Meet Your Host: Laura Sharpe
Laura, a highly successful Tech Recruitment professional, has embarked on an exciting new chapter in her career with the launch of Connect Events. After 16 years of running Sharpe Recruitment alongside her mother, Julie, Laura has decided to pivot towards event management.
Laura and her mother built a strong reputation in the recruitment industry, affectionately known as the "Sharpe Ladies" by their peers. Their agency specialised in digital and creative recruitment, fostering long-term relationships with clients and candidates alike. However, Laura always had a passion for hosting and attending events, particularly in the tech sector.
Her experience in organising Design It; Build It, a major
tech and creative conference in 2013 and 2014, planted the seed for this new
venture. Now, nearly a decade later, she is excited to return to the world of
conferences with Tech Connect – an event dedicated to the future of AI.
If you'd like to get in touch with Laura please use the form on Contact Us.
Proposed Agenda
09:00 - 10:00 Registration & Networking (Incl quieter spaces with fidget toys)
10:00 - 12:00 3 Speakers 10:00-12:00
12:00 - 13:00 Networking Lunch (Incl a light lunch, optional Wellbeing Walk and quieter spaces with fidget toys)
13:00 - 14:50 3 Speakers
14:50 - 15:20 Networking Break (Incl quieter spaces with fidget toys)
15:20 - 17:00
Panel & Closing keynote
Click Here for details on the Speakers and their Talks
Meet our Partners
Charity Partner: The Charlie and Carter Foundation
The Charlie & Carter Foundation (CCF) provides financial support to parents of seriously ill children with life limiting conditions that require 24 hour nursing care or specialist nursing facilities.
Bursary Partner: Layers Studio
Strategic delivery from cross disciplined experienced teams, working together from the beginning of your ideation process. Match your industry insight with our creativity and technical knowledge and see what your real potential looks like.
Supporting Partner: MSP
Have you watched Formula 1 and wondered how they make the cars? Flown abroad and wondered how they make the plane’s wings? Are you fascinated by rockets and spacecraft? At MSP, we work in high-tech industries to help manufacturers make their parts quicker and more accurately. We’re a creative and diverse team, transforming manufacturing every day using metrology, data and now AI.
Supporting Partner: Waterstons
At Waterstons, we’re here to help organisations solve real business problems with smart and transformational technology. From bespoke software and AI solutions to cyber consultancy and managed IT, we build strategic digital partnerships grounded in trust, collaboration, and a people-first approach. Curious about how AI could work for you? Book a free 45-minute session with our experts at ai@waterstons.com
Supporting Partner: CLR Law
CLR Law is a firm of solicitors specialising in employment law, HR, dispute resolution and corporate/commercial law. We are based in Gateshead’s Baltic Business Quarter and deliver services locally and beyond. Originating from a commitment to deliver a better and more flexible service to our clients, our sole dedication lies in enhancing the experience of engaging with a solicitor and attaining their desired outcome.
Exhibitor & Lanyards Partner: Apexon
Apexon is a problem-first IT consultancy committed to delivering tangible solutions to complex business challenges. We focus on providing strategic IT guidance and robust technical expertise, specialising in IT Strategy, Data & AI, and Digital Engineering. Our approach prioritises solving real-world problems through the application of advanced technology, partnering with our clients to deliver business objectives and unlock significant value.