Claire Thorne

As co-CEO, I jointly lead the skills charity Tech She Can - working to increase the number of women in tech roles, making technology work for all. As a woman in tech, a returner, a physicist and a mum, I’m super passionate about innovation, parity and equality in the workplace, and STEM education and research.



I also support the creation of deep-tech science companies as Venture Partner at Deep Science Ventures where I’m developing a new flavour of PhD: the Venture Science Doctorate - diversity-first and venture-led.



In 2022 I was short-listed for Computer Weekly’s ‘Top 50 Most Influential Women in Tech’ and am a member of the Institute of Coding’s Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Board.



My background is in innovation and commercialisation in research-intensive environments, spanning universities, government and business. I’ve led multi-£million acquisitions, such as iKinema by Apple; developed the vision and strategy for Imperial College London’s White City £3bn 23-acre innovation district; and operated the #1 global university business incubator. With in-depth knowledge of innovation ecosystems - universities, industrial and government research labs, incubators, accelerators, spin-outs, start-ups and scale-ups - I’ve worked across digital, smart infrastructure, space, security and defence.



My previous Board positions include the Surrey Research Park Board, the Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership Innovation Board, the Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership Space Board, the Surrey Nano Systems Board, the SETSquared Management Board, and the Imperial-Hammersmith and Fulham Council Partnership for Growth, Enterprise and Innovation Board.



I completed my Masters in Physics at the University of Warwick. I hold a PhD in Astroparticle Physics from Imperial on the direct detection of dark matter, conducted in a working mine 1km underground.