The 2023 Market Entry Program will be led by

Ian Mason

Entrepreneur, economist, author

Ian is an experienced company founder, having built multiple brands that affect change in communities across the world. His current portfolio of companies includes, most notably, an education technology company that teaches children to learn to read and a company that provides leadership development programs to individuals and corporate clients, that include the likes of AstraZeneca and the U.K. Government.

In 2013, Ian played a key role in the creation of a company and a proposition that could deliver business support to entrepreneurs and SMEs at scale, on behalf of Sir Richard Branson. The result of this work, Virgin StartUp, was a collection of programs and funding opportunities, delivered by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs looking to start, fund and scale their business. Within 5 years of founding, Virgin StartUp had delivered support to thousands of U.K.–based start-ups and SMEs, making it one of the largest such organisations in the country.

Ian has also held over a dozen Entrepreneur-in-Residence roles at various incubators and accelerators globally. 

Ian started his career as an economist, working in economic development in local, regional and then national Government in the UK, before becoming Head of Policy and Public Affairs at London Chamber of Commerce in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis. He left this work to pursue his dream of working for Sir Richard Branson and later to embark on his own entrepreneurial adventure.