Poppy Gustafsson, the founder and former chief executive of cyber security firm Darktrace, has been appointed the UK’s new investment minister ahead of Labour’s major summit in London next week.
Gustafsson, 42, takes up the role, which includes a peerage and seat in the House of Lords, following the recent £4.4bn sale of Darktrace to US private equity firm Thoma Bravo.
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to share with the international investment community what I already know to be true; the UK is a great place to do business,” she said.
Cementing someone in the role of investment minister was seen as crucial ahead of the summit, which will see 250 senior executives listen to keynote speeches from Chancellor Rachel Reeves and PM Keir Starmer.
As part of her role, Gustafsson will chair a strengthened Office for Investment (OFI), which will also unveil new measures to boost overseas interest next week such as a ‘concierge’ service to help foreign companies set up here.
The OFI was established in November 2020 by Boris Johnson.
Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LSE:LLOY) Barclays and Natwest are among the sponsors of the Summit with confirmed attendees including the bosses of Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, and Citigroup.