Kirsty Styles

Kirsty worked as a technology journalist and economics podcaster in East London for five years, ending up as business to business (B2B) tech editor for the New Statesman. However, in 2016 she headed back home to Liverpool to head up the talent and skills programme for Tech North - the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) initiative to accelerate the growth of digital business in the north of England. It was her job to establish what the 'digital skills crisis' looks like in the North and work with others to do something about it. She was recognised for her work creating the Northern Voices network of female public speakers with a Northern Power Women Future List award in 2017. Fun fact: she also stood for local election twice. Kirsty studied newspaper journalism at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston. During her studies worked at her hometown newspaper, the Warrington Guardian, as well as at RockFM and the BBC in Manchester.