Piers Linney

Piers Linney is a highly successful entrepreneur, with ventures extending across a variety of industries from banking and bikes to television and public services. Currently the Non-Executive Director of the British Business Bank and the founding CEO of Moblox, Piers is also sharing his time with speaking engagements for corporate events. When booked as a speaker, Piers is able to speak on his experiences and insights from his illustrious career, covering topics such as startups, the finance market, innovation, diversity, inclusion, success and business growth to name but a few. 

Piers began his professional career in the banking industry as an Investment Banking Executive for Barclays BZW, making him well-acquainted with finance and effective profit-making. From that point on, Piers carved his name as an entrepreneur and co-founded Doctorsworld/ Medemonitor- his first business. Piers then worked as CEO of TrusttheDJ, Director of Tower Gate Capital and a Partner in Trafalgar Capital Advisors before he became the Co-CEO of Genesis Communications, the UK's largest B2B mobile voice and data solutions provider. He was a founding member of the Governance Board of the UK's Cloud Industry Forum and in 2014, he joined the Cabinet Office SME Panel on which he advised small/medium businesses on issues. His media profile was boosted when he appeared on The Secret Millionaire in 2011 and raised even further with his appearance as a 'Dragon' investor on Dragons' Den. 

Since then, Piers has also been the Co-CEO of Outsourcery and a Patron or Trustee of organisations such as Plotr, Band on the Wall, Nesta, the African Caribbean Community Initiative and the Aleto Foundation. He has also been a board member for the likes of techUK and been an advisor for Swiftsure Partners and Sen. Other prominent roles include being an Entrepreneur in Residence for The Accelerator Network, a Venture Partner of White Horse Capital, the founder of #Startup with Piers Linney, co-founder and CEO of Atherton Bikes and a Diversity & Inclusion Adviser for Sky on their Diversity Advisory Council. Piers' commitment to business has seen him named on the JP Morgan-Sponsored Power List as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Black Britons in 2013, as Entrepreneur Leader of the Year in 2014 at the first Black British Business Awards, in the Top 100 Minority Ethnic Leaders in Technology in 2018 and nomination for the 100 Most Influential BAME Leaders in Tech 2019. 

With such a successful career behind him, Piers Linney is now a popular choice as a speaker for corporate events. Having previously spoken for the likes of The Very Group, Piers is a seasoned speaker covering topics such as business success, business growth, diversity, inclusion, innovation and growing new businesses. Enjoying sharing his experiences, practical advice and insights into successful business, Piers encourages audiences to plan for an uncertain future and make sure they are armed to tackle the problems that may arise. When looking for a speaker who is a consummate professional and an expert on making a business a success, look no further than Piers Linney. 

“Very inspiring speech! Loved the very genuine sharing of your journey, so many takeaways… 1, Not letting your background or where you come from hold you back. 2, Reaching out to others and nurturing their potential for success. 3, Creativity is uniquely human, develop it as that is something machines can’t do. Thanks Piers for showing others what is possible.” – Hiten, BE GREAT Training & Development

"Piers is a fantastic speaker and has an easy, upbeat and frank way of speaking about serious issues. With Piers, we had an open, honest and enlightening conversation with really good engagement from the online audience. It was very interesting hearing his own story which was truly inspiring. It was a popular event and the feedback on the session has been extremely positive. More importantly, Piers left us with lots to think about. One big take away from the session was “when hiring, don’t just hire yourself”. It was a fantastic Session!" - African-Caribbean Network, EBRD

"Piers was a fantastic guest speaker for our event. His wealth of experience, coupled with his insight into future trends, was on point for our audience. We were looking for a celebrity who is also an expert, and that’s what we got. We had a great experience with Piers throughout, from the initial briefing call to the event itself. He made a real effort to understand our company and our product, and the care he took in tailoring his content for our event really shone through." - Gloria, Marketing Manager, OneStream Software

"We invited Piers to talk to our colleagues about diversity and its importance in business at our first ever digital internal conference. We’re at the start of our journey when it comes to talking about race and ethnic diversity in the workplace and Piers pitched his session perfectly for our colleagues. His session was informative, insightful and inspiring and garnered fantastic engagement and feedback from colleagues, with several describing it as the best presentation they’ve seen during their time with the business. We’d have Piers back again in a heartbeat, on any one of the wide variety of subjects on which he’s an expert!" - Lauren, The Very Group

"We invited Piers to join in our conversation on ethnic diversity and race in the workplace and to share his thoughts on the role organisations have and actions they can take to ensure that they can access a more diverse pool of talent. Piers is a fantastic speaker and has an easy, upbeat and frank way of speaking about serious issues. With Piers, we had an open, honest and enlightening conversation with really good engagement from the online audience. It was very interesting hearing his own story which was truly inspiring. It was a popular event and the feedback on the session has been extremely positive. More importantly, Piers left us with lots to think about. One big take away from the session was “when hiring, don’t just hire yourself”. It was a fantastic Session!" - European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

• 2021 - D&I Adviser for Sky 
• 2020 - Founder & CEO of Moblox, Entrepreneur in Residence of The Accelerator Network, Venture Partner for White Horse Capital & Adviser for Sen 
• 2019 - Co-Founder & Chairman of Atherton Bikes, Founder of #Startup with Piers Linney 
• 2018 - Recognised on the Top 100 Ethnic Minority Executives list by EMpower/ Financial Times 
• 2017 - Non-Executive Director of the British Business Bank 
• 2016 - Technology adviser for Swiftsure Partners LLC 
• 2015 - Public Services Board member for techUK 
• 2014 - Recognised as Entrepreneur of the Year at the Black British Business Awards, Trustee of Nesta & Plotr, member of the Cabinet Office SME Panel
• 2013 - Patron of Band on the Wall, Investor on 'Dragons' Den'
• 2011 - Patron of the African Caribbean Community Initiative, Co-CEO of Outsourcery & Governance Board member of Cloud Industry Forum 
• 2010 - Trustee of the GAG Project & the Aleto Foundation 
• 2008 - CO-CEO of Genesis Communications
• 2006 - Partner of Trafalgar Capital Advisors 
• 2003 - Shareholder of The Radio Department Limited & Director of Tower Gate Capital 
• 2001 - CEO of TrusttheDJ
• 2000 - Co-Founder & CEO of Doctorsworld/ Medemonitor 
• 1998 - Senior Associate of Credit Suisse First Boston 
• 1997 - Investment Banking Executive for Barclays de Zoete Wedd