Tech North leaders appointed

The technology start-up incubator has appointed Claire Braithwaite, chief financial and operations officer of social venture company Clearly So, as its head, and Herb Kim, founder of Thinking Digital, as executive chairman of its advisory board.

Tech North, part of the Tech City UK network, is a regional initiative that responds to the findings of the Tech Nation report, identifying how the cluster phenomenon is fuelling the growth of the digital economy across the UK.

As the inaugural head of Tech North, Braithwaite will lead the initiative as well as putting in place a senior team.

Kim is the Founder and chief executive of Thinking Digital based in Newcastle, and has a track record in connecting entrepreneurs and digital leaders in the region.

The goal of the Tech North initiative is to accelerate the development of the North's digital economy, helping attract talent, entrepreneurs and investment to northern cities including Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and Sunderland.

In Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborn's Budget last week, he allocated £4m towards establishing an 80,000 sq ft tech hub in NOMA's Federation House, which is expected to operate as part of the Tech North initiative.

The incoming team for Tech North will spend time working across the northern region and will be initially co-located between Manchester and Newcastle. Other Northern co-locations may be considered as the delivery of the initiative develops. Braithwaite will assume her role from 27 April while Kim will assume his role with immediate effect.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: "I'm delighted to be welcoming Claire and Herb to lead innovative plans to support the digital sector by bringing together tech talent in the North. I'm proud and pleased that Northern Futures has brought creative minds, tech experts and entrepreneurs together to help build world-class tech clusters spanning our Northern cities. Tech North will help business boom in the North, bringing a stronger economy but also a fairer society when thousands of jobs are created in the North."