A new era
of tech lifecycle
of tech lifecycle
April 2026 KOcycle appointed a new Head of Marketing, Hayley Knott. Hayley reflects on her first week in role and industry whilst at the ITAD Europe summit in Nice.
Last week, I attended the ITAD Europe Summit in Nice. Only in my first week in the industry and, as it turns out, a pretty steep learning curve in the best possible way. Here are five things that stuck with me.
1. The ITAD community is genuinely open
I’ve worked in a lot of industries, but I’ve never encountered a community quite like this one. People were warm, willing to chat, and actively made introductions without being asked. Yes, competition exists – it always will – but it doesn’t seem to come at the expense of collective progress. There’s a real sense that everyone here wants to move the dial forward together, it’s rare and really encouraging. Building communities to bring about change is something I am passionate about and it was great to feel the genuine energy at this event.
2. ITAD is not end of life – It’s the beginning!
Perhaps the biggest mindset shift for me was realising that ITAD isn’t a conversation about what happens when technology dies; it’s a conversation about how the future gets to happen at all! Simply put, we cannot innovate without rare earth metals. We cannot support the technological advances we want to see in our lifetime at the mining and processing speeds we are currently limited to therefore, ITAD and downstream recycling aren’t just good practice, they are the mechanism by which we keep growth possible. This is a geo-political, globally critical conversation, and it deserves to be treated as one. In a session hosted by Andrew Kroeger, Victoria D’Arcy, Karl Meira and Mike DiPetrillo, this conversation was brought to life with some shocking and hard hitting stats around the scarcity of critical minerals and global responsibility for intelligent innovation needed and how the ITAD industry plays a crucial part in this.
3. Someone needs to take a stand on standards
Industry frameworks tend to get shaped by one of two forces: government regulation or the gravitational pull of large corporates who set the rules for everyone else. In ITAD, there are WEEE and battery directives, but beyond that, the landscape is surprisingly sparse. More concerning is the lack of scrutiny around the numbers being used in ESG reports and carbon sequestering claims. Are they accurate? Are they independently verified? Right now, the honest answer is: not consistently. Someone needs to step up and change that. KOcycle Founder and Managing Director, Oli Mason, spoke on this topic in a thought leadership session at the summit and discussed how there needs to be an increased transparency and commitment between all parties of the supply chain to be able to ensure consistent and accurate reporting.
4. There’s a tipping point in every asset’s life
At some point, an asset shifts from being valuable to being a liability and that transition happens faster than most organisations realise. This is exactly the conversation that CFOs should be having with their IT budget holders: how do you balance realising maximum value at the point of refresh with the right amortisation period to support business needs? Getting that timing right isn’t just good asset management – it’s a commercial opportunity that too many companies are leaving on the table. I was lucky enough to sit down over lunch and discuss this topic with Peter Evans, from All Things Circular, who has just released a white paper on the subject. Peter kindly walked me through the challenges and opportunities of the second life ecosystem and the circularity delta that sits within organisations.
5. If you’re hosting outdoor talks in the South of France… provide sun cream
This last one is more for the marketing and event organisers among us. When you combine warm sunshine, a cool breeze, an engaging panel, and a glass of rosé, people completely lose track of time and the sunburnt lobster faces appear! Some event locations demand a little extra care for your attendees, and this was one of them. We all carry out risk assessments of venues but sometimes miss natures hand that also plays a part. Always have good old Baz in the back of your head and – Wear Sunscreen!