Successful Relocation: Lessons from Manchester's Tech and Media Hub
Author WIG Date 6 Sep 2023
WIG was delighted to welcome Sam Lister, Director General, Strategy and Operations, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Heidi Dawson, Head of Salford, BBC, and Ian Turner, Talent Director, TalkTalk for this special lunchtime event
Given the Government’s continued efforts on levelling up and providing access to greater opportunities for those outside of London, WIG is delighted to invite you to this special lunchtime event to hear about Government relocation plans and learn from the successes of the tech and media industries in Manchester.
This event will feature a panel of expert speakers from across the sectors including Sam Lister, Director General, Strategy & Operations, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, alongside senior representatives from BBC and TalkTalk.
By joining us for this special in-person briefing you will:
- Understand the timelines for the relocation of Government offices and the strategy behind these moves
- Explore how Manchester became a hub for the tech and media industries and the lessons that can be learnt from the process
- Discover how cross-sector collaboration can develop industry hubs across the UK
To access this resource you must be a WIG member and logged in to our website.
You can register or log-in here.
To access this resource you must be a WIG member and logged in to our website.
You can register or log-in here.
Speakers at the Event
Sam Lister is the Director General, Strategy and Operations, at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. His responsibilities include: strategy, commercial and finance, communication, analysis, HR and organisational change, legal, major projects and the department’s transformation programme. He also leads on DCMS’s response to Covid-19 and building departmental resilience for crisis management. Prior to this he was responsible for Industrial Strategy, Science & Innovation at the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, focusing on policies to boost productivity, support UK businesses to develop and exploit new technologies, and leading work on funding domestic and international research. He was also Director of Communication, Partnerships & Governance at BEIS and before that spent five years as Director of Communication at the Department of Health. Before joining the Civil Service in 2011, Sam spent 12 years as a correspondent, news editor and health editor at The Times.
Heidi’s career began as a freelance TV producer. She joined the BBC with Radio Solent, before working as a journalist on BBC Radio 4’s World At One and PM, Heidi moved to BBC Radio 5 Live in 2001. Originally working as a Breakfast show producer, Heidi has produced or edited most of 5 Live’s News programmes, as well as acting as Managing Editor of the station. Working all over the world in her time with 5 Live – in Iraq, Israel and at various major sporting events including World Cups and Olympic Games – Heidi has rich and varied experience in news and sports journalism. She has also commissioned a number of award-winning podcasts, including Brexitcast, and has stood as Chair of the BBC North Diversity Action Group.
Since stepping into the role of Controller in 2019, Heidi has overseen the continued growth of the network, with 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra combined network reach of around 6.2 million listeners per week in Q4 of 2021. In her time at 5 Live, she has welcomed a number of high profile presenters such as Naga Munchetty, Rick Edwards and Stacey Dooley to the schedule and podcast line up.