesses on this journey to get them ‘investor ready’ from a Board perspective and help founders scale their businesses most effectively. What Ross is looking for in Top Tech members, is an element of humility and an openness to challenge and engagement to help them on their growth journey.
Neville Young
Director of Enterprise and Innovation, AHSN Innovation Exchange
Dr Young has a real interest in supporting the delivery of high-quality research and innovation in the United Kingdom that improves patient outcomes and drives health system efficiencies. Neville is focussed on helping innovative business succeed and grow, he created the Propel@YH accelerator program, now in its 5th year, which supports both UK based and international business succeed in the UK market.
He also has an interest in supporting international activity, promoting export opportunities for UK-based innovators and creating a safe landing space for successful international companies looking to enter the UK market via the Propel@YH International Bootcamp. Neville has worked as an academic researcher, a drug trial manager, a consultant, as a director for a health tech start-up and is focused on helping to identify and support the “pull” from the healthcare systems for innovative health technologies.
Alex Newman
Commercial lawyer specialising
in IP, Mills & Reeve
Alex has been an intellectual property lawyer, living and working in Leeds for 25 years. Alex spends most of his time helping tech businesses (and IP asset-rich businesses in other sectors) to better understand the intellectual property assets relevant to their business, to unlock value relating to the IP assets they own, and to mitigate risk relating to IP assets they don’t own.
As a Top Tech mentor, Alex will be looking to connect people who can help each other, and dispel some of the common misunderstandings and enduring myths relating to IP. What he is looking for in Top Tech members is an open mind and genuine appetite to accept help from, and to offer help to, their peers and our diverse group of tech-sector supporters and mentors.
Paul Johnson
Head of Leeds office and Corporate lawyer, Mills & Reeve
Paul has over 20 years’ experience of advising clients across a range of sectors but in particular recently technology businesses using Mills & Reeves extensive expertise in the tech sector. He specialises in buying and selling businesses, structuring growth capital investments and generally helping clients grow and then realise the value in their businesses with a particular focus where private equity or venture capital are involved.
Oliver King
Corporate lawyer, Mills & Reeve
Olly has been advising businesses on their corporate dealings for over 10 years, assisting everyone from start-ups, companies in their growth and scale phase, right through to investment and exit. Olly’s ear is always to the ground looking for something new, something innovative and exciting that makes him both excited for the business and annoyed he didn’t think of it first.
Most importantly Olly is looking for the people at the heart of these innovative and exciting businesses that have the drive and ambition to succeed.
Joseph Gosling
Commercial contracts lawyer,
Mills & Reeve
Joseph has over 10 years’ legal experience specialising in helping tech companies navigate complex legal landscapes, ensuring they have solid contracts and agreements in place.
Joseph joined Top Tech as a mentor to empower local tech companies with the knowledge, tools and support that they need to protect their innovations and grow their businesses.
Emma Wilson
Corporate lawyer, Mills & Reeve
Emma is a corporate lawyer at Mills & Reeve LLP, with experience working a range of technology businesses. Emma works on a range of matters including helping early start ups get corporate governance documents in place, as well as supporting during the life of a business be that on buybacks, share issues or re structures and acquisitions and sales. Emma really enjoys getting to know businesses and their strategies for growth and working with them to realise those goals.
Emma is incredibly excited to see the Top Tech programme starting and is looking forward hearing more about the innovative technology businesses in Leeds.
Meet our supporters
Zandra Moore
CEO, Panintelligence
Zandra is a tech entrepreneur, co-founder and CEO of Panintelligence. She is passionate about enabling more women in the tech industry, improving gender equality and increasing investment in businesses founded by fellow female entrepreneurs. Zandra’s unwavering energy has led to the creation of LeanIn Leeds, The No Code Lab and the Yorkshire Growth Tech Group, all with the focus of supporting and championing female representation in the tech industry.
As a supporter of the Top Tech Yorkshire programme, Zandra will use her local and national networks and connections into the tech and investment community to help drive more regional support for diverse founders
Sarah Tulip
CGO, Conquer Technology
Sarah is multi award winning and has previously held a number of COO roles within fast growth technology businesses and operated in senior roles for some of the most highly regarded consultancies in the world including EY and Cognizant.
She is passionate about equality and is also the founder of WILD Digital, which is a 2500 member+ Northern community led initiative, focussed on both creating and highlighting activity that encourages minority groups to consider choosing a career in digital and empowering people from diverse backgrounds to have the confidence and skills to strive for senior roles.
She is the Digital Ambassador for the city of Leeds where she chairs the Leeds Digital Board & Leeds Digital Forum where she can guide on the digital ecosystem and use her expertise to support and ensure the city is the most inclusive and best place to be a digital business.
Matthew Lawrence
CEO and Chairman, Skuup
A veteran of the digital tech sector, Matthew has served the likes of Nike, Audi, Aviva, McDonald’s, Adidas, NatWest and AstraZeneca. A former executive director at 3 of the “big five” global digital marketing agencies (WPP, Publicis Groupe, Interpublic Group), he continues to invest in both established and start-up enterprises primarily in the UK, USA and UAE. He brings strong academic credentials culminating in an MSc in Change Management and business transformation, as well as an award winning track record delivering innovative solutions within large corporates and fledgling start-ups.
Matthew also understands the real world challenges facing enterprises today including how to fail in this highly charged and contested environment.