The final speakers have been unveiled for BusinessCloud’s FUEL Manchester 2025 event on 9th October.
Chris Hill, CEO of listed tech training provider Northcoders, will join Lifted Ventures co-founder Helen Oldham, Janine Smith, director of GM Business Growth Hub, and Generative AI expert Billy Gilchrist on the breakfast panel of the ground-breaking event at No.1 Circle Square, Oxford Road.
FUEL Manchester is an innovative event created to fuel business growth for promising startups and scaleups.
It’s two events in one, beginning with a whistle-stop discussion of some of the big questions facing businesses and finishing with a series of exclusive, invite-only masterclasses for a cohort of exciting companies.
The event is supported by GM Business Growth Hub, Bruntwood SciTech and S&W.
Register for breakfast panel & networking
Hill, who featured on our Northern Leaders Futures list in 2024, took Northcoders through an IPO in 2021. The firm provides coding bootcamps among other services and its graduates have gone on to build careers with the likes of the BBC, Kraken, Sykes Cottages and Debenhams.
Oldham, who was included on the main Northern Leaders list, launched angel network Lifted Ventures with Jordan Dargue in early 2024 to increase the flow of early stage capital to female founders. Oldham was previously a founding board director of NorthInvest and a founding trustee of the Smart Works Leeds charity, which supports women back into employment.
Smith has served as director of GM Business Growth Hub since 2021 and been integral to its growth over the last 12 years. On the ground in all 10 local authority areas in Greater Manchester and providing services across funding, innovation, sustainability, people and sales, it is considered one of the most effective business support organisations in the country.
Gilchrist is a business innovation advisor at Hopwood Hall College in Rochdale and provides practical training in GenAI tools such as ChatGPT across Greater Manchester.
FUEL Manchester 2025 will be chaired by award-winning executive editor Chris Maguire.
Companies interested in joining the cohort for the masterclasses – which span funding, growth planning, people & performance and technology – can contact editor Jonathan Symcox here. There are a total of 25 spaces available and they are filling up rapidly.
Bruntwood SciTech is the UK’s leading developer of city-wide innovation ecosystems, specialising in environments and workspaces that empower science, tech and innovative companies to form, scale, and grow. Its network connects the UK’s most ambitious cities, regions and innovation communities through collaboration and a unique public, private, academic, clinical partner network.
S&W supports fast-growing businesses and founders helping them disrupt and dominate their sectors, with comprehensive services across accountancy, tax and advisory services. It helps navigate complexities and unlock opportunities across every stage of business with award winning services and advice.