The Wired Sussex Board Members are:
-
Alex Cowell - CEO, Sponsorworks
Alex is CEO of Sponsorworks, the world’s leading SaaS sponsorship management platform, used by global brands including Diageo, Aon, Hyundai, Unilever, Magners & Natwest Group.
After an introduction to digital agency life in 1999, Alex went on to found Brighton-based digital agency Cubeworks in 2002, delivering high-profile projects for clients including Coca-Cola, NSPCC, Diabetes UK, National Crime Agency and University of Southampton. In 2013, Cubeworks was acquired by MBA, one of Econsultancy’s Top 100 UK agencies.
Through his consultancy Growth Hive, Alex is also an investor in and advisor to tech start-ups, focusing on B2C businesses with exceptional founders and a strong purpose.
-
Alex Morrison (Interim CEO) - Founder/Director, Cogapp
Alex Morrison is the Interim CEO of Wired Sussex and Founder/Director of digital innovators Cogapp. He has been working on large-scale digital media and user experience projects since the late 1980s and his client list includes nine national museums, LOCOG, Microsoft, Apple, the BBC, HSBC, Manchester United and Number Ten Downing Street. Alex has been involved with Wired Sussex since 2002. In 2007, Alex and his fellow directors took Wired Sussex out of its relationship with Sussex Enterprise to create a truly independent business-focused agency.
-
Amanda Murphy - Senior Executive Producer at Storyfutures Academy
Amanda Murphy is a BAFTA-award winning international TV producer and Senior Executive Producer at Storyfutures Academy - the UK’s national centre for immersive storytelling, run by the National Film and Television School and Royal Holloway, University of London. Amanda is also a Senior Teaching Fellow at Royal Holloway, and digital producer on their ambitious 5-year Adapt TV History project.
Her credits include Founding Series Producer and Exec Producer of award winning Supernanny UK & USA.
-
David Amor - Director, MAG Interactive
David Amor has worked in the videogame sector since 1990, working at publishing heavyweights such as Electronic Arts before founding his own development studios in Brighton.
At Relentless Software, he partnered with Sony to develop the BAFTA-winning, multi-million selling Buzz franchise, then moved with the market to create an iPhone game studio which was acquired by Stockholm-based MAG Interactive in 2015. David's created and published over 100 games across every gaming platform and loves the creative and technical challenges each one brings.
-
Emma Wakefield - Co-Managing Director of Lambent Productions
Emma Wakefield is co-MD of Brighton-based independent TV production company Lambent Productions. She has been responsible for much of the company’s award-winning factual output and continues to build on the company’s unique creative strengths as Lambent grows.
Her credits include Kids Behind Bars for BBC3, Out Of Jail and On The Streets for BBC1, and The Special Needs Hotel for Channel 5. Emma’s recent projects include BAFTA and Broadcast Award-winning Defending Digga D and Nowhere to Run for the BBC.
-
Jason Woodford - CEO, SiteVisibility
Jason is CEO and Co-owner of SiteVisibility which is one of the UK’s top search marketing agencies. The business was founded in 2002 and has gone on to win awards for Search and Digital Marketing, Social Responsibility and Business Growth including reaching the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 for the 3rd time in 2009. He secured an international round of Angel investment in 2008 which enabled the business to build the team and service offering required to sustain leadership in the rapidly evolving digital marketing sector. Jason is passionate about working with ambitious entrepreneurs and businesses to achieve their goals online and was voted into the Courvoisier Future 500 in 2008.
Prior to SiteVisibility, Jason’s career has included roles in corporate strategy, corporate communications, financial and sustainability reporting and M&A activity with Carillion, Tarmac and George Wimpey culminating in dotcom excitement with BuildOnline.com which raised £45m from international VCs in 2001.
-
Lars Hyland - Director, Totara Learning
Lars Hyland has over 24 years experience in digital media and has played an active role in the development and growth of the e-learning sector in Brighton and the South Coast, having held senior management roles at LEO (previously Epic) and Brightwave. In his current role at Totara Learning, the open source learning platform for the workplace, he manages all global commercial activities and sits on the board.
Lars is passionate about the positive role technology can play to improve learning outcomes for all, in education and in the workplace. Lars is also Founder of the innovative learning reinforcement service, Retenda.
-
Mariam Crichton - Group Managing Director, 4 Earth Intelligence
Mariam has been the entrepreneurial driving force in the growth of many startups over the last 16 years and a board-level shareholder of several. Her innovative technology management expertise lies in GIS, SAAS, Software, Mobile Design, and Development. She was formerly co-founder and CEO of professional mapping tool FIND.
4EI uses space data for the betterment of humans and the planet. 4EI are experts in Earth Observation, GIS, and remote sensing analytics. Exploiting sophisticated space assets and the most innovative techniques, 4EI gather and interpret data to provide applied Earth Intelligence and analytics.
Mariam is also on the Advisory Board of Safe & the City , who use technology to keep streets safer using crime data and reporting on sexual street harassment.
-
Mark Bedser - Director, Madgex
Mark Bedser is an experienced software development consultant with over 20 years of experience in developing software for the financial, pharmaceutical and publishing sectors in particular.
He is a director and co-founder of Madgex, a Brighton based company which has grown into the UK’s market leader in the provision of Job Board software services to a blue chip client list that includes The Guardian, Reed Business Information, Emap, Centaur and Haymarket.
He is passionate about developing software that supports new and better ways to do things and has recently also founded a small software R&D company called Tech75 to further pursue this passion outside of the job board arena. He has degrees from Oxford and Sussex Universities and spends his spare time listening to music, cycling on the South Downs and cooking and eating good food.
-
Phil Jones - Director of Innovation and Projects, Wired Sussex
Phil Jones is Director of Innovation and Projects of Wired Sussex. In this capacity he advises a wide number of digital media companies and oversees various projects and initiatives. He sits on the advisory group of The Economic Partnership (which develops the economic strategies for Brighton) and is currently Chair of the South East Media Network Skills Group.
Phil graduated from the University of Sussex in the mid-80s and started his media career with the COI delivering media content for government departments. Phil has been a strategic content producer for Newscorp in Hong Kong, he set up and built a media company with Bob Geldof, created a series of TV channels for East European markets, was an MTV board member, and worked for 6 years for Liberty Global, including a long spell as worldwide MD of Extreme Media, a TV, web, and music company.
He was part of the European Union Media Content Group and in that capacity oversaw the world’s first live tri-media (TV, Radio, and web) event.
-
Sophie Davies-Patrick (Chair) - CTO, MPB.com
Sophie has been working in the technology industry all her career and is now the Chair of Wired Sussex Board.
Starting as a coder, she has progressed through technology leadership roles for Sussex employers including Gatwick Airport, Clearleft and American Express, as well as a stint in Silicon Valley with Yahoo!
She is currently CTO at MPB.com, charged with scaling up this well-established photographic equipment marketplace.
