Invest in Sheffield

Gene DePrez

Director - Innovation

First Floor
1 St James Row
Sheffield
S1 2EU

+44 (0)114 223 2345

In April 2008, Gene DePrez was appointed as the Director of Innovation for Creativesheffield, City Development Company for the Sheffield city-region in England. Creativesheffield integrates activities of several merged predecessors including city and regional regeneration, business and inward investment, and expanded initiatives in innovation and the knowledge economy. Supported by strategic marketing and branding, it operates as a comprehensive company to effectively transform Sheffield’s regional economy. As chief innovation officer Mr DePrez will collaborate with a wide spectrum of national and regional organizations to champion innovation and collaboration in fulfilment of Sheffield’s Economic Masterplan.

Mr DePrez joined Creativesheffield from the New York City area, where he had been Americas and Co-Global Leader for Business Location and Economic Development Strategy in IBM’s Strategy & Change management consulting practice. He has over 30 years’ experience in corporate location strategy and economic development and has helped hundreds of the world’s leading organisations to decide where to locate their headquarters, research centres and other major business units.

Mr DePrez has directed economic development strategy projects for numerous states, provinces and regions in the North America and the UK and has led the development of best practice growth models for a number of universities and technology parks.

Mr DePrez had a similar role for PricewaterhouseCoopers, prior to IBM’s acquisition of PwC’s management consulting practice. He has also served as vice president of PHH Fantus and as Principal of Fluor Daniel Consulting, and was president/CEO of Partnerships DataNet, a Washington DC based national collaborative development initiative formed by the White House with business and association leaders. Earlier he was a university public affairs officer and held several marketing communications positions at Eastman Kodak.

He serves on the boards of the International Economic Development Council, Partners for Liveable Communities, and the Editorial Board of CoreNet Global, a real estate industry association. Mr DePrez earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in Imaging Arts and Sciences from Rochester Institute of Technology and completed post graduate work in Urban Policy at Syracuse University in the US.

gene.deprez@sheffield.gov.uk

Andy Curtis

Assistant Director - Innovation

First Floor
1 St James Row
Sheffield
S1 2EU

+44 (0)114 223 2345

Specialising in the field of technology transfer and commercialisation in public and private sectors. Mr Curtis joined Creative Sheffield when the company was formed in May 2007, building new capacities in innovation and the knowledge economy and regional economic development to create a comprehensive and effective platform to transform Sheffield's economy.

With an industry focus on Creative and Digital Industries, Mr Curtis has run and consulted on numerous projects in the North of England working with local government, business and educational institutions. Previously he worked in Studio and Production Management in the television and film industry with Nickelodeon UK, BSkyB, and Granada TV in London and Manchester.

Andy was born in Sheffield and has grown up alongside the emerging Sheffield based Creative and Digital economy and has worked in Sheffield's Cultural Industries Quarter for many years. At Creative Sheffield he is developing the next stage of CDI industry growth and the "Digital Square Mile" concept.

As an active practitioner he is also a qualified photographer and a production director for the UK's largest Adventure Film festival

andy.curtis@sheffield.gov.uk  

James Wilson

Investment Manager (CDI and Bio)

First Floor
1 St James Row
Sheffield
S1 2EU

+44 (0)114 223 2345

James has been working to support the development of the Digital and New Media (DNM) industries in Sheffield for over 6 years.

His role involves promoting the city as an investment location for DNM businesses and generally raising the profile of the sector locally, nationally and internationally.

He runs the DNM leadership group, manages the sector directory (www.TheCdiDirectory.co.uk) and works with a variety of partners across the region to ensure that the sector goes from strength to strength.

james.wilson@sheffield.gov.uk

Alison Murphy

PA - Director of Innovation