# Claire Cockerton

> Claire Cockerton is a London-based entrepreneur and innovation district specialist. She was Plexal’s founder and founding CEO, co-created Level39, and served as founding CEO of Innovate Finance. She now leads Cockerton & Co, designing and operating innovation spaces and programmes that connect entrepreneurs with business support, partners and institutions.

- **Role:** Founder and Managing Director at Cockerton & Co
- **Organizations:** Cockerton & Co, Plexal (founder and former CEO), ENTIQ (founder), Innovate Finance (founding CEO), Level39 (co-creator), Aesthetic Earthworks (founder; sold in 2009), Tech London Advocates, Royal Society of Arts, Guild of Entrepreneurs
- **Nationality:** Canadian
- **Education:** University of Toronto, MBA; focus on Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Design, Imperial College London
- **Known for:** Founded and sold Aesthetic Earthworks in Toronto., Co-created Level39 and founded ENTIQ., Founding CEO of Innovate Finance.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2009** — Founded Aesthetic Earthworks while studying in Toronto and grew the business over seven years.
- **2009** — Sold Aesthetic Earthworks and moved to the UK to pursue an MBA.
- **2010** — Completed an Imperial College MBA; dissertation examined business incubation and the Branson Centre for Entrepreneurship in South Africa.
- **2011** — Worked with Guardian Media Group on its Digital First transformation.
- **2013** — Co-led Level39’s launch; founded ENTIQ with Eric van der Kleij. Cockerton & Co dates its founding to 2013.
- **2014** — Served as founding CEO of Innovate Finance, launched on 6 August 2014.
- **2015** — Delivered Cognicity through ENTIQ; asked by the Chancellor to examine fintech opportunities and the case for a Leeds incubator.
- **2016** — ENTIQ was acquired in June; Plexal held its pre-launch LiveConnected event in October.
- **2017** — Plexal opened at Here East during London Tech Week; ranked fourth in Computer Weekly’s Most Influential Women in UK IT list.
- **2018** — Launched the Plexiglass women-founder accelerator; departure as Plexal CEO announced in July.
- **2020** — Announced the BUILD social impact pre-accelerator for Leeds City Region.
- **2021** — Produced and delivered BUILD Your Future workshop content with Perdie Alder at Nexus in Leeds.
- **2025** — Listed as managing director of Cockerton & Co on Computer Weekly’s women-in-tech longlist and the Ecosystem Exchange speaker programme.

## Achievements

- Founded and sold Aesthetic Earthworks in Toronto.
- Co-created Level39 and founded ENTIQ.
- Founding CEO of Innovate Finance.
- Founder and founding CEO of Plexal, the 68,000-square-foot innovation centre at Here East.
- Ranked fourth in Computer Weekly’s 2017 Most Influential Women in UK IT list.
- Launched Plexiglass, an eight-week programme for ten women-led technology startups.
- Co-delivered entrepreneurship learning for eleven young people at BUILD Your Future in Leeds.

## Latest updates

- **2025-11** — Ecosystem Exchange’s 13-14 November 2025 programme listed Cockerton as a speaker and managing director of Cockerton & Co.

## Links

- Website: https://cockertonand.co/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairecockerton/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/clairecockerton

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/claire-cockerton
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-22