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 is a circular economy expert with over 15 years of experience driving sustainability through a systems-thinking approach. At the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), she co-founded The Canopy, an incubator and innovation hub, and leads initiatives like SME decarbonization toolkits and global accelerator programs. Jie also heads the Sino-UK Centre for Sustainability Innovation, fostering collaboration between the UK and China. A DE&I advocate and recipient of the University of Cambridge Vice-Chancellor’s Social Impact Award, she advises institutions globally and champions sustainable innovation across cultures and industries.
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. Her expertise and experience are in business innovation, go-to-market strategy and sustainability storytelling for the creative industry, tech industry, and the built environment. She is a business mentor for Tech Nation, Digital Catapult, Plug & Play, MSDUK and L Marks Corporate Accelerators and a business advisor for a few tech businesses. Before 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.
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. He was headhunted to his first startup, FirstMark Communications Europe, which raised one of the largest Series A rounds in European history, over $1 billion. He has since 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. Sam has been active in the Techstars ecosystem for a number of years, having been an Entrepreneur-In-Residence for Techstars Amsterdam, and a Lead Mentor on a number of programmes including Techstars Lisbon, Techstars Korea, Techstars Boulder and Techstars Energy in Oslo.
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. In 2022, he founded The Canopy, CISL’s Cambridge-based incubator for impact-driven startups and innovators. Previously, James worked at Friends of the Earth, launched a digital media startup, developed Vodafone UK partnerships, and implemented sustainable agriculture projects in Peru. He also serves as a trustee for The Partnering Initiative and PECT, with academic credentials in Rural Estate Management and Leadership for Sustainable Development.
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, specializing in waste reduction, recycling, and sustainable food systems. She has worked with organizations such as Sustain, WasteWatch, Glopolis, and Green Alliance, and co-founded a social enterprise focused on food waste reduction. Zoë has also held voluntary leadership roles with Cambridge FoodCycle and Cambridge Sustainable Food. Joining CISL in 2016, she has supported marketing, communications, and network development, and now leads strategic initiatives. She holds a Geography BA from Leeds and a Business Sustainability Management certificate from Cambridge.
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. 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. He draws on over twenty years of experience as an organisational development consultant, eleven of which were with the international not-for-profit Forum for the Future.
