North East tech boss appointed to Government advisory committee

A North East chief executive has been appointed to the UK’s Digital Economy Council.

Dr David Dunn, CEO of Sunderland Software City and chair of the UK Tech Cluster Group (UKTCG), has joined the national advisory committee set up to provide advice to the Government.

The Digital Economy Council’s purpose is to enable Government to harness the expertise of the tech industry and develop a world-leading and inclusive digital economy.

Dr Dunn joins the likes of Microsoft president Cindy Rose, Darktrace CEO Poppy Gustafsson, Google UK managing director Ronan Harris and Amazon UK lead John Boumphrey on the committee.

With the majority of the council’s 28-strong team being based in London, the Sunderland Software City boss will give unique insights into the needs of digital technology companies in the UK’s regions.

As chair of the UK Tech Cluster Group, Dr Dunn helps to bring UK regional technology ecosystems together to enable nationwide industry collaboration and provide a forum that represents thousands of tech companies.

Last year, the government set out it its intention to ‘level up’ underperforming and left-behind parts of the UK.

A consistent advocate of regional tech prowess, Dr Dunn says his personal priority and mission within the group is to ensure everything the Government does linked to digital plays a positive role across the whole of the UK.

He said: “I am privileged to be appointed to the DCMS Digital Economy Council and yesterday I attended my first meeting chaired by Oliver Dowden MP.

“It’s good to see what the Government has in store and learn from some of the other Digital Economy Council members such as Ron Kalifa, discussing his review of FinTech, Juergen Maier, continuing to highlight the importance of Made Smarter, and Tabitha Goldstaub sharing the work of the AI Council.

“My personal priority and mission within the group – ensure everything the Government does linked to digital plays a positive role across the whole of the UK. I want to ensure levelling up is actioned.”