Ian Forrester works for the BBC’s R&D Advisory team in Media City UK in Manchester where he enjoys the unique job title of Senior Firestarter. He specialises in open innovation and identifying new disruptive opportunities through open engagement and collaborations with start-ups, universities and early adopters.

Taking pride in his background he champions inclusion and diversity wherever he goes. His achievements recently was noticed by the Inclusive board, landing him in the top 100 diverse tech leaders in the UK.