Mission
WANdisco is a world-leading technology business whose cloud software is used by over five million businesses worldwide – including tech giants such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft – to move vast quantities of data into the cloud.
The company’s pioneering technology allows businesses to transform their operations and use the power of data to drive innovation in a range of sectors – including financial services, manufacturing and telecommunications.
The CEO David Richards co-founded the business in 2005 and has since built it into a firm with a market cap of more than £400m.
Campaign
Seven Hills began working with WANdisco in 2011 as the firm prepared to list on the London Stock Exchange, helping articulate the vital role its technology plays across all industries.
Since then, WANdisco’s CEO David Richards has become a vocal spokesperson on the nationwide development of the UK’s digital economy. Seven Hills has worked to position him as a thought-leader on the issues shaping the business and technology agenda, securing opinion pieces in the likes of City AM, The Times, and The Daily Telegraph – discussing a range of topics ranging from Big Tech regulation and talent development, to infrastructure and education.
David has been established as a leading commentator and thought leader on the issues surrounding Big Tech, and the monopolies they hold across different markets. He has been a vocal critic of tech monopolies, and the need for firmer regulation in the ecosystem.
He is a passionate advocate for the development of the next generation and the skills necessary to support the UK’s growing digital economy. Having founded the David and Jane Richards Family Foundation to support the development of digital skills, David turned to the issue of digital exclusion in the wake of Covid, and providing devices for children in the UK as part of his Laptop for Kids campaign.
Most recently, we’ve focused our communications activity on the newly-launched EyUp initiative – designed to tackle the digital skills shortage in the UK while giving people from disadvantaged backgrounds access to best-in-class software development training. It will create an alternative pathway for people to gain employment in the tech sector.
“The pandemic has taught us many things, but perhaps none more important than the reality that we can work smarter, better and more efficiently. a four-day working week is now an inevitable economic reality for us all – and it’s only a matter of time before many others will follow suit. We are proud that WANdisco is a pioneer in this area, and that we are keeping in step with the new economic and working patterns emerging.” – David Richards, CEO and Co-founder of WANdisco
Momentum
Having thwarted a failed boardroom coup to reclaim his role as CEO, the Financial Times likened David to Apple founder Steve Jobs and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey. He is one of the most respected figures in UK technology and the business is thriving on the London Stock Exchange.
David joined the board of Tech Nation in 2018, where he uses his Silicon Valley experience to help accelerate the growth of the UK’s tech sector.
Over the past decade of working together, Seven Hills has secured coverage for David and WANdiso in the likes of the FT, BBC, The Times, Mail on Sunday, City AM, The Daily Telegraph and Forbes.
