Stuart is the co-founder of a successful marketing and PR consultancy, working with firms in the digital, professional services, financial and arts sectors. His 20+ years corporate career saw him running marketing and corporate relationships departments for the likes of Alliance & Leicester, first direct and TD Bank of Canada.

He is a non-executive director and adviser to a number of startups, including JigTalk, Synap and Soc, and has helped startups to raise funds, through crowdfunding, angels and VCs. He is also the co-founder and the Festival Director of the Leeds Digital Festival, the largest tech event in the UK.

In 2019, the Festival had 240 events and 25,000 attendees, with more tech events in Leeds than in San Francisco, Boston and New York. The annual Tech Nation report saw him named by startups as the most influential person in Leeds. “It’s important that Northern cities collaborate with each other and I’m looking forward to seeing how the Leeds Digital Festival can forge links with Manchester’s Digital City Festival."