Government tech advisor Rohan Silva to step down in June

Government

The Prime Minister's technology advisor Rohan Silva is to leave his role in June to pursue a career as an entrepreneur.

During his time in Government Silva has played a major role in the development and continued growth of Tech City, near the Old Street roundabout, in East London.

For example, he has been credited with overseeing the introduction of entrepreneurial visas to encourage overseas businesses to invest in the UK, as well as tax breaks for people who want to start a business here.

The Old Street area has been home to a slew of tech start-ups over the years, but in 2010 the Government embarked on a series of initiatives designed to encourage more companies to set up shop there.

Since then, the area has benefited from investments from tech industry big hitters, including Facebook, Amazon, Google and Cisco.

Silva is set to join venture capital firm Index Ventures for six months once his Downing Street tenure ends in June as an "entrepreneur in residence" before striking out on his own, according to a report in the Financial Times.

In an interview with the paper, he said: "The thing on my mind is I'm 32, I've worked for George [Osborne] and David [Cameron] for seven years that's a really good spell by any kind of measure and for a couple of years before that in the Treasury. I think it's time now to have a bash at something new."

The Government is understood to be seeking a replacement for Silva.

Caroline Donnelly is the news and analysis editor of IT Pro and its sister site Cloud Pro, and covers general news, as well as the storage, security, public sector, cloud and Microsoft beats. Caroline has been a member of the IT Pro/Cloud Pro team since March 2012, and has previously worked as a reporter at several B2B publications, including UK channel magazine CRN, and as features writer for local weekly newspaper, The Slough and Windsor Observer. She studied Medical Biochemistry at the University of Leicester and completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Magazine Journalism at PMA Training in 2006.