London Tech Leaders is an exclusive networking event for leaders within the Technology space, CTO’s, CIO’s and Heads of Digital Transformation. It is purely a networking platform for key players in the Tech space, which as a co-organiser is great to bring together groups such as this.
Our 12th London Tech Leaders event we had on the 9th February was my 2nd one, and what an evening it was! It was our biggest one yet, with a packed out event room to watch our excellent panel deliver talks on all things Product and Product Management. It was great to see representatives and product management experts from some fantastic organisations in an environment where everyone can relax and enjoy some drinks and food in likeminded company. We held this event at our previous office’s rooftop bar, The Deck, situated nicely between Monument and Tower Hill, which brings with it not just an excellent venue for hospitality but also stunning views of the City!
As times and culture have changed in the last few years, everyone has had to adapt to a primarily digital-first way of working, with many elements being dominated by Zoom and Teams for example. And where I absolutely see the value of it, it cannot be understated the power of face-to-face networking, and our London Tech Leaders event brought just that. Having circa 120 Technology Leaders in the same room allowed for some excellent conversation and great ideas to be shared, which when purely virtual does not come as naturally. One of the great aspects of the event is the Q&A after the panel finishes. Hearing from experts in the field ask insightful, relevant questions (many leaning on their own personal experience in said field), and getting immediate answers from these experts, it brings a whole new element that you just can’t get from normal business development or your own personal research. Of course it is easier said than done to do so, as more and more these days it’s a challenge in itself finding a gap in someone’s diary, but it is a great sense of achievement bringing groups like this together. It is also great to put a face to the name, with many of the people in attendance I have only previously spoken to over the phone. With that in mind one of the main concerns is not spilling a drink down my shirt!
With the theme of this event being Product and Product Management, it was great to see an audience tailored more towards this expertise, with some insightful conversations being had with attendees ranging from Chief Product Officers to Product Development Managers (a great overview here of what makes a successful Product Manager). As someone with little previous experience within the Product-sphere I should say, it was interesting to hear how many bumps there are on the road to launch of a tech product, and the constant, almost never ending updates and tweaks needed once it has officially been launched! And even in some unfortunate occasions, despite all the work that is put into it, sometimes a product will fail after launch. Again the benefit of London Tech Leaders from my personal view is that it is all well and good doing research online, reading articles and trying to learn all you can to become that subject matter expert, but nothing can beat in person conversation from actual experts in their field, as well as engaging and insightful questions from an audience of like minded peers.
With it being our 12th event in 3 years, it is fantastic to see it grow from strength to strength, even in the limited time I’ve been a part of it! One of the main responsibilities in my role is effectively selling the event, getting the name out there and inviting some excellent individuals, so it is great to hear people already knowing about the event through word of mouth or have seen it online or through LinkedIn when I discuss it with them. From it’s humble beginnings nearly 4 years ago to now, it’s awesome to see how much it has developed into it’s own entity. We may not be hiring out Wembley just yet, but (hopefully) sooner rather than later!
Our most recent LTL was the 13th event, centred around Building Solutions, in early May where we raised a glass to another successful event with some great people! We had a stellar lineup for our panel, with speakers from the likes of Compare The Market and OVO Energy to name a couple, generously held at Funding Circle’s office, as well as having our first sponsors with Zuhlke, so onwards and upwards for May!
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