Tag Archives: innovation

TLA CEO nominated for top entrepreneur award

We are excited to announce that our CEO Anton Hanley has been nominated for the NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards.

The awards exist to acknowledge the hard work and inspiring stories of British entrepreneurs and businesses in Great Britain. It features multiple categories that are split across five cities representing different parts of the country.

Anton has been shortlisted in the Scale-up Entrepreneur of the Year category for Manchester (North West) which focuses on entrepreneurs that have led significant growth for their company.

Anton Hanley - The Lead Agency‘Strength and diversity’

Creator of the Awards, Francesca James, said: “We have been inundated with some incredible entries this year, and all shortlisted applicants should be extremely proud of themselves! This year has seen a record number of entrants and we’ve been absolutely blown away by the strength and diversity of applications.”

“We cannot wait to celebrate entrepreneurship across Great Britain with them, and put a spotlight on the incredible talent within the British entrepreneur ecosystem.”

Now in its fifth year, the NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards has celebrated some amazing entrepreneurs over the years, many of whom are now household names. Past winners include David Buttress of Just Eat, Julie Deane of The Cambridge Satchel Company, James Watt of BrewDog and Alexander Solomou of TheLADBible Group.

‘Entrepreneurial spirit’

Gordon Merrylees, Head of Entrepreneurship at NatWest said: “I want to thank all of the entrepreneurs who entered this year and congratulate those who have been shortlisted, I look forward to seeing them at the regional finals.”

“It is clear that entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well and NatWest is thrilled to be able to support these awards to celebrate success with the businesses that are the lifeblood of the UK Economy as they start, scale and succeed.”

Culture in tech: Liverpool Girl Geeks gather to discuss diversity

What makes for a healthy and diverse company culture?

That was the topic of conversation at last night’s (12 June) Liverpool Girl Geeks Women in Tech meet-up, which took place at The Lead Agency.

The good, the bad and the ugly of Silicon Valley’s Bro Culture was discussed as part of a panel discussion. Recent reports of sexism and a widening gender gap in California’s tech heartland have been big news in recent months, so it was the perfect time to discuss how organisations can build more inclusive cultures.

Our recently appointed brand manager Keith Price was on the panel alongside Deborah Chapman, head of reward, pensions and diversity at Shop Direct; Jane Fitzmaurice, resource partner at Auto Trader; and Mando account manager Leyla Kee-McParlin; while Liverpool Girl Geek director Jo Morfee was on hand to host.

Value-led organisations

The panellists spoke of the importance of creating organisations with purpose and authentic values that are entrenched in everything they do – including how staff are recruited, inducted and rewarded.

They also referenced initiatives that are having a positive impact within their organisations such as wellbeing centres, diversity and inclusion sessions, balanced working environments and perks, and leadership built on trust rather than fear.

Bridging the skills gap

Another area of discussion was the skills gap that exists within the industry. As our sector expands, the demand for talent will continue to outstrip the supply – both here and around the world – so attracting young men and women to embark on tech careers is essential for making progress.

The panellists referenced the importance of tech companies taking individual responsibility for creating strong, inclusive cultures as well as the need to come together to promote the opportunities that exist within the sector.

Commitment to culture

Organisations like Liverpool Girl Geeks are making huge strides to tackling this important issue and each of the companies on the panel are demonstrating their commitment to making culture a priority.

At The Lead Agency, we are proud to have women in all departments across the business – including development, design and UX, digital marketing and sales – many of whom have arrived via apprenticeship schemes with local universities.

We’d like there to be more – as well as people from different backgrounds. Building a diverse team with different perspectives is vital for the creativity and innovation our industry lives on.

As well as Keith’s arrival earlier this year, we’re recruiting for a HR manager and will soon announce a new in-house recruitment manager. These three roles will play a huge role in supporting the board and management team in developing a culture that attracts, nurtures and supports the very best talent.

Visit the Liverpool Girl Geeks website for more information about their mission and other events in their calendar.

TLA to host Liverpool Girl Geeks June meet-up

The Lead Agency will host the next Liverpool Girl Geeks Women <3 tech meet-up.

On Monday 12 June, we’ll welcome people involved in technology to our headquarters in Liverpool to examine company culture and discuss the impact of ‘bro culture’ on diversity.

Diversity is a vital component of any successful culture, not least of all in industries that pride themselves on innovation and connecting with people. This session will provide a great opportunity to hear from a variety of technology employers that value culture.

Liverpool Girl Geeks has become one of the city’s most talked about organisations. Through its series of workshops and meet-ups, the team has been working with young people and employers to decrease the gender imbalance within the tech industry.

We’re proud to be lending our support to their mission and helping bring the topic of culture up for discussion. We’ll join a panel that will seek to identify what organisations can do better to make their working environments more inclusive and enjoyable for all.

Young people in tech

We attended Liverpool Girl Geek’s most recent meet-up last night at the Baltic Triangle. Hosted by Agent Academy, the session featured a panel of young people who are embarking on careers in technology and related industries.

Topics discussed by the panel included a lack of awareness about the types of roles that exist; the need for the improvement in the education system to close the skills gap; and a desire for careers that offer variety and fresh challenges.

The June meet-up will provide an opportunity to discuss these factors and more in the context of company culture.

Event details

Secure your place via Liverpool Girl Geeks’ Eventbrite page.

Liverpool Girl Geeks’ Women <3 tech June meet-up: examining culture

When: Monday 12 June, 6pm-8pm

Where: The Lead Agency, 13th Floor, The Unity Building, 20 Chapel Street, Liverpool L3 9AG

Tom White joins TLA as automotive MD

With an exceptional pedigree for product innovation and commercial success, we are delighted to welcome Tom White to the business as managing director of automotive.

Tom is the former head of product development for Auto Trader and, more recently, product director for Time Out Group.

During his six-plus years with Auto Trader, Tom was responsible for setting a strategic consumer product roadmap that delivered genuine innovation, leading to increases in revenue and profitability.

It was also during this time that Tom first worked with TLA. Our landmark collaboration spearheaded Auto Trader’s successful expansion into the lucrative new vehicle market.

In 2013, Tom left Auto Trader for Time Out. In his three years with the group, he brought the global product to vision to life across various digital platforms. His processes helped the business adopt a digital- and mobile-first mind-set, which led to a significant upturn in revenues.

In reuniting with TLA, Tom will set the strategic direction for our automotive service; developing core products, building relationships with advertisers and driving growth across new markets and territories.

Commenting on his arrival, Tom said: “The company’s commitment to fairness and quality coupled with its ability to innovate and drive change has established TLA as the UK’s leading supplier of customer acquisition opportunities within automotive. I’m excited by the prospect of building on that success in the same tradition.”

‘Genuine innovation’

Anton Hanley, managing director of TLA, added: “Tom has a phenomenal record for creating business and product strategies that lead to lasting change and considerable commercial success. His ability to lead teams towards genuine innovation will be instrumental in how we develop and grow our automotive service.”

We create quality-driven customer acquisition strategies for some of the world’s biggest automotive brands, including BMW, Audi, Mini, Volvo and Jaguar.

Design It; Build It Conference – Edinburgh

We’re feeling energised and inspired after two days at the international web design and development conference, Design It; Build It.

The event, held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, featured fantastic talks by experts from innovative brands and organisations including Minecraft, Uber, IBM, AirBnB, RBS, MacMillan Cancer Support and the BBC.

The conference focused on the importance of taking creative risks to produce the best work. Among our highlights were designer and technologist Joshua Davis discussing the role that risk can play in bringing code together with creativity to create art and The Secret Life of Comedy speaking about the need to take risks when creating for the web to make sure things look different.

Other stand outs were designer and photographer Mike Kus discussing what it’s like to be the black sheep and standing out from the crowd; Chris Hammond from IBM sharing how they used human centred design to build something that bettered the world; and the BBC’s David Bailey explaining how their GEL (global experience language) is changing the way they innovate and design.

“Innovation of any kind requires risk, experimentation and occasionally failure.”

The key takeaway from the event was that innovation of any kind requires risk, experimentation and occasionally failure. It revealed that organisations that encourage risk – not just from designers but from all areas of the business – are those able to lead, innovate and succeed.