THE SUPERTECH TEAM

Meet the SuperTech team and our key delivery partners supporting our programme success. We work with our Professional and Financial Services ecosystem to drive sustainable regional growth.

SUPERTECH TEAM

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HILARY SMYTH-ALLEN: CEO

Hilary leads SuperTech as CEO with incredible drive and vision, alongside with significant expertise to deliver real world impact and growth.

A former chartered surveyor and qualified tax technician, Hilary has a wide-ranging career spanning professional and financial services sector including 10 years in practice as a National Director in Fortune 500 company AECOM.   

Since her time in practice, Hilary worked as Executive Director for regional membership body for professional services for 5 years and established herself as a key influencer in BPFS policy in the West Midlands working for Greater Birmingham & Solihull LEP.   

She also leads industry engagement on behalf of a range of organisations including nationally funded research projects with University of Sheffield Management School, Oxford Brookes University, City-REDI at University of Birmingham, Dept of BEIS and Innovate UK. Innovation and disruptive technology is a core strand to the policy areas Hilary engages in and SuperTech combines these interests with passion for championing Birmingham and wider West Midlands. 

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PIA VAN ANTWERPEN: COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT LEAD

Pia leads on the strategy and delivery for successful engagement of SuperTech’s growing community across all of the sectors.

Former Marketing and Brand engagement specialist, Pia has a wide-ranging career spanning the West Midlands technology ecosystem including a variety of stakeholder and policy led programme launches, as well as international and regional events and communications activities.

Curated activities focussed on collaboration for the mutual benefit of enhanced market insight and sector growth are core activities for Pia and she combines these interests with passion for championing Birmingham and wider West Midlands. 

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CLARE STREETS: INNOVATION AND DIGITAL LEAD

Clare supports the LawTech Onboarding Innovation Lab, the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab Programme and our PropTech Forum.  

She is a consultant, Non-Executive Director (NED), board member, and ambassador recognised across numerous organisations spanning the public, private, academic, and non-profit sectors. Her extensive national and international network is testament to her influence and impact. Clare's achievements have been acknowledged through features on the prestigious Women in Software Powerlist and the Women in Tech Awards. 

Her corporate and board-level experience provides invaluable support in a range of critical areas, including: Growth Strategy; Partnerships and Business Development; Innovation Programmes; Digital Transformation; Cluster and Eco-System Support; Education and Curriculum Development and Skills and Future of the Workforce.

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JO GRIFFIN: CONNECTOR SERIES LEAD

Jo leads the Connector Series and joined SuperTech following 20 years in Further Education. She has extensive strategic programme management experience, most recently working with BMet on their innovative FinTech Skills Framework for Further Education. 

With a degree in Business Studies and an MA in Education, Jo’s career focused on teaching adults to use technology in a wide range of settings, including developing expertise in adaptive technology and accessibility. She has 30 years’ experience in school governance and currently chairs a multi-academy company of 14 schools within the West Midlands. 

DELIVERY PARTNERS

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JOF WALTERS: GREATER THINGS

Jof leads on the delivery of the SuperTech Seeds programme through Greater Things and Million Labs.

He is a banking innovator responsible for several firsts to market, who has also acquired and sold almost fifty companies, and now owns Million Labs which helps founders to launch start-ups with no-code. Last year Million Labs launched around 250 start-ups, which created an estimated 500 jobs.

SOPHIE MARTINETZ: FUTURE LAW

Sophie leads on the LawTech Innovation programmes. She is a legal tech brain and award winning legal tech expert 

She understands the needs, opportunities, risks, and future challenges of the legal industry like only a few other experts in her field. In recognition of her expertise, she was honored as Women of Legal Tech 2020, and also won the European Tech Women Award that same year. 

After an international career in law and corporate banking in Berlin and London, a trained lawyer—with 20 years of experience in international management and expertise in digitalization— she returned to Vienna and founded Future-Law in 2017 (www.future-law.eu). 

She is a frequent speaker at industry events, a columnist, and author of numerous books and articles on Legal Tech, AI and the digitalization of the legal sector. A cause particularly close to her heart is the promotion and support of women in professional life and entrepreneurship, ie with the network Women in Law –www.women-in-law.org. 

HELEN TOFT: HMT CONSULTING

Helen advises on the marketing and communication strategy for SuperTech to drive awareness from its offering through to its impact.

Helen established HMT Consulting in September 2023 after 20 years’ experience working within organisations and agencies, advising on impactful marketing and communications strategy and delivering award-winning campaigns.  

Helen works with organisations experiencing change and provides guidance on how marketing and communications should align to drive forward strategic organisational aims. Her sector experience includes telco, technology, higher education, media, financial and professional services, from start-ups to large global brands, with experience at regional, national and international levels