Ian is an entrepreneur, trained and mentored by Sir Richard Branson. He’s spent the last 5 years creating the UK’s most revered business support organisation, Virgin StartUp, that has helped over 11,000 entrepreneurs to start, fund and scale their business.
Ian is immensely passionate about supporting entrepreneurs, an endeavour which has seen him take up roles across the world, including Global Entrepreneur in Residence at Creative Enterprise Australia’s Collider Accelerator Programme and Visiting Entrepreneur at The Office of the Queensland Chief Entrepreneur.
Now based in Brisbane, Ian is CEO of Rainbow Bridge Education, a company he founded to create accessible resources for parents to use in the home learning environment. Rainbow Bridge is one of several start-ups founded by Ian over the last decade; his portfolio includes multiple companies in the education, technology, publishing and not-for-profit sectors.
Through his unique perspective on start-up, Ian is an in demand speaker with a combination of practical entrepreneurial experience and as a leader of a very visible organisation providing support to entrepreneurs.
Previous experience:
Prior to Virgin StartUp, Ian was Head of Policy and Public Affairs at London Chamber of Commerce, a role which saw him advising the UK Government on business policy in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis and gain credibility as an economic commentator.
Ian campaigns on a number of issues, including social mobility, youth leadership and financial literacy. As an active youth leader on the global stage, he was also appointed Leader of the UK’s delegation to the Y20 Summit in 2015 and 2016, as well as participating in the 11th UK/South Africa Bilateral.
