Chris Gorst Email & Phone Number

London, United Kingdom

👉🏽 As Director I led sales and programme delivery for UK public sector clients in Nesta’s Challenge Works business👉🏽 Nesta is the UK’s innovation foundation. Within Nesta the Challenge Works team delivers innovation competitions that catalyse innovation to address client-identified challenges👉🏽 As a Director at Nesta I sold and led the teams delivering innovation competitions worth over £200 million👉🏽 Including multi-million £ programmes for AI and data-driven innovation for… Show more 👉🏽 As Director I led sales and programme delivery for UK public sector clients in Nesta’s Challenge Works business👉🏽 Nesta is the UK’s innovation foundation. Within Nesta the Challenge Works team delivers innovation competitions that catalyse innovation to address client-identified challenges👉🏽 As a Director at Nesta I sold and led the teams delivering innovation competitions worth over £200 million👉🏽 Including multi-million £ programmes for AI and data-driven innovation for citizens and consumers; digital innovation in financial and legal services; kickstarting transformative innovation in the UK water sectorExamples of programmes that I initiated and led:💡https://smartdata.challenges.org/💡https://waterinnovation.challenges.org/💡https://challengeworks.org/challenge-prizes/open-up-2020/💡https://challengeworks.org/challenge-prizes/affordable-credit-challenge/💡https://challengeworks.org/challenge-prizes/legal-access-challenge/ Show less

London, United Kingdom

I developed the strategy for, built and led a team within Nesta that sold and delivered innovation competitions focussed on UK consumer markets (including financial and legal services and utilities), for UK public sector and regulator clients

London, United Kingdom

I led the team that designed and delivered the £5 million Open Up Challenge, part of the Competition & Markets Authority's package of remedies to stimulate competition and innovation in UK retail banking, with a specific focus on improving products and services for SMEs.Having identified 25 of the best fintech innovators through open competition, the Challenge provided financial, legal and technical support to help these bring to market innovations built on the UK's new open banking… Show more I led the team that designed and delivered the £5 million Open Up Challenge, part of the Competition & Markets Authority's package of remedies to stimulate competition and innovation in UK retail banking, with a specific focus on improving products and services for SMEs.Having identified 25 of the best fintech innovators through open competition, the Challenge provided financial, legal and technical support to help these bring to market innovations built on the UK's new open banking infrastructure. We designed and delivered a world-first Data Sandbox providing access to anonymised financial transaction datasets to accelerate product development and testing.The Challenge helped bring 20+ products to market, shifted fintech focus to the neglected SME market, and demonstrated open banking's potential as a powerful platform for customer-focussed innovation. Show less

London, United Kingdom

London, United Kingdom

London, United Kingdom

Design, development, national rollout, marketing and management oversight of a flagship entrepreneurship and business development programme for high growth small businesses - the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses programme.

London, Edinburgh

Strategy consulting assignments with various social enterprises and non profits, including: merger due diligence for a network of London-based voluntary organisations; programme design for a social enterprise startup; growth plan development for a major national youth charity.

Edinburgh, London

Business and financial strategy development for early stage non-profit.

London, Munich, Dusseldorf

Strategy consultancy assignments for large cap clients, in energy, retail and other sectors.

London, United Kingdom

Secondment from HM Treasury in Investment Banking Division, Energy & Utilities. Worked on a range of deals including: downstream energy demerger; private equity placement for US-based renewables business; asset sale for European wind business.

London, United Kingdom

Analysis and formulation of advice to Government Minsters on major national economic and financial policy issues including: enterprise policy; public sector-wide budgeting and financial oversight; public and private sector investment policy.

Modern & Medieval Languages, French, German

First Class Honours

M.Sc., Economics

Distinction

M.St. In European Literature

Distinction