Leeds to host first Digital Leaders 100 Awards ceremony outside London

• Leeds will be the first city outside London to host the Digital Leaders 100 Awards, after naming Yorkshire as a leading UK digital hub
• The awards ceremony will celebrate the teams and individuals who are pioneering change in the UK’s digital transformation.
• The ceremony at the Royal Armouries will include a speech from the director general of Leeds’ DWP digital hub, Rich Corbridge

Leeds will be welcoming Digital Leaders to the city this month, as they host the 11th Digital Leaders 100 Awards, which will be the very first ceremony held outside of London.

Having launched in 2010, Digital Leaders is a nationwide programme dedicated to the UK’s digital transformation through government, charities and industry. Each year Digital Leaders invites its 200,000 strong members from its community to nominate individuals for the Digital Leaders list. A shortlist across 12 digital-focused categories is then created by 21 Digital Leader approved judges, which is then published and opened up to a public vote.

This year at an event at Leeds Central Library, Digital Leaders confirmed that Yorkshire is becoming one of the UK’s digital hubs with an extensive list of regional finalists announced. These include:

• Yemetech: Community Data Platform (Bradford) – AI&Data Initiative of the Year
• Rashik Parmar, Group CEO, BCS (Leeds) – Digital Leader of the Year
• The Environment Agency: Safeguarding the Flood Warning Service (York) – Digital public service innovation of the year
• Good Things Foundation: Learn My Way, (Sheffield) – Digital skills or talent initiative of the year
• The Data City (Leeds) – Digital SME of the year
• MiToken Technology: citizen.tech (Sheffield) – EmergingTech Initiative of the year
• Giulia Carleton, IT Project Manager, GWD (Sheffield) – Young Digital Leader of the year
• Subhash Chatterjee, Managing Director, One SC Media Ltd (Hull) – Young Digital Leader of the year

On June 22nd, the influencers, innovators and finalists will gather at the Royal Armouries in Leeds for an evening of awards celebrations, networking and entertainment. Alongside the highly-anticipated announcement of this year’s winners, the evening will also boast a welcome speech from Leeds-based innovative telecommunications operator, AQL, CEO, Professor Adam Beaumont, who is also a visiting lecturer of cyber security at the University of Leeds.

Following the awards, Rich Corbridge who is the general director for DWP, which has one of its seven digital hubs based in Leeds, will deliver the dinner address.

Digital Leaders moving out of London and into Leeds for this year’s awards is testimony to the city’s ever-growing digital sector. Leeds is a driving force in areas such as creative media, data analytics, cyber security, fintech, health and education technologies.

Not only has Channel 4 recently joined SkyBet in Leeds, but the largest tech event in the UK, Leeds Digital Festival is now heading into its 8th year, and most recently a government-backed national hub for fintech was formally launched in an exclusive event in the city in February 2023.

Robin Knowles, Founder & CEO of Digital Leaders, said: “We’re really excited to be bringing the 11th Digital Leaders 100 Awards ceremony to Leeds this year.

“Our vast community of Digital Leaders have shone a light on more than 400 of the nation’s individuals contributing to digital transformation with a particular focus upon many in Yorkshire.

“By hosting the ceremony outside of London for the first time in its 11 years is a recognition of the growing digital sector outside of the capital, and a nod to the work Leeds is doing to become the UK’s northern digital hub. We look forward to announcing the award winners at the Royal Armouries on 22 June.”

Claire Heap, Head of Conference Leeds commented: “We’re thrilled to be welcoming the Digital Leaders community and its award finalists to the Royal Armouries this month.

“As a city, we’re proud to be the fastest growing digital economy outside of London and home to some of the best and most innovative businesses of the digital age, which is why Leeds is the perfect place for Digital Leaders to host its award ceremony outside of London for the first time.”

Conference Leeds, the conferencing bureau for the city of Leeds, offers a free and impartial service to assist delegates in experiencing the exceptional. To explore your options ahead of your next conference, visit: www.conferenceleeds.co.uk/enquire/

To find out more, visit: https://digileaders100.com/awards-ceremony

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

Leeds is acknowledged as the Best UK Conference Destination (2020 C&IT Awards) and in 2021, hosted 20,000 conferences that welcomed one million delegates and generated £138 million (UKCAMS). Leeds’ visitor economy was also worth £1.45 billion in 2021 as the city welcomed 20.28 million tourism visits that year (STEAM).

Winners of the Best Destination Team at the miaList Awards 2021, Conference Leeds offer tailored conference propositions designed to delight and surprise. Offering a dedicated planning team, from venues and accommodation to catering and logistics, Conference Leeds works through every stage and detail to deliver an event like no other. For more information visit https://www.conferenceleeds.co.uk