Kirstie Downham has spent her career at the intersection of innovation and industry, working with organisations as varied as Merlin Entertainments, Foster + Partners, TfL, Nestlé, and LADbible to turn emerging technology into real-world opportunity. At Digital Catapult, she designs and leads programmes that connect deep tech with the organisations and founders who can take it to scale. Most recently she led the Black Founders Programme, building a pipeline of Black-founded companies developing breakthrough products at the intersection of deep tech and the creative industries.
With a background spanning business growth consulting, working with industries in investment, media, transport, food, and architecture, she brings a rare cross-sector perspective to the question of how innovation actually moves, from early signal into lasting impact.