Connected Places Catapult is pleased to announce the appointment of 2 new members to the board

At a time when new agility fuelled by innovation and technology will  play a vital role in the growth and recovery of places and sectors across the UK, Connected Places Catapult welcomes Claudette Forbes and Lucy Yu as two new Non-Executive Directors to help drive a new chapter of recovery, revival, and resilience.

Claudette Forbes has over 30 years’ experience in implementing effective solutions to facilitate change, tackle poverty, and reposition places, working in local and regional government where she has successfully led city development, economic growth, and holistic local area regeneration programmes. Claudette currently acts as an adviser to local authorities, government, not-for-profit organisations and partnerships and sits on a number of Boards, including Future of London, the Whitehall and Industry Group.

Lucy Yu has nearly 20 years’ experience building tech ventures and developing tech policy and regulation for the UK government, European Commission, and the UN. Working in the files of mobility, digital enterprise and sustainability, she is CEO at the new Centre for Net Zero backed by Octopus Energy, and a Senior Adviser to Voi Technology, the leading urban mobility provider. In these roles she overs global policy and research and has led operations, commercial, policy and research functions for several high-growth, globally-renowned tech start-ups including two unicorns. Her work has focused on artificial intelligence, future mobility, open data and open source, regulating high risk technologies, and the social impact of disruptive technology. Her previous roles include the UK government’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV); Five AI (autonomous vehicles); the Department for Transport; the board of HackTrain (rail industry innovation); and as a board affiliate at the Connected Places Catapult.

“We are delighted to welcome Claudette and Lucy to the CPC Board,” said Prof Greg Clark CBE, Chair at Connected Places Catapult. “Together they bring a treasure trove of expertise from public, private, civic, and enterprise sectors which will propel our role as the UK’s innovation accelerator for cities, transport, and place-making. The next chapter is about scaling the high impact innovations that the pandemic has triggered so that we can accelerate recovery, revive cities and transport systems, eliminate carbon, and spread prosperity”.

‘I am delighted to be joining the Board,’ commented Claudette Forbes. ‘This is a critical time for us all as we emerge from this pandemic. Over the past year, I have been helping local authorities deal with the fallout from Covid, witnessing first-hand the devasting impact on local economies, and how much Covid has accelerated change.  I am really impressed by the innovative solutions the Connected Places Catapult has to offer our towns and cities, so they come out of this crisis stronger than ever; and I’m honoured to be given the opportunity to play a part in that effort.’

Lucy Yu stated: ‘Mobility and the built environment are both close to my heart and I’ve spent a lot of time building and supporting related ventures. Recent years have seen massive innovation in both the private and public sector and I’ve no doubt there’s much more to come. I’m excited to continue my work with the Catapult and incredibly privileged to help steer it in its mission to connect, spark and accelerate the brightest and best solutions for our cities, transport and places.’

We look forward to announcing the appointment of a further new Non-Executive Director mid-May.

About Connected Places Catapult 

The Connected Places Catapult represents a diverse team which combines extensive experience across the cities, mobility, urban innovation and transport sectors seeking to created Connected Places which are fit for the future. Check back regularly as we will be adding more profiles soon.