In this episode of Oxford+, host Susannah de Jager is joined by Mark Preston, CTO of StreetDrone to talk about the motorsports cluster in Oxford and the challenges and opportunities it presents. They discuss the need for talent mobility, the impact of Brexit on the industry, and the importance of attracting headquarters and startups to the region. Mark and Susannah also take the opportunity to discuss the potential of clusters in other sectors and the need for government support and better immigration policies to attract and retain talent.

(0:12 ) Introduction
(1:13 ) Background and early entrepreneurship
(4:19 ) Exploring the Motorsport Cluster in Oxford
(10:47 ) Brexit friction
(14:44 ) National Works Programmes and large scale funding solutions
(18:35 ) Growing pains
(25:31 ) StreetDrone and Future Prospects

About the guest:
Mark Preston is the CTO of StreetDrone, a pre-seed company developing low-speed, hyper-local deliveries in ports, commercial settings and local neighbourhoods. Mark also has experience within Formula One, having run multiple teams' engineering departments before moving into strategy and executive management within Formula E.

Connect with Mark on LinkedIn

About the host:
Susannah de Jager is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in UK asset management. She has worked closely with industry experts, entrepreneurs, and government officials to shape the conversation around domestic scale-up capital.

Connect with Susannah on LinkedIn

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Oxford+ is hosted by Susannah de Jager, supported by Mishcon de Reya and produced and edited by Story Ninety-Four in Oxford.