About us

It's a sunny day in Cambridge, and a team of people are smiling at a camera, whilst stood on a on a roof top terrace. There's a mix of men and women from all different backgrounds, it's the Canopy team from CISL.

Accelerating entrepreneurship and innovative solutions to global challenges 

We empower sustainable innovation through a diverse global community of over 500 members, including founders, startups, corporates, investors, and experts. Our focus is on supporting purpose-driven entrepreneurs and helping major organisations integrate innovation into their roducts, business models, sectors and systems.

Meet the team

Jie Zhou

Jie Zhou

Jie Zhou is a circular economy expert with over 15 years of experience driving sustainability through a systems-thinking approach.

Viola Jardon

Viola Jardon

Viola is currently working as a Senior Programme Manager with CISL Canopy where she has worked with more than 150 early-stage start-ups with sustainability innovations.

Sam Laakkonen

Sam Laakkonen

Senior Programme Director of the Canopy & Accelerator Team at CISL, Sam started his career as a management consultant in the City of London.

James Cole

James Cole

James Cole brings over 15 years of expertise at the intersection of business, sustainability, and innovation. As a senior leader at CISL, he oversees business policy and finance initiatives, empowering leaders and institutions to drive systemic sustainability.

Zoe Loughlin

Zoë Loughlin

Zoë manages the Canopy, CISL’s Cambridge workspace and global community for impact-driven startups, small businesses and entrepreneurs. Zoë has over a decade of experience in sustainability across the public, third sectors, and innovation ecosystems.

Ben Kellard

Ben Kellard

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.