Keith Arundale Keynote Speaker

• Entrepreneurial Finance: Venture Capital, Angels & Crowdfunding

Drawing on decades of expertise in private equity and venture capital, Dr Keith Arundale explores the full spectrum of entrepreneurial finance—from VC and angel investing to crowdfunding. His insights are grounded in teaching at Henley Business School and a major eight-year research project comparing investment practices in the UK, Europe and the US. Audiences benefit from a global, practitioner-informed view of current trends, deal structures and investor behaviour.

• Tech Ecosystems in Action: From Thames Valley to Silicon Valley

What makes a tech ecosystem thrive? As co-founder of the Reading Tech Cluster and researcher on innovation ecosystems, Keith dissects the key enablers of regional tech success. Drawing comparisons between Reading and Silicon Valley, he analyses the role of enterprise support organisations (ESOs), investor networks and corporate collaboration in fuelling innovation and scale-up growth.

• Life on the Auditing Front Line: The Unexpected Stories Behind the Numbers

With an engaging and often humorous lens, Keith offers a behind-the-scenes look at the world of audit. Based on his years at PwC in London and Pittsburgh, this talk explores unusual audit experiences, famous corporate frauds, and why accountancy is anything but dull. Ideal for business audiences looking for insight with a lighter touch.

• Assume Nothing – and other lessons from a life of Vision and Venture

Join Keith as he takes us through his roller-coaster ride through life – commencing with physics at Imperial College London and visual optics research at Moorfields Eye Hospital, morphing into auditing and business development at one of the largest professional services firms, PwC, and on to his current role in venture capital. Learning life lessons along the way, such as “Assume Nothing” the placard on the desk of an unscrupulous Miami lawyer who also sold go-fast speed boats and was the largest cemetery operator in Southern Florida; when you are investigating such an entity in an incredibly hostile environment Keith soon learned that it is wise not to assume anything at all! Keith’s work took him from stocktaking vinegar vats in Bermondsey and steel scrap yards in Beverly Hills, cold-calling in Pittsburgh to the largest automotive manufacturer in Russia via Aeroflot and private Learjets. Now researching venture capital investment practices Keith’s take on how Silicon Valley VCs take huge risks in return for outlier investment returns is not to be missed. “The connections are just phenomenal: connected advisers, connected partners. The Valley is just unique”: quote by a UK VC from Keith’s interviews with over 60 venture capital firms from UK, Europe and USA. Hear how Keith and his colleagues are working on transforming Thames Valley Berkshire into such an interconnected tech ecosystem with the Reading Tech Cluster – from bulbs and biscuits to bytes. An uphill struggle but “Never, never quit” is another of Keith’s life mottos.