TEES TECH AWARDS 2023
TEES TECH AMBASSADOR
SPONSORED BY JACKSONS LAW FIRM
WINNER
BOB MAKIN ( BEHAVIOUR UK )
Bob Makin ( left ) received the Tees Tech Ambassador award from Tony Wentworth of Jacksons Law Firm .
He began the night talking about his own tech journey – and ended it proudly clutching a trophy given to him by his peers .
For Bob Makin , it ’ s been a year like no other . The guest speaker at this year ’ s Tees Tech Awards told the 300-strong audience of his journey from video game-loving kid to being boss of an acclaimed games firm , SockMonkey Studios , that ’ s just been acquired by Canadian giant Behaviour Interactive .
But what he didn ’ t know was that by the end of the night , he ’ d be clutching the Tees Tech Ambassador award – an award chosen by an expert panel of previous ambassadors and given to someone who consistently and brilliantly bangs the drum for the Tees Tech scene .
And for born-and-bred Teessider Bob , the trophy capped what ’ s been a remarkable year .
He told Tees Business : “ Wow , I really wasn ’ t expecting that – I ’ d gone to the bar because I thought , ‘ It ’ s one of the last awards so I ’ ll get there before the rush ’!
“ I ’ m absolutely flabbergasted – it means a lot , it really does , and to be chosen by people I looked up to and aspired to be like , that ’ s really special .
“ It ’ s been quite a year . What people might not know was my wife has had cancer for the past year and we ’ ve been through all the acquisition stuff too . It ’ s been incredibly stressful but she ’ s fine now , fit and healthy . And now to be name ambassador – what a year !”
In his speech , Bob told how his love of tech began when his dad , who worked abroad , used to bring “ random gadgets and computers to play with ”.
The first Animex festival on Teesside in the ‘ 90s ensured he was “ hooked ” and from then on , backed by a degree in animation from Teesside University , it was a case of honing his skills and following his dreams .
He co-founded SockMonkey with friend Darren Cuthbert , thanks to funding from the DigitalCity fellowship scheme .
He explained : “ We had six months of funding to run SockMonkey and somehow we turned that into 10 years , growing from two to 50 people along the way .”
And now , after Behaviour Interactive acquired SockMonkey in February , he ’ s general manager of Behaviour UK – North , Behaviour ’ s first studio outside North America .
But as he told Tees Business , he has no intention of turning his back on Teesside .
He said : “ It really annoys me to see big companies going to places that are already successful .
“ To me , I look at Teesside from when I was a kid and see the difference that ’ s been made , the money that ’ s been pumped in and the jobs that are here . The fact I ’ ve been able to play a part in that , it ’ s a privilege .”
The Canadians , says Bob , “ absolutely love ” Middlesbrough . He smiled : “ They say it ’ s a beautiful city – they call it a city but I haven ’ t told them yet .
“ But one of the reasons they wanted to come here was to help rejuvenate it and keep pumping the jobs in .
“ I took them to the Riverside – it was a 1-1 draw against Stoke , incredibly dull and sandwiched between a 4-0 and a 5-0 win ! But they loved it and they want to come back .
“ I ’ ll never stop banging the drum for Teesside . It was my lifetime ambition to run a big company and now we ’ re doing it , and we ’ re not going to stop . We ’ re here for good – we ’ re on a roll .”
During his speech earlier in the evening at the Kirkleatham Walled Garden Pavilion , Bob also thanked everyone who ’ d helped him along the way – “ and particularly those who helped me through the last year in what was the most stressful 12 months of my life , a year that has literally cost me half my moustache !”
He added : “ One thing I didn ’ t expect when I started a business – and my favourite thing about the Teesside tech scene – is the camaraderie and the friendships that I ’ ve created along the way .”
SPONSOR ’ S MESSAGE
Tony Wentworth , managing partner , Jacksons Law Firm , said : “ Supporting the Tees Tech Ambassador category was a real privilege . This was the only category in this year ’ s awards in which the winner was chosen solely by decision of the judging panel , without nominations and shortlisting . The judging panel was unanimously of the view that this year ’ s standout candidate to receive the award was Bob Makin . It ’ s been quite a year for Bob , with the sale of SockMonkey to Behaviour . His recognition as Tees Tech Ambassador is truly deserved .”
The voice of business in the Tees region | 53