Birmingham Tech appoint Yiannis Maos as organisations first CEO to oversee the firm's growth and expansion.

Birmingham Tech, the West Midlands premier not-for-profit Tech Hub and Think Tank today announced Yiannis Maos as its first ever CEO. Maos’ appointment sees him move from Founder and Board Director to lead the organisation’s operation and oversee the firm's growth and expansion.

Birmingham Tech which runs Birmingham Tech Week and an Accelerator for the region's ScaleUps has ambitious plans for the next 24 months and hopes to play a significant role in the West Midlands tech-led recovery. This will include the creation of more digital jobs, increased investment in tech companies and a bigger contribution to the region’s GVA.

Maos, whose career spans 15 years working for a number of technology companies, including senior roles at Rant & Rave, Hyve, Conigital and the CXPA is looking forward to the new challenge:

“When I started Birmingham Tech Week in 2019, I had a vision to encourage more collaboration, inspire the next generation and give tech companies in the region an opportunity to celebrate their success and these core values remain central to Birmingham Tech. I’m extremely proud of what we’ve managed to achieve in a short period of time and I’m extremely proud and excited to lead the organisation on this new phase of growth. I would like to thank the Board for putting their trust in me and I’m looking forward to working alongside them to help deliver more value to our Tech Ecosystem.

Maos’ new role will also see him work with a number of other strategic organisations across the region including the West Midlands Combined Authority (Digital Skills Partnership) and Bruntwood Sci-Tech (Birmingham) where he acts as a Board Advisor.

The Chair of Birmingham Tech, Kim Leary, is pleased to have appointed Maos as Chief Exec:

“Yiannis is such a big advocate for all things tech across the West Midlands and he’s proven through Birmingham Tech Week that he can successfully establish the region as a recognised Tech Hub. The potential we have is limitless, we create more StarUps than any other region yet we fail to see these materialise in ScaleUps and increased investment - changing this will be central to our strategy and that’s why it’s great to have Yiannis leading this. Myself and the rest of the Board will continue to work closely with him and help the West Midlands become a digital hotbed of activity.”

Birmingham Tech, which already has over 5,000 members, aims to help 10,000 people over the next 12 months through its activity and initiatives. Over the last 18 months the organisation has worked alongside some of the world’s best known tech brands, including Amazon, Google and Microsoft, as well as regional institutions such as GBSLEP, Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Innovation Alliance for the West Midlands.

Dr Pam Wadell OBE, Director at Innovation Alliance for the West Midlands and NED at Birmingham Tech spoke of her delight at Maos’ appointment:

“It’s fantastic to see Yiannis take on this role and myself and the rest of the NED team are excited to see where he takes the organisation. The Innovation Alliance for the West Midlands has always had a close relationship with Birmingham Tech and we look forward to furthering our collaboration in 2021 around our shared goals and objectives.”

Organisations looking to work with Birmingham Tech can find out more by visiting birmingham.tech/ or emailing the team at hello@birmingham.tech