Nicola Yates OBE has been appointed as chief executive officer of Future Cities Catapult.
As a leading thinker and practitioner on public service delivery, Nicola has been at the forefront of urban regeneration for the past 10 years, holding CEO positions at Bristol City Council, Hull City Council and North Shropshire District Council. Amongst multiple successes in delivering local economic prosperity, she helped established the internationally recognised ‘Bristol is Open’ initiative in 2014, working with Nokia, NEC, and Interdigital Ltd.
During Nicola’s time at Bristol City Council, the European Commission awarded the city ‘European Green Capital 2015’, firmly positioning Bristol amongst the ranks of previous winners that includes Stockholm, Hamburg and Copenhagen. Other achievements under Nicola’s tenure include the UK City Index naming Bristol as the leading Smart City outside of London, and the city being declared the ‘Best Place to Live’ in England in 2016 by the Sunday Times.
Nicola Yates OBE, said: “I’m thrilled to be taking up the position of Chief Executive at Future Cities Catapult. It’s a massive opportunity to drive forward the UK’s Advanced Urban Services sector to make infrastructure smarter and improve how cities function.
“I look forward to working with the brilliant entrepreneurial team here to break new ground in our mission to advance urban innovation, to grow UK companies, and ultimately, to make cities better.”