Matthew Springer - Curator (2021-22)
Founder & CEO @ Holistec
Entrepreneur-in-Residence @ Abed Group
Matthew Springer is the founder & CEO of Holistec® which prepares learners, educators and organisations for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. He also serves as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Abed Group - focussing on regulatory technology, and has served on the organising Committee for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Born in Barbados, with an LLB from the UK, he launched his first venture at age 14, and bootstrapped two ecommerce companies whilst in law school, which generated sales to over 60 countries. He is deeply passionate about innovation, entrepreneurship, sustainability, and social impact, with experience in business development, operations, fundraising, partnerships, IP, branding, and marketing.
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Driven by the lack of diversity and wellbeing in the tech industry, coupled with the understanding that tech can be used to solve some of Humanity's biggest problems, he founded Holistec® Academy - a Personal Accelerator® which incorporates tech, mindfulness, entrepreneurship, and sustainability. Highlights at Holistec® include the development of 3D-printed rocketry kits and 3D-printed hydroponic food farms as part of the curriculum, nationwide campaigns to get more girls into tech, working with British intelligence agency GCHQ to boost their cybersecurity pipeline, and delivering workshops at 10 Downing Street.
In 2020, Matt joined the Organising Committee for the Creative Industries and Trade Digitisation Forum at the 15th Edition of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) - the largest intergovernmental gatherings held once every four years, bringing together Heads of State and industry from 195 Member States.
He regularly volunteers for NGOs and projects ranging from the WIRRED ‘Plant A Million Trees’ project, to Tangential Dreams at Burning Man which won the prestigious Architizer A+ Award and was featured globally in publications like Dezeen, Vice, and Forbes. He is a lover of the outdoors, surfing, reading, music, mindfulness, and travelling.