Detailed background
Gavin helps solve complex, multidisciplinary, collective-action challenges. He has co-created over a dozen organisations: building multidisciplinary teams fit for a digital age to explore the impact of data on business, society and culture. He founded and now runs IcebreakerOne.org, making data work harder to deliver a Net Zero Future.
His work spans data infrastructure, policy, science, art, media, communications and innovation.
He was the Open Data Institute’s founding CEO, working with Sir Nigel Shadbolt and Sir Tim Berners-Lee. Under his leadership, it unlocked over $100M of direct economic impact, incubated over 50 companies, launched franchises across 20 countries, trained 10,000 people, recruited a world-class board and team, and delivered over $40M impact in under three years.
At the request of HM Treasury, he co-chaired the development of the Open Banking Standard, laying the foundations for regulation and catalysing international innovation. As the request of the Dept. Business & Trade he co-chaired the UK Smart Data Council. He served on the Data, Science and Evidence Advisory Board of the Ministry of Justice, the Smart London Board, as advisor to the Financial Conduct Authority (Open Finance); advisor to the Global Open Finance Centre of Excellence; Guardian Council member at Yoti (digital identity); Trustee at Blue Ventures (marine conservation); Chairman at Demand Logic; Trustee at Longplayer.org; Chairman at Provenance.org (blockchain); Non-exec at CupClub (circular-economy); Chairman at Rinse Media Group. He regularly provides strategic advice to governments, regulators and intergovernmental organisations around the world.
He has been creating businesses for over 25 years, leading projects with organisations such as Arup, Cap Gemini and the World Bank. This has led to recognition as one of the most influential people in data: winning awards for innovation, expertise, and providing Parliamentary Select Committee evidence. He is a regular international speaker on the topic of data, the web and their impact on society.
Previous ventures include: organising the world’s environmental data and standards into an open web-service, AMEE, raising over $10M from leading VCs (sold 2015); chairing development of the first Gold Standard Carbon Offset; building the world’s leading digital music distributor, CI, the first company to deliver digital products to iTunes, and sent Amazon 25% of its download store at launch (still operating); creating award-winning streaming media company, Tornado, in 1999 (sold 2003); joining Branson’s Virgin Net as employee #5 in 1995 to deliver Virgin Net (now Virgin Media).
At Jodrell Bank Radio Observatory, Gavin helped develop systems designed to map and interpret the universe. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, created courses and lectured in Engineering and Music at Glasgow University, and has degrees in Astronomy and Electronic Music (on which he has published research & released an album). He converted a century-old ship to live aboard and built a cooperative historic harbour on the Thames to put it on.
Archive presentations
Keynote at O’Reilly’s Strata Conference on ‘making data work’
At TEDxNewYork
Commercial – previous
- guardian — Yoti Guardian Council (6-year fixed term)
- advisory board — Two Magnolias venture fund
- board member at Spherics, exited to Sage Plc
- recognised as one of the “UK’s top data leaders and influencers” in 2016
- founding CEO – Open Data Institute, a world-first created by Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Prof. Nigel Shadbolt, unlocking over £60M ($100M at the time) for the data-driven economy
- founder – CEO and Chairman – multi-award-winning AMEE, raising over $10m from leading international venture capital funds (O’Reilly, USV, and Amadeus)
- chairman — Provenance.org, blockchain-based product tracking
- non-exec board — CupClub, circular-economy IoT packaging
- advisory board — market analytics company
- chairman — Rinse Group, at the centre of a vast musical community for over a decade
- two companies I created were part of the first ten ‘Silicon Roundabout’ companies (Wired)
- founding CEO – Consolidated Independent to create the digital supply chain for music, and become the market leader in digital distribution in 3-years
- founder-team member/CTO – Asset TV, a secure video network where investment professionals share information
- founder / CEO – award-winning cross-media company, Tornado Productions (sold to a larger media group in 2003 and onwards to Level3)
- founder-team member and pioneer of streaming media in the UK and Europe from 1995 helping to set up Richard Branson’s “Virgin Net“, and the International Webcasting Association (IWA) in Europe
- mentor to innovative UK startups in “Tech City” in both web and space/satellite industries
- have led projects with UK Govt, BBC, Channel Four, Rolls Royce, Tate Modern, Shell, Radiohead, and UNICEF
Public & non-commercial roles – previous
- Open Finance Task Force — Member
- trustee — Blue Ventures (6-year fixed term)
- co-chairman — Open Banking Working Group, creating the Open Banking Standard that led to new UK regulation
- Innovation Working Group — UK Climate Financial Risk Forum
- Open Finance Advisory Group — UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
- non-executive director — anti-slavery registry, TISC reports
- Business, Finance, Innovation, Investment Advisory Board for Longevity — UK All-Party Parliamentary Group
- Open Banking Advisory Group — Payments New Zealand
- advisory group member — flagship project on data sovereignty across Europe, DECODE (Decentralised Citizens Owned Data Ecosystem)
- advisory board member — Greater London Authority (GLA) ‘Smart London’ programme
- advisory board member — Ministry of Justice Data, Evidence and Science Advisory Board
- advisory board member — UK Government’s Midata – “Energy Sector Board”, shaping policy with utilities and consumer-rights groups
- founder-team member of Global Cool, a charity tackling public communication and mitigation of climate change
- founder of exequo, a non-profit streaming media company for the 3rd sector
News (examples)
Telegraph, ‘How open data is making it easier for businesses to adapt and develop’ https://web.archive.org/web/20230329173933/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/connect/better-business/adapting-to-change-in-business-with-open-data/
https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2015/jun/12/open-data-central-fifa-reform
Academic / Research
- ‘Open Life Data to support healthy longevity for all’, Lancet, May 2021
- ‘A Concise Taxonomy for Describing Data as an Art Material’ Leonardo, Volume 51, issue 1, February 2018
- BSc (Astronomy): Specific research on Quasars
- Masters of Music (Computer-Music): Published research on 3-D Sound and Virtual Reality Audio
- Experimental Officer at Jodrell Bank Radio Observatory: Radio Astrophysics, Quasars, image processing, website dev (1994)
- Created and lectured IEEE approved courses in Electronics and Music at Glasgow University
- Music performed and research published and presented internationally (across five continents)
- Contributor with the AmbientTV collective, the Acoustic Space Lab in Latvia, and Nesta/PAL workshops.