Starmer appoints former Darktrace boss as new investment minister in ‘scaled up’ department

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced the government’s new investment minister after more than 100 days in office, amid criticism from City groups it took too long.

Former Darktrace chief executive Poppy Gustafsson has been appointed to the role, taking charge of the ‘scaled up’ Office for Investment.

The appointment is part of what the government calls a Whitehall “shakeup” to reinforce its relations with business.

This comes after the former holder of the office Lord Dominic Johnson said it was “totally ridiculous” not to have filled the role in the first 100 days.

Gustafsson, who  former co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of British cybersecurity company Darktrace until September, takes the helm ahead of the inaugural Investment Summit.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “I am delighted to welcome Poppy Gustafsson as our new Investment Minister – an accomplished entrepreneur who brings invaluable experience to the role.

We’re upgrading the Office for Investment to ensure it is fit for purpose and has the capability it needs to make the UK the first choice for investment and the best place in the world to do business, which is central to our mission to drive growth and make people better off.”

Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “Poppy has shown she knows firsthand what it takes to start and grow a successful international business.”

Her private sector expertise will be vital in ensuring we attract more valuable investment into Britain and these changes show this Government’s growth mission will prioritise what businesses need to thrive in the UK and boost our economy.”

Meanwhile, Gustafsson called the appointment a “huge privilege”, saying she has “first hand experience of building and scaling a business here in the UK and 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.”

Earlier this week, Andrew Griffith MP, the Conservative MP and former Downing Street business adviser involved in delivering previous investment summits, said there was a “lack of seriousness” about the investment summit and questioned the timing of of the event “weeks before international investors face a reported budget mugging from Rachel Reeves”.

Gareth Southgate and the boss of Aviva will also be among the headline speakers at the government’s global investment summit next week as Keir Starmer looks to flaunt the country in front of international financiers.

Lord Dominic Johnson, who previously criticised the delay, wished her the “greatest of success” but warned she has just “two days to prepare for the biggest investment gathering of the year”.

He told City AM she was a “good choice. She has a strong brand and has clearly been a huge success in her field”.

“The issue is not with the new Investment Minister who is to be congratulated for giving up her business interests in order to serve her country, but with the government itself which seems to have absolutely no clue about how to generate economic growth – raising taxes on capital (investment) and reducing employer flexibility (return on investment) are the direct opposite policies we need!”

He added that she will have “a frustrating time trying to get her colleagues to understand what they actually need to do in order to create a growth environment.”