UK Govt appoints Investment Minister in Office for Investment ‘shake up’

Written by Jack Gray

11/10/2024

The Government has appointed former Darktrace CEO, Poppy Gustafsson, as its new Investment Minister as part of a wider ‘shake up’ aimed at strengthening the Government’s partnership with businesses and investors.

Gustafsson will lead a scaled up Office for Investment, which will bring together expertise from industry and business leaders “for the first time”.

She will be a joint minister across the Department for Business and Trade, and the Treasury.

Gustafsson will be responsible for the revamped Office for Investment and tasked with promoting the UK to investors and businesses around the world and attracting more investment into the UK.

To support this, the Government is expanding the Office for Investment to become a “larger and better equipped organisation” that will bring together the Treasury, Department for Business and Trade, and Number 10 Downing Street into a joint unit to streamline how the Government approaches business and investment.

The Office for Investment will also roll out a new, bespoke service, with the aim of ensuring that investors receive the strongest possible Government support to navigate the planning and skills landscape.

As part of the overhaul, there will be a new Office for Investment Board chaired by Gustafsson, with representation from the Treasury, Department for Business and Trade, and Number 10 Downing Street.

An external advisory board will also be appointed from the industry to provide external expertise.

The appointment comes ahead of the Government’s inaugural International Investment Summit, which will see business leaders, cabinet ministers, first ministers, and local mayors to discuss how the Government can deepen its partnership with businesses to support the growth agenda and make the UK “the best place for businesses to invest”.

The Prime Minister, Kier Starmer, has also asked ministers to review how their departments can support the Office for Investment’s work to drive growth and investment across the UK.

Gustafsson co-founded cybersecurity firm Darktrace in 2013, serving as chief financial officer for three years, followed by a brief period as chief operating officer, before being named CEO in 2016.

The Government said that Gustafsson’s “extensive” business, cybersecurity, and financial experience brought a wealth of experience to the role.

The new Investment Minister is expected to join Starmer at the Council of Nations and Regions meeting today (11 October).

“I am delighted to welcome Poppy Gustafsson OBE as our new Investment Minister – an accomplished entrepreneur who brings invaluable experience to the role,” commented Starmer.

“We’re upgrading the Office for Investment to ensure it is fit for purpose and has the capability it needs to make the UK the first choice for investment and the best place in the world to do business, which is central to our mission to drive growth and make people better off.”

Gustafsson added: “It is a huge privilege to be appointed as the Minister of Investment and I am excited to get started.

“I have first-hand experience of building and scaling a business here in the UK and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to share with the international investment community what I already know to be true; the UK is a great place to do business.”

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