BoardReady founder Deanna Oppenheimer gave the prestigious Bolland Lecture in Bristol, UK on Wednesday, October 9 as part of the Bristol Distinguished Address Series.  

In her speech at the University of West England, Deanna compared the tech scenes in Bristol and Seattle as we enter the Fourth Industrial Revolution, blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological worlds. She revealed similarities that ranged from their long-established aerospace industries, to their vibrant start-up communities, to even their maddening levels of traffic congestion.

Deanna identified sobering obstacles to the growth of both cities, yet her tone was optimistic, rather than discouraged. She advocated for collaboration between businesses and universities to inspire and promote the next generation of tech leaders, and for greater acknowledgement that the jobs of the future will require more coordination between right brain and left.

Workers in the coming decades will need to marry technical expertise with soft skills, strategic thinking, and creativity. Cities can help foster that talent by fostering a vibrant cultural and artistic environment, attracting global talent with a global reputation. Seattle and Bristol are on the edge of a golden age, according to Deanna. They are well-positioned to help form the vanguard of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.