The Embassy of the Republic of Poland, 47 Portland Pl, Marylebone, London, W1B 1JH
THE 3rd
BRITISH - POLISH
IT FORUM 2021
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Why should you join British-Polish IT Forum?
The world is facing an acute shortage of skilled IT workers to drive forward a tech-based economic recovery. For the UK, already lacking in around 800,000 programmers, developers, engineers and computer scientists, the problem is made worse by the ending of freedom of movement from the EU.
At the same time, Poland’s tech sector is developing rapidly, driven by inward investment, multinational corporations’ IT hubs and a vigorous start-up scene. The UK is seen by ambitious Polish tech firms as an excellent springboard to global growth, providing an excellent opportunity for the Polish-British partnership to share knowledge, drive innovation and find technological solutions to global problems.
This event, bringing together tech buyers, vendors and outsourcing companies interested in exploring the potential of the British- Polish IT partnership and co-operation IT.
Networking
Great Speakers
New People
Information
LISTEN TO THE Event Speakers
Agnieszka Kowalska
Chargé d’Affaires a.i. at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in London
Agnieszka Kowalska
Chargé d’Affaires a.i. at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in London
Chargé d’Affaires a.i. at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in London (since July 2021). Before that, she was the Deputy Head of Mission and Head of the Political Section at the Embassy. Prior to her posting to London in 2017, she was the Deputy Director for Political and Institutional Development of the EU at the European Politic Department of Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2014-2017) and the Department’s Head of Unit for Political and Institutional Development of the EU (2008-2014). Prior to this, she worked as the 3rd Secretary at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland to Ljubljana. She is a graduate of Warsaw’s National School of Public Administration (civil servant), the Humboldt University in Berlin (international relations) and the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland (sociology).
Dr Chris Moore
Technology Sector Specialist at the UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT)
Dr Chris Moore
Technology Sector Specialist at the UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT)
Chris is a Technology Sector Specialist at the UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT), working in the Technology and Smart Cities Team. In this role, he assists technology companies to establish a presence in the UK, and UK tech companies to do trade overseas. Chris covers the Software sector, with interests in artificial intelligence, data analytics, cloud computing, blockchain, data centres, and cyber security. He has also been engaged with the development of the UK’s National AI Strategy, working closely with the Office for AI.
Prior to this role, he spent nearly two years working in the Tech City Investment Organisation, where he assisted technology companies based outside of the UK to set-up in London’s Tech City (Silicon Roundabout). Chris was also the Programme Architect for the Global Graduate Entrepreneurs (Sirius) Programme, which brought global entrepreneurial talent to set up new businesses in the UK.
Chris has over 25 years industry experience in research, technology development management, manufacturing and marketing in the USA and Europe. He has experience covering knowledge transfer, innovation, Intellectual Property assessment, engagement with early-stage companies, the VC community and developing routes to market.
Lukasz Grabowski
Deputy Director, Centre for Exports, Polish Investment and Trade Agency
Lukasz Grabowski
Deputy Director, Centre for Exports, Polish Investment and Trade Agency
Łukasz graduated from Warsaw School of Economics with a degree in international economic relations. He is the winner of the DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) scholarship at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. He is the alumnus of the first edition of the Energy Academy organized by the 2065 Foundation Lesław A. Paga. He has gained professional experience working, among others at Polish Oil and Gas Company, Deutsche Bank Headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, PwC Office in Warsaw, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway in Warsaw and STTAS, a UPS company, an advisory and consulting company in the area of international trade.
Since March 2019, Łukasz has been supporting Polish entrepreneurs planning to internationalize their activities and safely enter foreign markets.
Michael Dembinski
Chief Adviser, British Polish Chamber of Commerce
Michael Dembinski
Chief Adviser, British Polish Chamber of Commerce
Excellent cross-cultural skills and contacts in the British-Polish space. Can sort out your communications issues. Born and educated in the UK of Polish parents, lived and worked in Poland since 1997.
Will do stuff for free for paid-up members of the British Polish Chamber of Commerce. Non-members charged commercial consultancy fees.
Andrzej Krężel
Counsellor, Head of Economic Section, Embassy of the Republic of Poland
Andrzej Krężel
Counsellor, Head of Economic Section, Embassy of the Republic of Poland
Academic Teacher of English
Spokesman for the Board of Aldermen - Municipality of Glogow
Head of Foreign Cooperation and Promotion Municipality of Glogow, in charge of international cooperation across Europe, with sister-cities in the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and UK.
Promotion of cultural events - Andreas Gryphius Prize with Kunslergilde Essilngen and Ministerium des Innern, NordRhein-Westfalen, Germany,
Vice-Consul, Polish Consulate General in London, UK, Promotion of Polish Culture and Scientific Cooperation, Polish Community Projects,
Head of Europen Integration Office Municipality of Glogow, Organization of European Referendum,
Consul for the Polish Community Affairs, Consulate General of Poland in Toronto, Promotion of Polish Culture, Science,
Head of the Economic Development Department, Municipality of Głogów.
Head of the Trade and Investment Promotion Section of the Embassy of Poland in Johannesburg, South Africa. Currently, Head of the Economic Development Department, Municipality of Glogow, Lower Silesia.
Justyna Lipczynska
Regional Manager in Export Centre at the Polish Investment and Trade Agency
Justyna Lipczynska
Regional Manager in Export Centre at the Polish Investment and Trade Agency
Experienced specialist skilled in organizational development, event coordinating, communication and digital marketing, customer service with problem-solving attitude and multitasking ability.
Dr. Peter Dirken
Programme Manager - Global Innovation Missions & Lead for Australia, New Zealand & the Netherlands at Innovate UK (part of UK Research & Innovation)
Dr. Peter Dirken
Programme Manager - Global Innovation Missions & Lead for Australia, New Zealand & the Netherlands at Innovate UK (part of UK Research & Innovation)
I have always been interested in all things science and innovation. From a degree in Geochemistry to a Ph.D. in NMR spectroscopy to working for some of the UK’s most successful engineering companies, and now the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, science and innovation has always been at the heart of what I do. At home I read up on human genetics or the origins of the cosmos…. It is the application of science and the impact on the UK economy and our society and environment though, not just science for the sake of science, that has driven my career. I was responsible for the product development portfolio of one of Johnson Matthey’s operating businesses in Germany, working out of JM’s R&D centre near Oxford. I left to manage a large portfolio of Ultra Low Temperature research instrument projects for Oxford Instruments and saw first-hand how one area of science (cryogenics) was being applied to grow one of the most amazing and successful UK technology companies. I then spent four years working in an engineering role at JET in Culham, still the world’s largest nuclear fusion facility. This largely private sector technology and innovation background was a perfect basis for a career with Innovate UK, the government backed agency in the UK tasked with supporting businesses innovation. I managed the Knowledge Transfer Network programme for a number of years. I am now part of the Global Team in Innovate UK and manage Innovate UK’s Global Missions Programme, which helps UK businesses across sectors to connect with the best of global innovation. As part of this programme, Innovate UK takes innovative UK SMEs overseas to deliver bespoke programmes with international partners to create innovation partnerships that work for both countries. I am also responsible for maintaining and growing our innovation partnerships with Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands (my country of birth).
Robert Strzelecki
Chief Executive Officer at TenderHut
Robert Strzelecki
Chief Executive Officer at TenderHut
A graduate of the Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology. He has been involved in the IT industry for over 15 years, which results in participation in over 100 completed projects, both Polish and international (Primark, iAlbatros, Commerzbank, DIMO Gestion). The projects were carried out for both the commercial and public sectors. He has experience as both a supplier and recipient of IT services and systems. This knowledge allows him to help, audit and evaluate start-ups, IT projects and other business ventures.
Chris Jones
Managing Director, PSE Consulting
Chris Jones
Managing Director, PSE Consulting
Chris runs PSE Consulting and talks widely about sources of innovation within the payments industry. He has spent the last 15+ years leading projects for major clients across the payments value chain and has delivered projects in the areas of customer proposition development, market entry strategies and enterprise value creation. More recently Chris has utilised his background in supporting payments infrastructure providers to bring new perspectives to global digital merchants.
Marzena Kwasna
Representative of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency [PAIH]
Marzena Kwasna
Representative of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency [PAIH]
Prince 2 Practitioner, Certified Project Manager, ACCA, SAP FI Certified Consultant, Certified Stockbroker, Master of Business and Administration
Kieron Scrutton
Kieron Scrutton, Vice President GSK Commercial Channels and Technology, based in London
Kieron Scrutton
Kieron Scrutton, Vice President GSK Commercial Channels and Technology, based in London
Kieron joined GlaxoSmithKline more than 20 years ago and has worked across its R&D, Manufacturing, and Commercial businesses in variety of Tech roles. Today he has a team of more than 150 engineers based in Poland who manage all of the leading edge cloud-based technologies used by 30,000 GSK staff across almost 100 countries in the sales, digital marketing, and customer service teams. Kieron first recruited tech engineers in Poland in 2005 and over time has built a team in Poznań of increasing size, technical capability, and seniority. In 2021 he announced a further expansion of the team
Marc Burrage
Managing Director at Hays Poland
Marc Burrage
Managing Director at Hays Poland
Charismatic leader with over 20 years of experience in the staffing and recruiting industry and passionate about Equity, Diversity & Inclusion. Marc has previously managed businesses in the UK, Australia, NZ, Japan, China, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Malaysia and India. At Hays since 2011 and Managing Director for Hays Poland since 2019, where he has been leading and successfully growing the business to become the number one agency on the Polish white-collar recruitment market. Prior to working in the recruitment industry Marc held various sales and marketing management positions in the automotive industry.
Bob Poole
Chief Sales Officer - TenderHut
Bob Poole
Chief Sales Officer - TenderHut
Bob has over thirty years of software sales experience across a wide range of industries and holds a degree in Applied Chemistry.
During his 21 years at his previous company, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Bob held various sales positions within the Informatics business unit from UK Account Manager, Global Strategic Account Manager, EMEA Sales Director and most recently Global Sales Director working with major customers serving the pharmaceutical, oil & gas, food & beverage and forensics industries.
Bob lives in Cheshire in the United Kingdom and is married with two grown up sons. His interest include travel, supporting Everton football club and DIY.
Graham Fell
Executive Vice President, US, EMEA at FlexDev
Graham Fell
Executive Vice President, US, EMEA at FlexDev
Graham Fell is the Executive Vice President for FlexDev for the US and EMEA and Head of Diversity and Inclusion [D&I]. At FlexDev, Graham is responsible for building out the Next Generation Delivery Center Concept (NGDC+), for marketing, and building out FlexDev’ s go-to-market strategy and partner ecosystem. He regularly participates in discussions and think tank forums to discuss the future of outsourcing. Graham is involved in talks to promote the BSS/SSC/ITO sector in Poland and engages in forums and debates around IT and Finance, BPO outsourcing and the current technology trends in IT. He has a master’s degree in marketing and commercial strategy from the Sorbonne University in Paris and an MBA from the London School of Economics and Political Science
Andrzej Wytyczak-Partyka
Co-founder at CodeWave
Andrzej Wytyczak-Partyka
Co-founder at CodeWave
Andrew is the leader of CodeWave - a Polish software development company, specialized in cloud-based software solutions that help their customers drive their business in a cost-effective and future-proof way. In his 20+ of experience as a software engineer and architect Andrew has built multiple global-scale products for the company's international client portfolio - including Fortune 500 companies as well as start-ups. Since the company's incorporation in 2008 Andrew's main goal was to build a team of like-minded people oriented on personal excellence, transparent communication and project outcomes, which allowed the company to succeed in a difficult global market.
Matthew Weaver
Objectivity
Matthew Weaver
Objectivity
I’ve worked in the IT industry for the last 25 years with more than half that time in my current role as Consultancy Director at Objectivity. I helped to build our Polish delivery centre back in 2005 and I’ve met some exceptionally talented people that share similar views and ambitions to my own. I realise now that building great software starts by building great teams – Poland has been instrumental in allowing us to do this. I spend my spare time learning how little I know about my passion for photography. And when the weather doesn’t permit, you’ll find me coding solutions to interesting problems.
Andrew Ingle-Finch
Finance and Corporate Development at RedCompass
Andrew Ingle-Finch
Finance and Corporate Development at RedCompass
With over 15 years of experience, he brings a wealth of experience developed across the financial and professional services to lead all aspects of financial analysis and growth at RedCompass. He has played a pivotal role in the establishment and growth of RedCompass Poland from idea to functioning entity.
Andrew Radcliffe
Managing Director, Spyrosoft Ltd Co-Founder & Supervisory Board Member, Spyrosoft SA
Andrew Radcliffe
Managing Director, Spyrosoft Ltd Co-Founder & Supervisory Board Member, Spyrosoft SA
Andrew Radcliffe BSc MSc is a technology
entrepreneur and leader with extensive software
development experience in international markets.
Andrew has been instrumental in leading the
delivery of digital technologies using DevOps
approaches and Agile behaviours into numerous
companies internationally. Having over 30 years'
experience in software engineering and working
within Government, Telecommunications, Corporate
Real Estate, Aerospace and Legal within the UK, USA,
Sweden, Poland and Austria.
Formally an Advisor to the Group CTO at Ministry of
Housing, Communities and Local Government;
previously CTO at Benefex, the award-winning
employee benefits, reward, recognition and
communications software company.
Previously, Andrew was Head of Development at
Ordnance Survey, the National Mapping Authority of
Great Britain, responsible for technology delivery and
operation. Andrew lead the Agile/DevOps
transformation whilst building a new Digital Engineering
capability. Consisting of core Digital platforms and
infrastructure that enabled product, service and
content creation, as well as APIs used to construct new
consumer mobile and web applications, eCommerce
platforms and National Resilience portals. Also
previously a Visiting Fellow to the Faculty of Science &
Technology at Bournemouth University.
Using the same successful methods proven at Ordnance
Survey, Andrew co-founded Spyrosoft. The Spyrosoft
goal is to enable customers to experience high quality
outsourced Agile software development and
operational services by way of a fully transparent
partnership.
Also, an advisor to companies and speaker at Cranfield
School of Management on IT Leadership & Digital
Transformation topics.
Andrew is married with three children and lives in
Dorset. When he is not working Andrew has a passion
for golf and is a low handicap player
Wojciech Wencel
CEO & founder at Summ-it
Wojciech Wencel
CEO & founder at Summ-it
Experienced Service and Project Manager, managed changes and implemented innovative IT solutions. Wojciech focusing primarily on data security and scalability. He managed a service of 9500 databases hosted around the world in follow the sun model.
Currently, he leads an organization providing database systems and Business Intelligence solutions for clients from banking, retail, production and public sectors. Systems implemented and supported by summ-it process large volumes of data, often sensitive.
Summ-it provides solutions related to database administration and maintenance, as well as the data warehouses solutions which allow reporting the state of processes in organizations. Strong specialization allows the company to process orders not only in Poland, but also on foreign markets.
Wiktor Rybicki
ShopRank
Wiktor Rybicki
ShopRank
Left the snowy Kraków to stay in Tías, Spain for a few weeks! Fan of sports and creating with amazing people projects in the space of social problems, business psychology, value-oriented management. Traveling is not like a super big burden for me either. Attack player with Kraków Lacrosse Kings 🥍
Formerly Venture Capitalist (Senior/Chief Analyst) at a European VC firm for early-stage B2B software companies, Innovation Nest. Earlier engaged at McKinsey & Company Warsaw as a management consultant, at the US Congress working with Congressman Daniel Lipinski, at Morgan Stanley London, and at a New York's global investment banking firm Cap-M Advisors.
MSc Finance and Economics graduate from Bocconi Milan, thesis "Chinese Imports, Inequality and Political Polarisation in Europe". BEng in Computer Science from AGH Kraków, th. "Voice-controlled Mobile Robots Android App".
During university times Polish delegate to the European Youth Parliament (Committee on Constitutional Affairs) and National Model United Nations (Washington, DC).
Interested in Integrative Medicine (Western Medicine + Traditional Chinese Medicine).
GET EXPERIENCE
How to source Tech Talent - linking the British and Polish experience
SPONSORS AND ATTENDEES
Agenda
-
09:00
Registration
Please bring your ID.
-
09:30
Agnieszka Kowalska
Welcome and opening - The Embassy of the Republic of Poland in London.
-
09:45
Lukasz Grabowski
Presentation
Current trends and development of the IT market in Poland - Polish Investment and Trade Agency
-
10:00
Marc Burrage
Presentation
Finding tech talent and location for IT investment - Hays Poland
-
10:15
Graham Fell
Presentation
Why Next, the UK’s largest fashion retailer, chose Poland as the location for developing its mission-critical IT centre - FlexDev
-
10:30
Michael Dembinski
Panel discussion
British managers describe their experience of working with the tech sector in Poland.
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11:10
Coffee break and networking [Live-streaming Interviews]
-
11:30
Dr. Peter Dirken
Presentation
Connecting UK businesses to innovation globally – Innovate UK
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11:50
Dr Chris Moore
Presentation
UK Technology Landscape: Opportunities for Polish Companies - Department for International Trade
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12:10
Michael Dembinski
Panel discussion
Polish growth champions describe their experience of working with/in the UK
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12:50
Andrzej Krężel
Closing remarks [Live-streaming ends]
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13:00
Business Networking and Lunch
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14:00
Close
HURRY UP! Book your Seat
REACH US Get Direction to the Event Hall
Venue
The Embassy of the Republic of Poland
47 Portland Pl, Marylebone
London
W1B 1JH
Contact info
Name: Marzena Kwasna
Phone: 0044 – 773 998 4366
Email: marzena.kwasna@paih.gov.pl
Time
18 November 2021, 9:00 A.M.
Contact info
Name: Marzena Kwasna
Phone: 0044 – 773 998 4366
Email: marzena.kwasna@paih.gov.pl
Programme Details
Name: Marzena Kwasna
Phone: 0044 – 773 998 4366
Email: marzena.kwasna@paih.gov.pl