UK Taps Ex-Darktrace Chief to Put Tech at Front of Growth Drive

  • Gustafsson appointment comes days before UK investment summit
  • New Labour government has tried to fill post for 3 months

Poppy Gustafsson

Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer ended a three-month search for a new investment minister, naming former Darktrace Chief Executive Officer Poppy Gustafsson to fill the key role, in a signal his government sees the technology industry as a driver of UK growth in the years to come.

Gustafsson — whose appointment was announced late on Thursday — will make her first appearance at a meeting of regional leaders on Friday, as the government prepares to host a major international investment summit in London on Monday.