LEEDS — CloudWize marked its growth Tuesday with a new office in Leeds and the hiring of Tim Mercer as chief commercial officer. The AI firm, started in London by CEO Edward Humphrey and CTO Matt Hyde, now employs 30 developers, engineers and architects.

Chief marketing officer Katie Mallinson, a former communications agency owner from Huddersfield, joined the £3 million company in June 2025. The Leeds expansion follows the firm’s growing presence in northern England.

Mercer brings over 30 years in technology, starting in the armed forces and telecoms before founding Vapour Cloud in 2013. He led the Yorkshire company through four venture capital rounds, building services in voice solutions, cybersecurity and robotic process automation. Vapour sold last summer.

Humphrey credited regional digital conferences and the firm’s own AI Chat Club event last autumn for the move. “We soon realised just how much talent, innovation and spirit exists in this part of the country,” Humphrey said. “When we decided to bolster our senior team, it made sense for Leeds to become our ‘second home’. I’m really excited for Tim to support our journey to the next level.”

Mercer praised CloudWize’s team. His career includes sales leadership roles after telecoms. “The more I spoke to the CloudWize team, the more I realised the potential,” he said. “Ed and Matt have assembled an A-team of people who have worked on some of the most complex cloud, automation and AI projects in the world.”

He highlighted the firm’s focus on mid-market companies. “They’ve purposefully made these enterprise-grade capabilities accessible for mid-market firms who want to move faster, with predictable outcomes and far less risk,” Mercer said. “They’ve really levelled the playing field for clients who don’t want to pay to just experiment.”

CloudWize specializes in significant AI technology. The Leeds office at Department in Leeds Dock strengthens its regional footprint. Officials said the expansion responds to demand from investors, partners and clients in Yorkshire.