Digital Catapult names Susan Bowen as new CEO

Susan Bowen, the former Hewlett Packard executive, has been appointed as the new CEO of Digital Catapult, a business support organization, effective from March 2023.

Bowen joins the not-for-profit from cloud provider Aptum Group, where she held the role of president and chief executive.

She replaces Dr Jeremy Silver, who held the chief executive role from June 2016.

Brief Profile of Susan Bowen

Susan Bowen is a Senior Advisor to DigitalBridge and the Chief Executive Officer of Aptum.  Ms. Bowen has over 20 years of experience in the technology industry and understands the importance of transformational leadership to stay at the forefront of customer needs and expectations. Ms. Bowen has a reputation as a trusted advisor and leading voice in the technology industry.

Prior to Aptum, Ms. Bowen was Vice President and General Manager of Cogeco Peer 1, EMEA, where she spearheaded strategic direction. Prior to her role at Cogeco Peer 1, Ms. Bowen was Chief of Staff UK & Ireland at Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) following her tenure of over 16 years at HP UK Ltd.

Ms. Bowen holds a post-graduate certificate in Education from the University of Greenwich, a Master’s Certificate in Project Management from George Washington University, and a Bachelor of Science, Business Information Systems from the University of Portsmouth.

She currently sits on the board of advanced materials company Versarien and will become Digital Catapult’s third CEO since its launch in 2013.

Commenting on her appointment, Susan Bowen said, “helping companies commercialise new solutions is something I’ve long been passionate about and have had the benefit of driving at Aptum and HP and of course in my role on the board of Versarien and previously at techUK and Jisc”.

“Translating that experience into a valuable contribution towards the UK’s economic growth, and indeed the creation of a greener future, is exciting and I’m eager to get started.”

Digital Catapult works with startups and more established businesses, along with the public sector and investors.

It is funded by Innovate UK, the government-backed innovation agency, to provide services such as consultancy, R&D and testbed facilities.

Digital Catapult has supported over 174 startups since it launched a decade ago, helping them go on to raise £555m.

It has four regional centres located in London, North East Tees Valley, Northern Ireland and the South West.

“We are grateful to Jeremy for the solid foundation he has built for Digital Catapult,” said Juergen Maier, chair of Digital Catapult.

“We are excited to welcome Susan to lead the organisation through its next phase of accelerating the UK’s digital future. Susan’s background in large and scaleup tech organisations demonstrates a deep understanding of where advanced technology holds the most possibility to break through barriers to UK growth.”