London Tech Week to feature Jack Dorsey and UK health secretary Hancock

London Tech Week, which runs from 1–11 September, will welcome speakers including Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Secretary of State for Health Matt Hancock. The event, which is organised by UK-based company Informa Tech, will be fully virtual this year due to restrictions surrounding Covid-19. Other high-profile speakers at the tech showcase will include Oliver Dowden, secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport (DCMS) and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. 2020’s event will look at the impact of the technology ecosystem on key issues including health, education, security, the future of work and the socio-economic inclusion of women, BAME and under-represented groups. Gerry Grimstone, UK minister for Investment, said: “Tech is playing an ever increasing role in all sectors, demonstrated in the UK’s great tech story, where opportunities for investors and UK businesses looking to export in sectors like healthcare, finance and education continue to grow. “And we want this to continue. As we strike trade deals around the world, we will work with trading partners to set global standards and create cutting-edge provisions in key policy areas like AI, data and digital to make it easier for businesses to trade. “The next two weeks are a real celebration of all that London and the whole of the UK has to offer and I look forward to seeing how the many events, discussions and meetings become commercial opportunities at home and abroad for tech firms in the UK.” Sreeram Visvanathan, chief executive of IBM UK and Ireland, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has been a turning point for many organisations. The experience of lockdown has emphasised the criticality of areas including remote working, business agility, digital customer engagement, and supply chain continuity. “Seizing this imminent opportunity to drive change requires making the right IT architecture choices now, accelerating disruption and embarking on a journey towards an open and secure cloud architecture to drive greater digital transformation. London Tech Week will provide an essential forum for starting these collaborations and conversations in such unprecedented times.”