3 weeks, 4 days ago
SXSW: London Calling
Entrepreneurs, Innovators, and Investors of the World – This is London Calling.
London and Austin might be almost 5,000 miles apart, but these two global innovation ecosystems share a lot of common ground – and Here East is harnessing its transatlantic convening power to build a bridge between them.
Last year, we celebrated ten years since our first trip to SXSW Austin by hosting our first exclusive ‘London Calling’ event – strengthening ties with the US while showcasing London on the world stage. This month, we visited Texas once again to host a second edition exploring where pioneering ideas meet business opportunities.
We hosted it alongside London & Partners – the leading organisation working to grow London's global reputation, and Oury Clark – a professional services specialist with expertise in helping international companies launch in London.
Bringing innovative businesses, founders and investors together to explore opportunities in London, we convened hundreds of ecosystem stakeholders from both the US and the UK to hear from the following speakers:
- Gavin Poole, CEO of Here East
- Stephen Feline, Director of North America at London & Partners
- Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester
- Jane Nelson, Texas Secretary of State
- Carol Chan, Founder at Comms8 and InfluenConnect™
- Duke DuQuesnay, Co-Founder & CRO at Synapse Virtual Production
- John Smolen, Sales, Marketing and Customer Success at Atmosphere TV
- Jemma Hotta, Partner at Oury Clark
- Cristina Pimentel, Director - New Digital Business and Innovation at Universal Music Group
The speakers shared insights across three discussions that punctuated the lively networking reception. Together they offered insights and transatlantic success stories from across the UK and USA business ecosystems – discussing London as a leading global hub for business, technology, financial services, creativity, and climate, and highlighting the city’s strong international partnerships and connections to Texas and beyond.
Here East travels to SXSW each year to discuss the benefits of collaboration and innovation, connecting with like-minded people and businesses who we’d like to join our ecosystem. As Gavin puts it:
“We want to learn, and find out what’s happening in 5, 10, 15 years, because it helps us plan for the types of spaces and types of amenities that businesses are going to need and be prepared for them before they arrive.”
Against the backdrop of the London Mayor releasing his ambitious “London Growth Plan” and with the countdown officially on until SXSW lands in London this summer – this event was a fantastic opportunity to reinforce London and Austin’s transatlantic connection and showcase all that our capital has to offer to the international business community. Thank you to everyone who joined us! Watch our recap video to find out more about our trip to SXSW.
