Tag: Downing Street

The King has approved the nomination of The Venerable Ian Bishop, Archdeacon of Macclesfield, for appointment to the Suffragan See of Thetford, in the Diocese of Norwich, in succession to The Right Reverend Dr Alan Winton, following his retirement.

Background

Ian was educated at Portsmouth Polytechnic and trained for ministry at Oak Hill Theological College. He served his title at Christ Church, Purley, in the Diocese of Southwark, and was ordained Priest in 1992. In 1995, Ian was appointed Rector of the Tas Valley Team Ministry, in the Diocese of Norwich.

In 2001, Ian was appointed Rector of St Michael and All Angels, Middlewich, and St John the Evangelist, Byley, in the Diocese of Chester, and additionally served as Rural Dean for Middlewich from 2004. Since 2011, Ian has served as Archdeacon of Macclesfield.

The UK must act quickly if we want to retain our position as one of the world’s tech capitals, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will tell tech leaders today [Monday 12 June].

Speaking at the launch of the tenth London Tech Week, the Prime Minister will argue that as the “tectonic plates of technology are shifting”, the UK must harness innovation to become the best place for tech businesses to invest and grow, in turn growing the economy and creating jobs.

With world-leading universities, more tech unicorns than France and Germany combined, and one of the most digitally literate societies in the world, the Prime Minister will make clear that the UK is starting from a position of strength, outlining how Government will work with businesses to capitalise on the opportunities presented by transformative technologies, such as AI.

From building one of the most pro-investment tax regimes, to committing almost a fifth of our entire capital budget to R&D – the highest level this country has ever seen – and investing record sums in building our quantum capability, the Prime Minister will underline his commitment to creating the right conditions for innovators to thrive.

The Prime Minister is expected to tell tech leaders:

We must act – and act quickly – if we want not only to retain our position as one of the world’s tech capitals …

… but to go even further, and make this the best country in the world to start, grow and invest in tech businesses.

That is my goal. And I feel a sense of urgency and responsibility to make sure we seize it.

Already home to the largest tech economy in Europe, he will reinforce that the tech sector is at the heart of his priority to grow the economy.

Together with Ministers from across Government, responsible for nurturing and attracting talent, driving world-class research and unlocking investment, he will set out their shared mission to help the UK’s tech eco-system flourish at the launch of London Tech Week.

Part of this effort is represented by Government’s decision to introduce High Potential Individual, Global Talent and Scale-up Worker visas. These routes are designed to attract the best and brightest global talent and will encourage academics and professionals to share their knowledge, skills and ideas in the UK, and make a positive contribution to the economy.

Following his announcement that the UK will host the first major global summit on AI safety later this year, the Prime Minister will also stress the UK’s leadership as a democratic AI power – already home to top AI labs, including DeepMind.

This has been recognised globally by like-minded countries and partners, who have agreed to work together to mitigate the risks through internationally coordinated action. The UK’s expert taskforce on AI foundation models, backed by £100 million in Government funding, will lead on cutting-edge AI safety in the UK.

During his speech, the Prime Minister will outline the opportunities AI presents as well as the need to ensure its development remains safe and responsible. That includes bringing together academia, leading tech companies and Government to deliver the benefits that will improve people’s lives.

The Prime Minister will say:

Already we’ve seen AI help the paralysed to walk; and discover superbug-killing antibiotics – and that’s just the beginning.

“…The possibilities are extraordinary. But we must – and we will – do it safely.

“…I want to make the UK not just the intellectual home, but the geographical home of global AI safety regulation.”

The Prime Minister will continue to host key tech businesses and entrepreneurs at Downing Street throughout London Tech Week, while Government Ministers will promote and discuss how we are supporting the UK’s tech sector with stakeholders at events including panel sessions and speeches.

Poppy Gustafsson, CEO of Darktrace, said:

The tenth year of London Tech Week is going to be the most exciting so far. AI will be at the centre of the agenda and that should give UK tech plenty to be happy about. We’re home to unrivalled AI talent, incredible academic institutions like the Turing Institute, and businesses, like Darktrace, that have track records of developing and delivering world-leading AI. The UK is in a great position to be at the forefront of the AI revolution. I see that every day in our teams in Cambridge who are working at the very forefront of these technological innovations. I’m excited to see this country leaning in on this agenda and actively looking to capitalise on the tremendous opportunities that this creates.

Divesh Makan, Founding Partner, ICONIQ Capital:

At ICONIQ, we believe that technology isn’t a vertical but rather a horizontal that cuts across all businesses and aspects of our daily lives. We have seen remarkable advances in artificial intelligence, cloud storage and analytics, healthcare, and the software underlying everything drive massive transformations across sectors and society. And now, as we celebrate the 10th anniversary of London Tech Week and consider the opportunities and challenges ahead, one thing is clear: the future is arriving faster than anyone expected. Under Prime Minister Sunak’s leadership, the UK’s tech community will continue to play a vital role in creating a better tomorrow for everyone.

Vishal Marria, CEO of Quantexa, said:

The UK is home to some of the world’s top tech talent and has created several of the world’s most innovative technology companies. Quantexa, an AI-driven decision intelligence company based in London, is a great example of the power of British innovation in action. In just seven years, the company has achieved a valuation of £1.5bn, employs over 650 people globally, and supports tens of thousands of users in some of the world’s largest organizations on its platform for risk management, customer insights, and data unification.

As a British entrepreneur, I am encouraged by this government’s commitment to investing in emerging disciplines such as quantum computing and artificial intelligence and its determination to ensure that the UK tech market continues to thrive by taking a “pro-innovation” approach to much-needed regulation.

Our growing London tech ecosystem and our government share a vision for building on our heritage of innovation in a fiercely competitive global economy. To achieve its goal of becoming a science and technology superpower, the UK must actively nurture this growing sector and make decisive, strategic investments that stimulate innovation.

Charlie Bryant, CEO at Zoopla, said:

As one of the first British tech unicorns, Zoopla is delighted to be part of the remarkable growth of London and the UK as the tech capital of Europe. The foundations that have built this leading role include the UK’s position as a global hub for tech talent, the depth of capital and London’s global city status which creates an attractive environment for inward investment. I believe the UK will continue to pave the way when it comes to tech innovation in Europe.

Demis Hassabis, CEO & CO-Founder, Google DeepMind, said:

AI will play a critical role in shaping the future of our economy and society. I’m looking forward to talking about this with the Prime Minister at London Tech Week.

Janet Coyle CBE, Managing Director of Grow London at London & Partners, said:

Over the past decade, the UK has established itself as a leading destination to setup and scale a technology business. The tenth anniversary of London Tech Week offers a great opportunity to showcase our success and discuss how we can continue to be a top tech hub on the global stage. This year’s event promises to be bigger than ever and it’s exciting to see how many international delegations will be coming into London to explore investment and expansion opportunities in our capital.

Carolyn Dawson OBE, CEO, Founders Forum Group:

The UK tech ecosystem is uniting to celebrate the 10th London Tech Week, the largest in its history. Global delegates will be part of the 17,000 people taking part in this iconic event. The UK can excel in the industries of the future, from deeptech to fintech, sustainability and life sciences, there are so many competitive advantages at our disposal. We are evermore excited that London Tech Week serves as a platform to amplify this position for the UK on a global stage and is proud to connect the ecosystem of innovators, entrepreneurs and investors together to drive positive change through technology.

Erin Platts, CEO, Silicon Valley Bank UK.

Embracing the UK’s innovators and investors, and enabling their bold ideas is more important than ever to our long-term economic prosperity. The Prime Minister’s support for the UK’s innovation reflects the government’s commitment to making the UK a global innovation leader. We’re excited for the optimism and ambition demonstrated everyday by our tech ecosystem and we welcome pledges for the UK to become an innovation superpower by 2030. This is a clear vote of confidence for the UK’s tech and life sciences industries and I’m confident we can achieve this through ongoing collaboration between industry and government.

Taavet Hinrikus, Co-founder, Wise and Co-founder, Plural, said:

London is one of the best places in the world to build a tech company. This extraordinary ecosystem is what helped me grow my company Wise and it’s why we chose to found Plural here last year to support the next generation of entrepreneurs who are building global companies to solve difficult problems.

Joanna Shields, CEO of Benevolent AI, said:

At BenevolentAI, we have first-hand experience applying AI’s transformative potential. We harness the power of LLMs and other AI models to empower scientists and expedite innovation in biopharma. In domains as complex as life sciences, it is imperative to deploy AI safely and responsibly. We have a limited opportunity to take action, and I am delighted that the UK Government is treating this matter seriously by announcing the formation of a task force and an AI Summit scheduled for this fall. These crucial initiatives serve as a solid foundation, and now it is essential for both the public and private sectors to collaborate closely to tackle this monumental challenge and position the UK at the forefront of AI regulation.

T S Anil, CEO of Monzo, said:

As the UK’s biggest digital bank with more than 7.5m customers, we are an example of how technology can improve people’s lives, and drive economic growth. The UK is a top destination for fintech companies and home to some of the most interesting and innovative scaling businesses. That leading position will be maintained by retaining and evolving the UK’s world class regulatory system, as well as helping to attract and develop the best talent, and we welcome policy measures and initiatives that support that.

Zahra Bahrololoumi, CEO of Salesforce UK&I, said:

At Salesforce, we recognise the transformative power of generative AI, including its influence in securing and maintaining the UK’s status as a global technology leader. We strongly welcome the PM’s announcement to host a global AI summit this autumn and commitment to make the UK the centre of gravity on AI safety. This is a watershed moment for our industry and it is imperative that AI is developed safely and responsibly, with ethics and inclusivity at the heart. A trust-first evolution is crucial for future success.

Kristo Käärmann, CEO and co-founder, Wise:

The UK is where we started our journey 12 years ago to achieve money without borders and make the world’s money faster, cheaper, easier, and more transparent for people and businesses. Connecting directly to the Bank of England and into the UK’s Faster Payments Scheme was one of our first big steps forward in achieving this mission. That enabled us to deliver faster, and cheaper payments for our customers in the UK. That the UK was the first country in which we were able to get there is testament to the forward looking approach of its institutions. Today we serve 16 million people and businesses around the world by building the best infrastructure for the world’s money and the tech that’s enabled us to do that was built here.

The leaders welcomed the agreement of the Atlantic Declaration, a new approach to the economic relationship between our countries. This plan will see us embark on the deepest level of economic cooperation either of our two countries have ever had with another country.

The Prime Minister and President Biden both agreed that, as likeminded countries with deeply interconnected advanced economies, the UK and US are perfectly placed to take on the challenges of the future.

The first agreements under the Atlantic Declaration include new commitments on supporting one another’s critical supply chains, developing new, clean technologies and removing barriers to the uninterrupted exchange of goods and services between our economies.

The leaders agreed that accelerating international cooperation on safe and responsible AI development is one of the pressing issues of our age. As frontier nations, the UK and US will be a crucial part of these efforts alongside international partners.

The Prime Minister and President Biden agreed that our economic cooperation forms a fundamental part of the UK-US relationship, complementing our incredibly strong defence and security alliance.

The leaders welcomed ongoing progress on AUKUS, as well as UK and US leadership in NATO.

They agreed that the UK and US continue to have an important role to play in bringing stability in regions throughout the world, and countering state and non-state hostile activity. This includes supporting Ukraine in their fight against Putin’s illegal invasion.

The leaders looked forward to seeing one another again at next month’s NATO Summit in Vilnius.

The Prime Minister and President Biden have agreed an innovative economic partnership today (Thursday), which will see our countries work together more closely than ever before across the full spectrum of our economic, technological, commercial and trade relations.

The ‘Atlantic Declaration’ heralds a new era for the thriving economic relationship between the UK and US, and builds on decades of very close cooperation on defence and security. It applies the same principle – that the UK and US will work together in the face of new challenges – to our economic partnership as we long have to our defence alliance.

This unprecedented bilateral partnership takes a different approach to our economic relationship than we have taken before, recognising that our economies must move with speed and agility to address the challenges we face.

Following their meeting at the White House today, the Prime Minister and President Biden have announced new measures under the Atlantic Declaration – an action plan for the future of our partnership. This includes:

• Working together to reduce our vulnerabilities across critical technology supply chains, including by sharing analysis, developing and deepening our channels for coordination and timely consultation during crises. To support the critical clean energy industry, our net zero ambitions and to keep Russia out of the global civil nuclear power market, the UK and US will launch a new civil nuclear partnership.
• An innovative approach targeting specific areas for economic advancement. This includes a commitment in principle to a new UK-US Data Bridge which would make it easier for around 55,000 UK businesses to transfer data freely to certified US organisations without cumbersome red tape – translating into an estimated £92.4m in direct savings per year. It also includes the immediate launch of negotiations on a Critical Minerals Agreement.
• Stepping up international efforts to ensure the safe and responsible development of AI, starting with an international summit on AI safety which will be hosted in the UK later this year, welcomed by the US.
• Enhancing cooperation on measures to stop our adversaries from developing and acquiring sensitive technologies that can be used to do us harm.
• Research collaboration to entrench UK and US leadership in the most important future technologies – AI, future telecoms (5G & 6G), quantum, semiconductors and engineering biology.
• New opportunities for increased investment in one another’s economies. President Biden plans to ask the US Congress to designate the UK as a ‘domestic source’ within the meaning of Title III of the the Defense Production Act – meaning British companies can benefit from US Government investment on the same basis as American firms. The act has previously been used to speed up the development of hypersonic weapons.

Our economies are going through the greatest change since the industrial revolution, with emerging technologies like biotechnology and AI transforming the way we live and work. But while those new technologies offer huge potential to save lives, grow our economies and tackle climate change, in the hands of our adversaries they could be used as tools to undermine our national security.

With our highly interconnected economies, our leadership in areas like emerging technology and our deeply entrenched shared values, the UK and US are natural partners to approach these issues together.

This new approach to our economic partnership, which puts the strength of our relationship front and centre in addressing the biggest challenges we face, will both deliver for our people and support an open international order.

The Prime Minister said:

The UK and US have always pushed the boundaries of what two countries can achieve together. Over generations we have fought alongside one another, shared intelligence we don’t share with anyone else, and built the strongest investment relationship in world history.

So it’s natural that, when faced with the greatest transformation in our economies since the industrial revolution, we would look to each other to build a stronger economic future together.

The Atlantic Declaration sets a new standard for economic cooperation, propelling our economies into the future so we can protect our people, create jobs and grow our economies together.

Negotiations will begin immediately on many aspects of the partnership, including on a Critical Minerals Agreement. An agreement would give buyers of vehicles made using critical minerals processed or mined by UK companies access to tax credits in line with the US Inflation Reduction Act. The Inflation Reduction Act provides a $3,750 incentive for each vehicle, on conditions including that the critical minerals used in its production – principally used in the battery – are sourced from the US or a country with whom the US has a critical minerals agreement.

The UK is already a net exporter of raw materials for EV batteries to the US and this agreement will help UK-based firms involved in the mining, recycling and refining of critical minerals who are suppling US electric vehicle and battery manufacturers – benefitting this growing industry. This is a a sector with companies all over the UK, including nickel production in Wales and lithium processing in Teesside.

With a trading relationship worth £279 billion a year, and shared investment totalling over £1 trillion, the US is already our most important trading partner. Earlier this week the Prime Minister announced £14 billion of new US investment into the UK, demonstrating the importance of this relationship to UK growth and jobs.

Teams from the White House and Downing Street will meet regularly to drive action under the Atlantic Declaration, ensuring it continues to meet the high objectives the Prime Minister and President Biden have set today.

More people living with obesity will have access to the newest and most effective obesity drugs to help cut NHS waiting lists, following the announcement of a £40 million two-year pilot today [Wednesday 7 June].

Earlier this year, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended the use of Semaglutide (Wegovy) for adults with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of at least 35 and one weight-related health condition – such as diabetes or high blood pressure. Other drugs are currently under consideration in clinical trials.

There is evidence from clinical trials that, when prescribed alongside diet, physical activity and behavioural support, people taking a weight-loss drug can lose up to 15 per cent of their body weight after one year. Taking them alongside diet, physical activity and behavioural support can help people lose weight within the first month of treatment.

Obesity is one of the leading causes of severe health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer, and it costs the NHS £6.5 billion a year. There were more than 1 million admissions to NHS hospitals in 2019/2020 where obesity was a factor.

Using the latest treatments to tackle obesity will contribute to cutting waiting lists by reducing the number of people who suffer from weight-related illnesses, who tend to need more support from the NHS and could end up needing operations linked to their weight – such as gallstone removal or hip and knee replacements.

NICE advise that Wegovy should only be available via specialist weight management services, which are largely hospital based. This would mean only around 35,000 people would have access to Wegovy, when tens of thousands more could be eligible.

The £40 million pilots will explore how approved drugs can be made safely available to more people by expanding specialist weight management services outside of hospital settings. This includes looking at how GPs could safely prescribe these drugs and how the NHS can provide support in the community or digitally – contributing to the government’s wider ambition to reduce pressure on hospitals and give people access to the care they need where it is most convenient for them.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

Obesity puts huge pressure on the NHS.

Using the latest drugs to support people to lose weight will be a game-changer by helping to tackle dangerous obesity-related health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer – reducing pressure on hospitals, supporting people to live healthier and longer lives, and helping to deliver on my priority to cut NHS waiting lists.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:

Obesity costs the NHS around £6.5 billion a year and is the second biggest cause of cancer.

This next generation of obesity drugs have the potential to help people lose significant amounts of weight, when prescribed with exercise, diet and behavioural support.

Tackling obesity will help to reduce pressure on the NHS and cut waiting times, one of the government’s five priorities,  and this pilot will help people live longer, healthier lives.

Health Minister Neil O’Brien said:

We know that obesity puts additional pressure on the NHS and is linked to a whole host of health problems – including diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Expanding how to access these innovative new drugs will ensure as many eligible patients as possible have the opportunity to try these treatments if they are right for them to help achieve a healthier weight.

These pilots build on our ongoing work to tackle obesity – including introducing calorie labelling on menus to empower people to make informed decisions and investing in school sport to give children an active start in life.

NHS medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said:

Tackling obesity is a key part of the NHS Long Term Plan – it can have devastating consequences for the nation’s health, leading to serious health conditions and some common cancers as well as resulting in significant pressure on NHS services.

Pharmaceutical treatments offer a new way of helping people with obesity gain a healthier weight and this new pilot will help determine if these medicines can be used safely and effectively in non-hospital settings as well as a range of other interventions we have in place.

NICE is also considering potential NHS use of another drug known as Tirzepatide – which is currently licenced to treat diabetes but may also help with weight loss – if it receives a license for weight loss in the coming months.

NHS England is already working to implement recommendations from NICE to make this new class of treatment available to patients through established specialist weight management services, subject to negotiating a secure long-term supply of the products at prices that represent value for money taxpayers.

Losing weight can help to reduce the risk of obesity-related illness which in turn can reduce pressure on the NHS, cut waiting times, and realise wider economic benefits.

The pilot builds on the firm action the government is already taking to tackle obesity, including:

• Introducing calorie labelling on menus, which are expected to bring health benefits of £4.6 billion and provide NHS savings of £430 million
• Restrictions on the location of unhealthy foods in shops, which are expected to bring health benefits of over £57 billion and provide NHS savings of over £4 billion over the next 25 years
• Introducing the Soft Drinks Industry Levy which has seen the average sugar content of drinks decrease by 46 per cent between 2015 and 2020
• Investment to boost school sport to help children and young people have an active start to life.

Last year the government announced £20million for the Office of Life Science’s Obesity Mission. This will explore innovative ways to best utilise promising medicines and digital technologies to help NHS patients achieve a healthy weight.

The Better Health: Rewards App is also being piloted in Wolverhampton. It is offering incentives such as vouchers for shops, gym discounts and cinema tickets for people who eat healthily and exercise more.

The 2019 Health Survey for England estimated that over 12 million adults were living with obesity – 28 per cent of the population in England – while a further 16 million (36 per cent) were overweight. This means that around two-thirds of the adult population were above a healthy weight – defined as having a BMI of 25 or above.

DHSC launched a call for evidence in May to inform the Major Conditions Strategy, including further work to tackle obesity.

Economic and defence cooperation must be the two pillars of the UK-US alliance, the Prime Minister will tell US lawmakers and businesspeople this week, as he travels to Washington DC.

Pointing to the role our defence partnership has played in protecting our people for decades, the Prime Minister will say that extensive cooperation on economic issues will allow us to do the same thing for the next century.

In recent months and years, the world has seen an increasing number of examples of hostile states using economic coercion to their advantage. From Putin driving up European energy prices, to China’s extensive use of sanctions to punish individuals and government who speak out against human rights abuses.

While our traditional security remains paramount, those who seek to do us harm are increasingly targeting other domains. They are manipulating global markets, withholding crucial resources and trying to establish a stranglehold over the industries that will define our future.

If we are to stay one step ahead and ensure the safety and prosperity of our citizens, we need to make sure our cooperation on economic security is as extensive as our cooperation on traditional security.

The existing strength of the UK-US economic relationship means we are ideally placed to take on these challenges together. Our trade relationship is worth £279 billion a year, and the amount invested in one another’s economies has now surpassed £1 trillion.

US firms have committed more than £14 billion of new investment in the UK, announced today. This includes £583 million of investment in projects including World Fuel Services and Meld’s green hydrogen facility in Hull, a new Mars facility in the London Gateway Freeport, expansions of BNY Mellon’s existing and Vanguard’s new Manchester offices and a new HCA Healthcare facility in Birmingham. Between them these new investments will create almost 2,500 jobs.

Further investments by US companies in the UK include £9 billion from investment management company BlackRock – taking BlackRock’s total UK investment to £500 billion, £2.4 billion invested by Blackstone, £2 billion invested by KKR and £521m invested by CD&R.

These investments are just a snapshot of the vast economic connections between the UK and the US. In recent months US company Nuveen has acquired Arcmont Asset Management for £800 million and Longfellow have established a £1.5 billion life sciences and innovation real estate fund – bringing the total value of major investments by US companies into the UK to nearly £17 billion since the Prime Minister took office.

Because our economies are so interlinked, with nearly 1.5 million Brits working for American companies and more than 1.2 million Americans working for British companies, it is paramount that we approach these issues in a unified and coordinated way.

The Prime Minister will use his visit to the US this week to drive forward these efforts. In his meetings with President Biden, Congresspeople and American business leaders he will advocate for further joint action to safeguard against external threats to our economies, strengthen our supply chains and support the industries of the future.

The Prime Minister said:

The UK and US have always worked in lockstep to protect our people and uphold our way of life. As the challenges and threats we face change, we need to build an alliance that also protects our economies.

Just as interoperability between our militaries has given us a battlefield advantage over our adversaries, greater economic interoperability will give us a crucial edge in the decades ahead.

By combining our vast economic resources and expertise, we will grow our economies, create jobs and keep our people safe long into the future.

A re-energised and enhanced economic relationship between the UK and the US presents huge opportunities for our people – supporting the PM’s priority to grow our economy and create better paying jobs.

Every day, innovations in science and technology are unlocking new possibilities for our people and businesses – doing everything from bringing down the cost of the things we buy to accelerating our transition to clean energy.

In recent years the UK and US have taken a number of steps to enhance our economic relationship, removing barriers including the ban on British beef and lamb exports, and tariffs on steel and whisky. In recent weeks we agreed a new deal to give architects more access to US markets.

Quotes from US businesses:

Stephen A. Schwartzman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Blackstone

As one of the largest overseas investors in the UK, Blackstone is a strong believer in the resilience of the UK economy.  The building of our new headquarters in London is a clear vote of confidence in its future as a financial centre.

Adebayo Ogunlesi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Global Infrastructure Partners

The United Kingdom has always been, and remains, an important market for Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). We believe the UK is an attractive market for infrastructure investments and are privileged to have invested in some market-leading infrastructure companies that provide essential services in the UK, including London City Airport, London Gatwick Airport, Edinburgh Airport, Hornsea 1, Peel Ports, Vantage Towers and Scotia Gas Networks. We look forward to continuing to invest in and grow our companies and explore new investment opportunities.

Rob Sharps, CEO and President, T. Rowe Price

The UK continues to be a world-leading center for asset management. We appreciate the UK government’s commitment to pursue targeted policy reforms to ensure that remains true for many years to come.  T. Rowe Price has been in the City of London since 1979 and intends to stay for the foreseeable future. Our expanded presence in the City underscores our commitment to our clients, helps us attract and retain top talent, and supports our long-term international growth plans.

Adam Sichol, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Longfellow Real Estate Partners

With a rich history of innovation and research, the United Kingdom is the next logical step of growth for Longfellow. Our two nations have an incredible bond that encourages collaboration, growth, and ultimately the creation of thoughtful, world-class space that supports the UK’s leading industries such as life science and innovation ecosystems.

Jose Minaya, Chief Executive Officer, Nuveen

We have seen continued potential to expand our investment capabilities and talent in the UK, most recently demonstrated through our $1 billion acquisition of Arcmont Asset Management, one of the largest private lenders in Europe. We also continue to deepen our real estate and alternatives capabilities in London and Edinburgh. Our continued success has naturally required a need to support that growth with top industry talent, and we now have almost 400 employees in the UK, including several key global company leaders. That is double our head count from 2019 and makes the UK our largest base by personnel outside of the US.

Michael J. Kasbar, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, World Fuel Services Corporation

We are excited to continue investing in the United Kingdom to support their critically important energy transition objectives that drive energy independence and decarbonization. This is just the latest chapter of World Fuel’s commitment to clean energy and one that we expect will foster further investment in the United Kingdom’s energy diversification strategy.

Phebe N. Novakovic, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, General Dynamics

General Dynamics has been a partner with the UK defence industry and the Ministry of Defence for over 20 years to provide mission essential equipment to the UK military.  We are proud of the investment and partnerships we have built over the years.

Greg Hayes, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Raytheon Technologies

Raytheon Technologies’ businesses have been investing across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland for over a century. We are especially proud that our 6,750 local employees, nearly £1 billion annual aerospace and defence supply chain investment, and more than a dozen sites support innovation and contribute to economic growth in every region of the United Kingdom

Thomas A. Bell, Chief Executive Officer, Leidos

Leidos’ investments represent our continued commitment to the UK and our transatlantic partnership. We firmly believe in the strength of the UK defence and national security industry and the tremendous potential it offers. By continuing our investment, we aim to accelerate technological advancements, develop local skills and forge stronger ties between our two countries, ultimately enhancing our collective defence and security capabilities.

Ravi Kumar S, Chief Executive Officer, Cognizant

The UK is a very important market for Cognizant and we see tremendous growth opportunity. Last year we delivered on our promise to open delivery centres in Leeds and Northern Ireland and just this year opened our flag ship London Collaboration Hub for our Cognizant employees. As a business we remain committed to investing in the UK and see the success of our UK business as a pivotal part of Cognizant’s growth overall.

Arvind Krishna, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, IBM

The government of the United Kingdom has adopted a bold strategy for securing the country’s place as a global leader in technology and innovation. Prioritizing the responsible creation and use of powerful technologies, and especially AI and quantum computers, is not only a value that IBM shares, but one that is essential to ensuring these innovations have a net positive impact on society. IBM applauds this approach by the Prime Minister and his government. His visit to Washington only underscores how important the strong relationship between the two countries will be in guiding society into this exciting new era of technology.

Saeed Amidi, Chief Executive Officer, Plug and Play

At Plug and Play we are excited and committed to investing and continuing to grow in the United Kingdom. Since we officially launched in 2022 we have been growing our own team and now have over 60 investments in UK startups. We are particularly excited about the green technology startups that the UK is beginning to build – just this week we invested and partnered with a EV Battery startup called About:Energy.

Our mission is to build ecosystems and invest across the United Kingdom. In the West Midlands we Founded a new Mobility Innovation Platform in collaboration with Jaguar Land Rover and other key partners such as The University of Warwick. The platform continues to grow with Bentley Motors and Novelis joining in 2024. We have bold ambitions to build other globally recognised innovation platforms, across the West Midlands and other important cities.

Kathy Jenkins, Chief Executive Officer, Marshall Group

We believe Greensboro is the ideal home of our US Aerospace operations and are very grateful for the exceptional support and partnership we have received from Greensboro City Council and the State Government of North Carolina.

We are excited to put over 55 years of C-130 experience to work in providing an unmatched standard of in-country support for existing and new US-based partners and customers.