Line-up for Venturefest Yorkshire revealed

FORMER Sheffield Wednesday chairman and PlusNet entrepreneur Lee Strafford has been announced as keynote speaker for this year’s Venturefest Yorkshire.

As co-founder and CEO of internet services provider PlusNet, Mr Strafford took the company from seven to more than 200 employees over 10 years, eventually selling the business to BT for £67m. He is a founding member of the TechCityUK cluster alliance, supporting the growth of digital business activity across Yorkshire and The Humber.

This year’s Venturefest programme will also feature a session on strategic Digital marketing from David Norris, head of leadership, accounting and marketing at York St John University.

Andy Green, a leading international brand expert will speak about what makes great PR, and communications expert Dominic Colenso will give a seminar on ‘Perfecting Your Pitch’.

Entrepreneur Rowena Johnson, whose unique infant toothbrush BugBrush is retailing at all 65 JoJo Maman Bébé stores from this week, will also be speaking at the event on March 12.

Now in its 12th year, Venturefest Yorkshire is expected to attract up to 1,500 investors, entrepreneurs and students working in the science and technology sectors.