Page 44 - Powerlist 2020

Business, Corporates, Financiers & Entrepreneurs

Gary Stewart diversity in tech which found that 70 per cent of the UK’s start-
Director, Telefonica Open Future & Wayra UK up ecosystem was dominated by white, upper middle-class
men based mostly in London.
His response was not only to open up hubs outside of the
In 2011, Telefonica recognised that its future was capital to ensure that talent and opportunity are equally
digital, and recruited Gary from IE Business School, distributed, but also to ensure that, within recent cohorts,
where he had been working as an associate professor of at least 40 per cent of new start-ups had at least one female
entrepreneurship and as executive director of the business founder and 30 per cent had at least one black founder.
school’s start-up incubator. Gary also volunteers as a Governor of the University of East
Gary joined Wayra, Telefonica’s accelerator for digital London and as an adviser to the Amos Bursary.
start-ups in Europe and Latin America, and helped to In November 2018, Wayra UK and German energy firm
create the company’s corporate acceleration model. Innogy joined forces to start a UK-based energy start up
Since 2011, Telefonica has invested almost £150 million incubator programme.
in 450 start-ups in 16 countries, and Wayra UK accounts for Talking to the Financial Times in June 2019 Gary says the
almost 40 per cent of the global portfolio value. majority of start-up businesses are doomed to failure but ‘the
Gary has spearheaded many thought-leadership ones that do well make you really, really rich.’ His predicted
campaigns – particularly noteworthy was a study on future stars are: ChargedUp, Trust Elevate and Stasher.

40 Powerlist 2020