Announced just as the UK comes out of its second lockdown, the Tyto Tech 500 Power List is a testament to the huge impact COVID-19 has had on the tech landscape. Political influence has massively increased, with three different Matthews from the UK government making it into the list - alongside Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Matt Hancock, who previously ranked at 11th in 2019, and 20th in 2018, takes the top spot.

The Tyto Tech 500 Power List is the only objective data-driven influence study into the UK tech sector. Its methodology encompasses the influence of individuals - including their brand, social media presence, traditional media presence and public speaking appearances.

In total, 15 different sectors are represented in the list. Although it takes the majority sector stake for the fourth year running, fintech has emerged from this year slightly damaged, with its influence down by 34% on 2019.

Greentech is the only subsector to see an increase in the number of influencers when compared to last year. On top of this, 40% of GreenTech influencers in the UK are women – making it the second most gender diverse subsector in UK tech (after foodtech & agritech, where 41% of influencers are women).

According to Brendon Craigie, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Tyto:

“It's been heartening to chart the rise of greentech over recent years. Sustainability has steadily gained in importance, and it’s great to see the tech sector turn its focus to developing sustainable solutions which can help to address climate change."

However, "one area of concern is that following three consecutive years of progress in terms of the representation and prominence of influential women in the UK, in 2020 we've seen the representation of women fall for the first time."

Here's the top ten:

  1. Matt Hancock - UK Government
  2. Richard Branson - Virgin
  3. Liz Ashall-Payne - ORCHA
  4. John Spindler - AI Seed
  5. Boris Johnson - UK Government
  6. Matthew Gould – NHSX, UK Government
  7. Matt Warman - UK Government
  8. Rory Cellan-Jones - BBC
  9. Gary Jones - Daily Express
  10. Emily Gosden - The Times