Jodie is hugely passionate about entrepreneurship and helping entrepreneurs along their journey. She has founded, bought and closed her own start-ups, worked directly for founders in scaling companies and enabled over 250 entrepreneurs. Jodie works for Entrepreneurial Spark and oversees the UK Space Agency Accelerator and Fusion Programme.

Ashleigh’s role is to guide and support entrepreneurs in developing the skills and mindset needed to take their business to the next level. Throughout her career, she has had the privilege of working with businesses from different sectors in various capacities, including running Accelerators and Incubators. This experience has given her a deep understanding of what it takes to identify and nurture entrepreneurial talent.

Catherine is a Business Growth Enabler at Entrepreneurial Spark. She works closely with entrepreneurs to maximise opportunities for them and their businesses by helping them overcome challenges, identify growth opportunities, and maintain accountability. Having founded and scaled her own business to a team of 25, Catherine brings first-hand experience of the growing pains ventures often face.

Sarah’s passion lies in supporting others to grow and flourish, which is why she loves working for Entrepreneurial Spark, supporting innovative entrepreneurs to grow their business and flourish as leaders. As Project Lead, Sarah makes sure the Fusion programme runs seamlessly in order to give our entrepreneurs a rich and impactful experience.

Hannah is a Project Coordinator passionate about creating seamless and rewarding experiences for participants. She works closely with the Project Manager to coordinate events, manage communications, and oversee logistics, while continuously refining processes to help ensure every programme runs as smoothly and effectively as possible.

Derek's expertise focuses on building the UK Space Accelerator ecosystem by connecting ambitious space-focussed start-ups with the investors, industry partners and expertise they need to scale. A strong believer that great businesses are built through great relationships as much as technology, Derek champions entrepreneurs across the UK, joining the dots between opportunities and people, and helping founders navigate space and space-adjacent sectors, including defence and advanced manufacturing.

Portia Bircher is the Accelerating Business Growth Lead the UK Space Agency, specialising in business acceleration and growth. With a strong focus on fostering innovation and regional development, Portia brings a strategic approach to programme development and delivery, with a passion for enabling entrepreneurship and driving sustainable impact through space-enabled solutions.

Dan supports ventures in the accelerator by providing practical insights on market access and industry engagement. He helps participants identify opportunities, connect with key stakeholders, and strengthen their go-to-market approach. Leveraging Exotopic’s strong networks across government, primes, and SMEs, Dan ensures each venture is well positioned to accelerate its commercial journey.

Rachel works with ventures in the accelerator to refine customer personas and shape clear market entry strategies. Through tailored 1:1 sessions, she helps participants translate their technical innovation into commercial value, drawing on Exotopic’s experience across the UK space sector to guide them towards market readiness and growth.