Salford technology and enterprise hub The Landing has appointed a head of programmes and partnerships as it looks to drive its next phase of growth.
Maya Dibley will be responsible for the business support programme, tenant liaison and relationships with key partners as The Landing improves its already world-class technology and lab facilities.
These will become available to external businesses for the first time with the development of a range of flexible and short-term business membership options.
Dibley is joined by digital entrepreneur and technology consultant Dan Sodegren, who will work on engaging with North West businesses on a part-time basis.
His focus will be scale-ups and fast growing SMEs within the health tech, VR and IoT sectors.
Both will work closely at MediaCityUK – which recently had £1 billion plans to double in size green-lit by the local council – alongside The Landing CEO Jon Corner.
“To help The Landing deliver the step-change required to meet demands of industry we needed to find some high-calibre individuals who really understand the needs of business and entrepreneurs,” Corner said.
“In Maya and Dan we have achieved this.
“I am very excited about what the next 12 months has in store for The Landing itself, our tenants and the businesses we will be helping to grow.”
Corner told a BusinessCloud event focused on the Northern Powerhouse this summer that his WIFE was responsible for his involvement in the UK’s first purpose-built digital school in Salford.
Dibley joins from international media corporation Hearst, where she worked across product development and brand management for online publications including Company, Sugarscape and Cosmopolitan.
“It’s a fantastic time to be joining The Landing as it is about to enter a major new phase in its evolution to address the rapidly changing needs of the sector,” she said.
“This includes installing next generation technology specifically geared towards emerging sectors such as health tech, virtual reality and IoT, and we are reshaping the internal fabric of the building to create work spaces where collaboration will be able to truly flourish.”
Sodegren added: “My role is primarily to look at how we can offer fast growing businesses easy and cost-effective access to the tools, testing environments and professional support required to commercialise ideas and get them to market quickly.
“What’s been really great about the project so far is that the feedback we’re getting from people at the frontline of tech and enterprise, regarding what they want and need, is directly shaping The Landing’s new direction.”
It is anticipated that the first phase of The Landing’s redevelopment will be complete by mid-autumn.