FINALISTS
SPONSORED BY MIDDLESBROUGH COLLEGE
Rising Star
MIA SIMPSON
( OES Oilfield Services )
An IT apprentice at Stockton-based OES Oilfield Services , Mia is part of a team providing technical IT support to 450 office and field-based employees .
Joining the company in October 2019 , Mia has already completed her Level 3 Network Technician apprenticeship , is currently on her Level 4 Cyber Security Technologist course and in just three short months was attending local and international training courses and providing support to people of all ethnicities from around the world .
Mia ’ s enthusiasm and talent has enabled her to prove herself in an industry which can be a difficult development ground for women .
CHRISTOPHER GOODYEAR
( Many Cats Studios )
Chris is a deaf games developer who launched Many Cats Studios in order to bridge the gap between disabled and neurodiverse people and the games industry .
Working closely with Ukie , Into Games and a range of SEN education providers , Chris created opportunities for young disabled people and encouraged industry professionals to advocate and support those with disabilities . He has also mentored autistic students and spoken about disabilities at industry events .
With grants from DigitalCity and Unltd to support his work and help the business grow , Chris was a finalist in the Social Impact category of the ‘ If We Can You Can ’ challenge and made the Rising 100 list by GamesIndustry . Biz .
TIM WARD
( OPPORTUNI )
CEO and co-founder Tim is changing the world of bids , tenders and procurement with Stocktonbased OPPORTUNI , a platform which gives SMEs extraordinary capabilities to match and compete for public sector contracts .
Regarded as the fastestgrowing company in the sector globally , winners of a regional Tech Nation Rising Stars Award and one of Theo Paphitis ’ Small Business Saturday winners , OPPORTUNI has been entrusted by one of the UK ’ s top VC funds with £ 1m of investment to grow the business into a £ billion ‘ plus ’ entity in three to five years .
As a guest on numerous podcasts locally and globally , Tim always flies the flag for Teesside tech while creating high paying jobs for aspiring people in the region .
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