Founder, Curator and Speaking Coach
Herb Kim is founder of TEDxManchester, one of the longest running TEDx events.
Herb, originally from New York, moved to the UK in 1997 and relocated to the North in 2002, quickly becoming a catalyst in helping shape and grow the region’s technology and digital sector. In 2015, Herb was named the founding Chair for Tech North based in Manchester.
As well as TEDxManchester, Herb founded TEDxLiverpool, TEDxNewcastle, TEDxDurham, and the Thinking Digital Conference.
Herb’s initiatives saw him recognised as part of the MediaGuardian’s Top 100 noteworthy people of 2010, the Wired Magazine Top 100 UK leaders in 2011 and one of the Top 100 Asians in UK Tech in 2019.
More recently, TEDxManchester was identified as one of the global Top 20 TEDx events in 2024, and in 2025 Herb was credited for producing the No 1 TED Talk of the year at TEDxManchester. In the same year, Herb was awarded an Honorary MBE for services to technology in Northern England.