Birmingham Black Business Show 2024

Denise is one of the “golden girls” of British athletics; winning gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and subsequently being inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011. Denise has twice been runner-up in the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year Awards and was honoured with an OBE in 2000, followed by a Damehood in 2023 and an Honorary Doctorate from Birmingham City University in the same year.

The former Gold Medal winning heptathlete, has gone on to secure a successful broadcast career. Denise has undertaken an array of television work including commentating on high profile athletics events – she is considered one of the BBCs most credible commentators, which has seen her cover many key athletics events both at home and abroad, from the Commonwealth Games to the Olympics. Denise has also fronted shows such as BBCs Secret Britain and Right on the Money.

She took part in ITV’s Don’t Rock the Boat along with The Masked Dancer, reaching the semi-final. Denise also hosts her own Spotify podcast ‘Runtethered with Google’. She has been an activewear and Golf brand ambassador for Next since 2021, and has worked with multiple other brands including L’Oreal, Google, Haven and Purple Bricks. Denise is a sought-after corporate and live-event speaker, regularly discussing her career and key learnings to audiences across the UK and abroad. Additionally, Denise has taken on the role of ambassador and patron for several initiatives, events and charities, notably working closely with Breast Cancer Care and Sparks.

Aged twenty-one, Timo founded Fanbytes, helping global brands including Nike, Samsung, Deliveroo and the UK Government engage with Gen Z, via Influencer Marketing. In 2022, five and a half years post launch, Timo sold Fanbytes to global marketing company Brainlabs in an eight-figure exit. This marked Timo’s second successful exit, having sold his first business EntrepreneurXpress – a business media publication – to Horizon when he was just seventeen.

Timo’s success and expertise has seen him win a string of accolades, including Huffington Post’s Entrepreneur of the Year, named social media person of the year by The Drum, the 2021 face of Forbes 30 Under 30, and highlighted by London’s Evening Standard as one of the most influential people in the media industry. Timo has spoken to audiences worldwide including Goldman Sachs, You Tube, Barclays, PwC, and Nespresso, and shared the stage with leading media figures including Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.

As one of the few visible black leaders in the marketing and tech space, Timo is a recognised thought leader on themes including reaching a Gen Z audience and creating a Gen Z mindset, the new world of media and building and future proofing a multi-generational workforce.