UK appoints entrepreneur Joe White as first Tech Envoy to the United States

Earlier this year, I was pleased to learn that the UK Government was planning to appoint a Tech Envoy to the U.S. – a dedicated point person who would live in the Bay Area and function as a conduit between our tech industry and the UK. Later, when I learned that Joe White would take on this newly created role, I grew even more excited about the positive impact this new position will have on fostering innovation and entrepreneurism on a local and global scale.

In addition to having 66 million Internet users, the UK is home to its own rapidly growing tech sector, which attracted $13.2 billion in investment capital in 2019 and now employs nearly 3 million people. Increasing cooperation and collaboration between U.S. companies and U.K. ones will create benefits for both countries and the world at large, and Joe is extremely well-suited to manage this cross-cultural effort.

I first met Joe when he was working as a General Partner for Entrepreneur First, a Greylock-backed early stage tech fund which has gone on to raise and run $200 million in capital for start-ups, creating a global portfolio with an aggregate value of more than $2 billion. And I have gotten to know Joe as a friend after he moved to Silicon Valley last year.

Now, in addition to assuming the role of Consul General in San Francisco on behalf of the UK Government, Joe will also serve as Tech Envoy, managing tech and entrepreneur relationships for the UK Government. In this latter capacity, Joe will draw upon his extensive experience as an entrepreneur and investor with deep knowledge of both the UK start-up world and Silicon Valley.

I’ve spent my career building and investing in digital platforms that help people work together and connect with each other in new ways that create dynamic and productive networks and communities. As companies, consumers, systems, and infrastructure grow increasingly connected across the world, creating new levels of global interdependence and productivity, building strong channels for collaboration is more important than ever. Government plays a key role in the ongoing process of building stronger public and private relationships between multiple parties, and I look forward to the entrepreneurial mindset and expertise Joe will bring to his new role as Tech Envoy.

In the early 1990s, I had the opportunity to study philosophy at the University of Oxford on a Marshall Scholarship. This experience helped me develop ideas about how humanity achieves progress that I would ultimately put into play as a tech founder and investor. And it also left me with a lasting appreciation for UK culture and the ways it is both different and synergistic with American culture.

In recent years, it’s been exciting to see the UK taking a significant role in multiple tech sectors, including finance, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing, and supporting the entrepreneurs who are turning big new ideas and innovations into new businesses and jobs, and creating new products and services that enhance our lives in myriad ways.

So I'm looking forward to the way that Joe and his team will help increase connectivity between U.S. companies and entrepreneurs and their U.K. counterparts. Anglo-American relations have always produced wide-ranging benefits for both countries, and as we move deeper into the 21st century, I believe that more collaboration and cooperation on the technologies that are transforming the world stands as the most promising way to extend that legacy. I wish Joe all the best in his new effort, and look forward to all he will accomplish.