Piers Linney, joint CEO of Outsourcery, has been announced as the final member of Dragons' Den, joining Duncan Bannatyne, Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden and new Dragon Kelly Hoppen for series 11 of the BBC Two show.
Piers, an entrepreneur with a wide breadth of professional experience, qualified as a solicitor specialising in private equity and also worked as an investment banker and venture capital fund manager. He is regarded as one of the UK's cloud computing pioneers and sits on the governance board of the UK's Cloud Industry Forum.
In May 2011, Piers featured on the Channel 4 series 'Secret Millionaire' during which he spent time in a Young Offenders Institution working with prisoners, one of whom is now employed by his company. He is also named in The Power List, a compendium of the 100 most influential black Britons.
Piers was a national role model for an initiative launched by the Government to raise the aspirations and achievements of young black British men and women from a range of backgrounds who have succeeded in their chosen careers. His own role models are his parents – a Barbadian mother and an English father.
Piers' Linney said: “Having been a professional and private investor, I stepped into what started out as personal investment to run it, and am now building a world-leading business. I am excited to have the opportunity to join Dragons' Den and once again support entrepreneurs both financially and through my extensive network. I also think I can widen the appeal of the Den to information economy entrepreneurs as they are key to the future success of the UK economy.”