New Leeds Digital Festival boss hails 'exceptional' tech community as firms bring £1.67bn boost to city
The new director of Leeds Digital Festival has hailed the city’s “exceptional” tech community as new figures revealed it has the country’s largest number of technology companies outside of London.
Analysis by The Data City has revealed there are 853 tech companies based in the city, which is more than any other local authority outside of the capital and above the likes of Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Bristol.
The businesses are collectively estimated to be be providing a £1.67bn economic boost, while 125 of the city’s tech companies have an annual growth rate of more than 20 per cent.
The figures have been released ahead of this year’s Leeds Digital Festival, which brings hundreds of free events to the city each year.
This year’s festival, which starts on Monday, is the first one under the leadership of Deb Hetherington, who took over as director from founder Stuart Clarke MBE following his move to festival chair.
She told The Yorkshire Post that Leeds has unique strengths and a ‘can-do’ attitude which have helped the city build its position as a tech hub.
"I’ve worked all over the UK on projects. I worked for [property company] Bruntwood and I oversaw sites across the UK and had to embed myself into ecosystems.
"Every single one has its strengths, there are some incredible communities out there.
"But Leeds for me really leans into the Yorkshire community piece, where you can ask anyone for a coffee and float an idea or concept.
"Generally, certainly the answer to the coffee invite is a ‘yes’ but then the follow-up on the idea is ‘Let’s make it happen and we need to speak to X, Y and Z’. That has happened time and time again for me in Leeds. It is exceptional as a community.”
She said the festival is a key part of that ecosystem. Having first come across the firm while working for legal firm Ward Hadaway, Hetherington said the festival had helped her “find her tribe” of women working in tech and led onto a job working with Leeds Beckett University on supporting innovative businesses before going onto become head of innovation for Bruntwood SciTech in 2020.
Now director of innovation ecosystems for Scarborough Group which is working on the Leeds Innovation Village project to transform the Old Medical School at Leeds General Infirmary into a healttech innovation hub, Hetherington said the festival has opened doors in her career.
"My first role for Bruntwood was based in Leeds to make [community office workspace] Platform work and a huge part of why I was hired was because I could bring that network, those resources and that community to that role. You mention Leeds Digital Festival anywhere and it is known, recognised and really respected.”
She said she is “insanely excited” to be taking over the running of the festival and intends to stick to the formula which has made it a success as it prepares to put on 221 events between September 21 and October 2.
"There's no directional change whatsoever. If it's not broke, don't fix it. It's just an incredible model that's actually fairly unique globally in terms of it being that open platform where we simply curate an incredible existing ecosystem to put on a huge range of events under that digital umbrella, and that definition is very wide on purpose.
"The thing I would love to see this year, and have seen in my involvement over the past several years, is twofold: knowledge transfer and then network building. I built my network through the festival when I started out in digital, and it has served me incredibly well.
"I think it's a superpower of Leeds in the region that we have that network."
Thousands of founders, software engineers, corporate leaders and international investors are expected to attend events this year. The 2026 programme focuses on how digital maturity in Leeds is reinforcing the broader economic stability of the north, highlighting outstanding regional achievements and commercial success while opening up critical career pathways for local talent.
Jenny Wood, Group CIO at Skipton Group, said: “As the technology ecosystem in Leeds continues to expand, our investment in regional tech capability has never been more important. Skipton Group is proud to support an event that directly stimulates local economic stability and digital advancement. The festival plays an invaluable role in showcasing Yorkshire as a world-class destination for tech investment, skills development and long-term business resilience.”
Supported by headline sponsors CGI and a range of major regional partners, including Skipton Group, SCC, Leeds City Council, Nexus, ALT Legal, Accenture, and the Financial Conduct Authority, the festival highlights the critical role technology plays in powering both the local and national economies.