Speakers
David Cleeveley CBE FREng FIET
Vinny Beranek
Tokunboh Ishmael
Jaana Tuomi
Panel Discussion
Building on the previous session’s exploration of the UK’s connected innovation corridors, this panel turns the lens outward. Around the world, ecosystems are making bold bets on AI, quantum, and advanced technologies. The question is not just how these approaches compare, but how they can connect and strengthen one another.
Bringing together leaders from across the globe, this session explores how different ecosystems are structuring their innovation ambitions and where collaboration can accelerate progress. Across talent, capital, technology, academia, and infrastructure, many of the same challenges recur, and increasingly, no single ecosystem can solve them alone.
The value of this discussion lies not only in comparing approaches, but in identifying what can be shared, scaled, and built together. From practical partnerships between deep tech clusters to ideas and perspectives from more distant or different ecosystems that can spark new approaches to innovation.
The discussion will ask: where are ecosystems making real progress, and how can others build on that through collaboration? What do shared challenges, from talent shortages to deep tech commercialisation, look like across different contexts? And crucially, how can international ecosystems work together in ways that enable them to innovate beyond what any one region could achieve alone?
Dr David Cleevely CBE FREng FIET is a serial technology entrepreneur, international telecoms expert, and one of the founding fathers of the world-renowned Cambridge Cluster.
A super-angel investor, self-confessed technophile and significant Government adviser, David has been central to the innovative Cambridge ecosystem for several decades, contributing significantly to the city being crowned the UK’s centre of Science, Innovation and Technology.
As founder of Cambridge Angels, Chair of the Enterprise Committee for the Royal Academy of Engineering and through his involvement with Cambridge University’s impulse Programme for high-potential tech entrepreneurs, David has helped new generations of startups, in both academia and industry, gain global traction.
As an entrepreneur, he has founded a series of companies including Abcam, Analysys, and the award-winning restaurant Bocca di Lupo. He also co-founded Cambridge Network, Cambridge Science Centre, Cambridge Wireless, Cambridge Angels and Cambridge Ahead - and is additionally Chair of Chemify (a Glasgow University spin out founded with Professor Lee Cronin), Focal Point Positioning, and the Royal Academy of Engineering Policy Fellowships Working Group.
His previous positions include Chair of the Raspberry Pi Foundation; Founding Director of the Centre for Science and Policy, University of Cambridge; Vice-Chair of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Independent Economic Review; Chair of the Cambridge Autonomous Metro (CAM) Technical Advisory Committee; and Chair of the enquiry into policy after Covid, the ‘New Era for the Cambridge Economy’.
For eight years until March 2009, he was a member of the Ofcom Spectrum Advisory Board, and 2001- 2008, was a member of the Ministry of Defence DES-ISS (DCSA) Board.
He was awarded an honorary doctorate in Education by Bath University in 2022 and an honorary doctorate in Technology by Anglia Ruskin University in July 2023.
In 2013, David was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE, for his services to technology and innovation.
Vinny is a Partner at Engine Ventures. Vinny brings engineering and scientific background with broad business experience to help grow companies across industry sectors, with a primary focus on life sciences. Vinny currently serves on the boards of Kano Therapeutics, Overview Energy and Terragia, and is a board observer for Anthology, Bexorg and Matrisome Bio.
Vinny was previously a consultant at Bain & Company’s London and Boston offices. At Bain, he advised private equity and corporate clients on healthcare and technology investments across global markets.
Vinny holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Cambridge, an MSc in Biomedical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a BS in Biomedical Engineering from the Czech Technical University.
Tokunboh Ishmael is the Co-founder and Managing Director at Alitheia Capital, a pioneering female-led impact investing private equity firm based in Africa. In this role, she leads the firm’s strategy to invest in businesses that foster equity, fairness, and inclusion, with a focus on unlocking the potential of enterprises that provide essential goods and services to underserved markets.
She was previously a panelist on the Nigerian adaptation of Dragons’ Den, where she mentored and supported emerging entrepreneurs in growing and scaling their businesses.
‘Tokunboh is a Yale World Fellow and a member of the inaugural class of the Aspen Institute’s Finance Leaders Fellowship. She also co-founded Alitheia IDF, a $100 million fund that invests in female-led businesses across Africa.
A recognized thought leader in impact and ESG investing, she serves on several boards, including those in fintech, consumer goods, and sustainability sectors, as well as on The Earthshot Prize council. Her work continues to advance the role of gender consciousness and inclusion as drivers of superior investment performance and shared prosperity.
Jaana Tuomi is an ecosystem and brand builder who has led Enter Espoo since 2015. Enter Espoo helps companies and investors enter Espoo, Finland and enables companies to grow in one of Europe’s leading innovation communities. Her background is in marketing consulting and collaboration platform building. Over the years, Jaana has held several board member roles and chair positions in steering groups. She is a board member of Kvanttinova semiconductor and quantum hub project. She holds an Executive MBA and a master’s degree in marketing.
