AN INFLUENTIAL line-up of keynote speakers has been announced for Venturefest Yorkshire.

The theme for this year’s event on November 16 at York Racecourse is Creative Crossover, and innovators, investors and entrepreneurs will meet to network and do business.

Organised by Make It York and sponsored by Innovate UK, the line-up of speakers will speakers will include Tim Leigh, sales at marketing director at Tockwith-based Stage One, which designed and produced the 2012 London Olympics cauldron. Audiences will be able to hear first-hand from Mr Leigh about this company’s extraordinary journey.

Speakers will include serial entrepreneurs, business people who have started from scratch and quickly made millions through their opportunistic attitude and relentless determination, and some of the UK’s leading innovative minds.

Sharing expertise with the audience will be Matthew Taylor, head of RSA - Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. He will talk about creative crossover and the value to non-creative businesses of thinking and behaving in a more creative way.

Pip Jamieson, founder and chief executive of The Dots, a professional networking platform, will discuss her creative business development journey setting up in Australia and then expanding the model to the UK.

The founder of FabLab London, Tony Fish, will focus on his recently opened Green FabLab and the FabLab movement in general.

Kate Russell, technology reporter BBC Click and author, will present on the future of technology. She has been writing about technology and the internet since 1995. Appearing regularly on BBC technology programme Click, she is also a partnered Twitch Streamer and speaks at conferences and lectures in schools and universities inspiring the next generation of technologists.

Completing the line-up will be Sir Eric Peacock, serial entrepreneur, who was knighted in 2003 for his services to international trade, and Kevin Baughan, Innovate UK director of innovation.

In addition to keynote speakers, workshops and panel debates, Venturefest Yorkshire will offer delegates the chance to view and test the products and services at the cutting-edge of Yorkshire’s business scene, discovering some of the best people and investment opportunities the region has to offer.

Make It York said delegates could also expect an environment that blends businesses of all sizes from start-up, growth, SME and corporate together with universities, government bodies, investors, consultants and representatives from professional services, with a view to connecting delegates with like-minded visionaries to share knowledge, ideas and networks.

The purpose of Venturefest Yorkshire is to support the region's innovators to develop their ideas into businesses, entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and seize new opportunities and for investors to connect with those who are seeking investment. The event is also designed to encourage collaboration, to inspire and entertain and to enable people who would not normally be in a room together to connect and find mutual benefits.

Heather Niven, head of Science City York, said: “This is a top quality line-up of speakers; all experts in their field and all of whom can convey real examples of Creative Crossover in action.

"Audiences will hear about futuristic predictions, stories of thinking creatively to solve business challenges, and a rich lively presentation of insights, lessons learned and the best and worst of developing a business.”

Venturefest Yorkshire falls in York Business Week, and is the day before The Press Business Awards, on November 17. For information about Venturefest, visit venturefestyorkshire.net or email enquiries@venturefestyorkshire.net

Venturefest Yorkshire's sponsors are:

Hiscox

SKY

British Business Bank / Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund

Santander

Ice Cubed Capital

Garbutt & Elliott

Complete Resourcing

University of York