Sustainability-Business-Hub

Viola has over 20 years’ experience working in the technology and creative sectors in both Asia and the UK. Prior to joining CISL, she was part of the founding team establishing the London Fashion Fund, which supported start-ups and entrepreneurs to address innovation and sustainability in the fashion industry. Originally from Taiwan, Viola is a native Mandarin speaker with strong intercultural knowledge that would benefit businesses seeking to move into the Asian market.

Sam started with Accenture as a management consultant before being headhunted to his first startup, FirstMark Communications Europe, which raised the largest telecommunications Series A round in European history ($1.5 billion). Since then, he has been an early employee at Spotify, privately invested in 25+ startups, had 3 further exits from his own companies, helped 250+ startups accelerate growth, and works as an expert for the European Commission to distribute EIC equity and grant funding.

A circular economy expert with a systems-thinking mindset, Jie Zhou brings 15+ years of experience driving sustainability across industries. Her interdisciplinary and international background, including three master's degrees, allows her to connect the dots between global challenges and empower organisations & startups to create a sustainable future.

Ben advises leading businesses on how to align their purpose and strategy with the transition to a sustainable economy.  He develops best-practice for how to develop and integrate a sustainable purpose into an organisation.  As well as shaping CISL's research into what a sustainable, purpose-driven business looks like, he collaborates with several international initiatives that share the same goal.  He was on the steering committee of PAS 808, the first ever BSI standard for a sustainable purpose-led organisation.

Zoë oversees the Canopy innovation Community, CISL’s Cambridge workspace and global network for impact-driven startups and entrepreneurs.