Elspeth Finch

MBE FREng
Alma materUniversity of York

Newcastle University

University College London
EmployerIndigo&
Known forCity design and planning

Elspeth Finch MBE FREng (born December 1975) is the founder and CEO of IAND (Indigo & Limited). She won the 2013 Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal and was appointed MBE in 2018.

Early life and education

Finch's mother was a medical physicist and her father was a physics professor. She likes to say that her engineering career 'is about removing friction'.[1] She studied chemistry at the University of York when she was only 17.[2][3] She completed a masters in transport and planning at the Newcastle University.[2] She started a career in research and lecturing at University College London.[2]

Career

Finch's career journey spans government policy and transport engineering to software product design.[1] At the age of 24, she founded her first business Intelligent Space Partnership, a transport consultancy that integrated the needs of pedestrians and cyclists into town planning.[4] Here she developed software that uses technology to analyse how people move.[5] She worked on the Boston Downtown Crossing and Regent Street strategy.[4] She worked with the Metropolitan Police Service and Notting Hill Carnival.[3] She sold Intelligent Space to Atkins as a FTSE 250 global infrastructure company in 2007.[6]

After selling her company to Atkins she joined as a lead of the Futures team, identifying changes in populations' environments and societies and assessing their impact on infrastructure.[7] She was the youngest ever director of Highways and Transportation.[8] Finch was appointed UK Innovation Director of Atkins, where she was responsible for the 2009 redesign of London's Oxford Circus.[5][9] She was responsible for Future Proofing Cities, a report looking to identify challenges in global urbanisation using evidence from 129 cities.[9][10] In 2009 she was nominated as Management Today's 35 Women Under 35.[8] She is the cofounder and CEO of the start-up Indigo&, a digital supplier management platform.[11]

Finch is an advocate for more diversity in science and engineering.[12] In 2013 she was awarded the Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal for her contributions to UK engineering.[13][6] She was only the fourth woman ever to win the award.[2] That year she was named as one of the Royal Society of Chemistry's 175 Faces of Chemistry.[14] She is a member of the Royal Academy of Engineering Diversity and Inclusion panel.[15] She is a judge for the Royal Academy of Engineering Launchpad competition for budding entrepreneurs.[16] In January 2018 she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire.[6][17] In 2021 she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 Kenward, Michael (March 2023). "Data-driven Entrepreneur" (PDF). Ingenia (94): 34–39.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Atkins' Elspeth Finch awarded the Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal - 26 June 2013". www.atkinsglobal.co.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Future Worlds turns one - inside our anniversary event - Future Worlds". Future Worlds. 8 December 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Articles - Four engineers: four silver medals". www.ingenia.org.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Great minds don't all think alike". www.helena-pozniak.com. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 "Elspeth Finch awarded MBE". Indigo&. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  7. ↑ "Elspeth Finch". World Cities Network. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  8. 1 2 "Traffic Technology Today". www.traffictechnologytoday.com. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  9. 1 2 "Elspeth Finch". www.atkinsglobal.co.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  10. ↑ "The Urgent Need to 'Future Proof' the World's Cities: Implications for the Private Sector? » SustainAbility". SustainAbility. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  11. ↑ "Elspeth Finch". Ecobuild 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  12. ↑ "The One Thing You Need To Know To Have A Successful Career..." Marie Claire. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  13. ↑ "Atkins' Elspeth Finch awarded the Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal". World Cities Network. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  14. ↑ "Elspeth Finch | 175 Faces of Chemistry". www.rsc.org. Archived from the original on 3 October 2020.
  15. ↑ "The digital age: the catalyst for diversity? - Create the Future". Create the Future. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  16. ↑ "Machine learning engineer named UK's most promising young tech entrepreneur | Enterprise Hub". enterprisehub.raeng.org.uk. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  17. ↑ "Elspeth FINCH". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  18. ↑ "Academy celebrates first new Fellows elected under Fit for the Future diversity initiative". Royal Academy of Engineering. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
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