Poppy Gustafsson, Baroness Gustafsson

The Right Honourable
The Baroness Gustafsson
CBE
Gustafsson in 2024
Minister of State for Investment
Incumbent
Assumed office
10 October 2024
Prime MinisterKeir Starmer
Preceded byThe Lord Johnson of Lainston
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Incumbent
Assumed office
15 November 2024
Life peerage
Personal details
Born
Poppy Clare Veronica Prentis

(1982-08-24) 24 August 1982 (age 42)
United Kingdom
Political partyLabour
Spouse
Joel Gustafsson
​
(m. 2008)​
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Sheffield (BSc)

Poppy Clare Veronica Gustafsson, Baroness Gustafsson, CBE (née Prentis; born 24 August 1982), is a British businesswoman and Labour Party life peer who has served as Minister of State for Investment since 2024.

Early life and education

Gustafsson was born Poppy Clare Veronica Prentis[1] on 24 August 1982 in the United Kingdom, to John and Gilly Prentis.[2] Her father ran an agricultural-sales business, and her mother was a journalist for Farmers Weekly.[3] Growing up in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, she attended Hinchingbrooke School.[3] She gained a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in mathematics from the University of Sheffield in 2003 before studying for an accountancy qualification at Deloitte, qualifying as a chartered accountant in 2006.[2][4]

Career

Gustafsson with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Council of the Nations and Regions in 2024

In her early career, Gustafsson worked for the venture capital firm Amadeus Capital Partners. In 2009, she moved to Autonomy,[5] working as a corporate controller until the company's acquisition by HP.[6]

Gustafsson co-founded Darktrace in 2013 and initially held the position of chief financial officer.[5] She subsequently took on the role of co-chief executive in 2016 and became the sole CEO in 2020.[7] She led Darktrace's initial public offering in 2021, and left the company in 2024 prior to the completion of its sale to the private equity firm Thoma Bravo.[8]

On 10 October 2024, Gustafsson was appointed to the government as Minister of State for Investment by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.[9] She was created a life peer as Baroness Gustafsson, of Chesterton in the City of Cambridge, on 15 November to allow her to sit in the House of Lords.[1]

Personal life

In 2008, Gustafsson married Roland Joel Gustafsson, a Swedish engineer; they have two daughters. She took her husband's surname after the birth of her eldest daughter.[2][3][10] She lives in Cambridge as of 2020.[3]

Honours and awards

Gustafsson was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to the cyber security industry,[11] She was promoted to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2025 New Year Honours.[12]

At the 2019 UK Tech Awards, Gustafsson was named Tech Businesswoman of the Year.[13] In 2022, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science (Hon DSc) degree by the University of Sheffield, her alma mater.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b "No. 64574". The London Gazette. 20 November 2024. p. 23590.
  2. ^ a b c "Gustafsson, Poppy". Who's Who. A & C Black. 2023. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U292826. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ a b c d Evans, Peter (11 July 2020). "Poppy Gustafsson: Lockdown has fuelled a cyber crimewave". The Times. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  4. ^ Heathman, Amelia (13 August 2018). "Darktrace's CEO on life leading one of the UK's top AI start-ups". The Standard. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  5. ^ a b Gross, Anna (19 August 2022). "Poppy Gustafsson, the cyber security chief with a human dilemma". Financial Times. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  6. ^ Sweney, Mark; Hern, Alex (17 April 2021). "Poppy Gustafsson: the Darktrace tycoon in new cybersecurity era". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  7. ^ "New investment minister to spearhead bolstered Office for Investment". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  8. ^ Sweney, Mark; Milmo, Dan (6 September 2024). "Poppy Gustafsson to leave Darktrace after sale to US private equity firm". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  9. ^ Mason, Rowena (10 October 2024). "Ex-Darktrace CEO Poppy Gustafsson appointed UK investment minister". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  10. ^ Johnson, Jamie (8 March 2019). "Darktrace's Poppy Gustafsson on how she built £1.26bn cyber security empire". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  11. ^ "No. 62666". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 June 2019. p. B12.
  12. ^ "No. 64607". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2024. p. N9.
  13. ^ "Darktrace CEO Named 'Businesswoman of the Year' at UK Tech Awards 2019". Summit Partners. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  14. ^ "Sheffield celebrates Honorary Graduates". University of Sheffield. 12 August 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Poppy Gustafsson.
Stub icon

This biography of a life peer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.