JUDGING & FEEDBACK

CLAIRE COCKERTON

Founder,
Innovative Finance

Claire Cockerton is a serial entrepreneur and a global leader in financial services, technology and smart cities industries.

Claire is Founder, CEO, and Chairwoman of ENTIQ, an innovation and economy enabler, and a leader in innovation delivery, new venture development and ecosystem creation.

Having designed and developed the Level39 Technology Accelerator in its first two years, and run world-leading innovation programmes such as Cognicity (a smart city technology pilot programme in Canary Wharf), Claire is a specialist in fintech, entrepreneurship, innovative technologies and economic development.

Claire was founding director and CEO of Innovate Finance (IF), a City of London and Canary Wharf Group-backed movement for a more diverse, resilient, accessible and consumer-centric financial services sector. Launched by ENTIQ, 54 fintech founders and the Chancellor, Innovate Finance’s vision was to radically transform every aspect of banking to deliver more choice, better products and services, and benefit to society. Claire’s work since the very inception resulted in favourable policy change for fintech businesses, a regional outreach strategy, trade missions to New York and Singapore, historic events (such as the inaugural IF global summit), 100-plus members, and a strong, recognised brand with a powerful mission at its heart.

An Imperial College MBA alumna, Claire specialised in Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Design, and her distinguished thesis explored incubators, tech transfer and accelerator models from around the world. Shortly after, she helped establish the business model for Virgin’s ‘Branson Centre for Entrepreneurship’ in Johannesburg, South Africa. She advised the Guardian Media Group on their ‘Digital First’ transformation strategy, and helped implement their company-wide change programme. This work produced a tech-oriented reorganisation, and saw the launch of their world-class apps, dynamic web content, and social media penetration.

Prior to coming to the UK in 2009, Claire founded, grew and sold Aesthetic Earthworks, a multi-million dollar sustainable architecture firm which pioneered environmentally friendly property development and care, based in Toronto, Canada.

Claire is an active member of Women in Tech, Tech London Advocates, Women Shift Digital, and is a member of Boris Johnson’s London Tech Ambassador Group.

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