Remembering AND Digital’s Peter Holdsworth, a BIMA 100 Tech Leader '25

This is bittersweet. In any other circumstances, we would be happily sharing the news that Peter Holdsworth, Senior Product Developer at AND Digital has been named as one of this year’s BIMA 100. Tragically, however, Peter passed away unexpectedly earlier this year.

In part, Peter’s place on the annual list of people shaping the future of Britain’s digital industry is a result of his love of technology and computing, and his passion for sharing his knowledge and experience. It’s also a result of his work as Senior Developer for Openr. Spun out of our existing relationship with Azzurri Group (Zizzi, Ask Italian), Openr was founded as a startup with a mission to 'open up data and AI-driven innovation in the hospitality sector'.

Peter’s work was instrumental in helping create an architecture and solution that has made it essential for QSR brands. He helped make Openr a viable, profitable proposition.

Maths geek

Peter started his computing career aged 15, having already taught himself calculus at 12 and smashing his maths and further maths A-levels by 14.

He learned to code on punch cards while building a reputation as a maths geek (later to become his AND title). He was 16 when he earned entry to Oxford University’s undergraduate BA & MSc mathematics course. He bypassed year one, and was admitted straight to the second year of the course.

Needless to say, he achieved a first class degree with honours.

Source of wisdom

After a long and successful career as an architect at IBM, he retrained as an Open Source engineer specialising in node.js and PostgresSQL. Following further stints with Holdsworth Consulting, Thomas Cook, and Starcourt, Peter joined AND Digital in 2020 as Senior Product Developer.

Peter was the guy to whom you entrusted your biggest clients and your most demanding projects. Yet his impact goes beyond his technical expertise. He was a mentor and a source of wisdom the whole team relied on. He was bursting with intellect which he used to tackle problems combined with humility and understanding.

And yet, despite his formidable abilities, he was always learning. Only recently he completed an apprenticeship in generative AI technology, combining theoretical learning and practical projects.

Staying curious

While his work and his work ethic were impeccable, it wasn’t what made Peter unforgettable. His sense of storytelling made its way from the intricate data model to fun (and obscure) facts. Do you know what history’s shortest war was? Probably not, but Peter did. He taught us lessons about the work we do. But he also taught us to stay curious.

Tony Young, Product Developer at AND Digital, says he, “made everything he got involved with more fun and enjoyable.”

 

Wendy Stonefield, London Hub Executive, AND Digital, says, “He was humble and a wonderful and much loved member of our community.”

We submitted Peter to this year’s BIMA 100 to celebrate an incredible legacy; for his service to AND Digital and our industry. And for his influence and guidance to our community of ANDis.

There’s a generation who shall remain forever curious because of his influence.

Thanks Peter.