London, UK - The research and innovation foundation, Nesta, has announced the appointment of three new trustees to its board: Tamara Finkelstein, Swarna Rananathan and Shaunak Mazumder.

From Finkelstein’s two decades of experience in government and public policy, to Rananathan and Mazumder’s backgrounds in technology and investment management, the new trustees will be able to draw on a diverse range of expertise. They have each been appointed for three-year terms to help Nesta deliver its mission-driven strategy to 2030, starting from 1 September 2026.

Ed Richards, Chair of Nesta, said: “These three trustees bring great breadth of experience to Nesta as we push toward our 2030 missions. I am grateful that for the next phase of Nesta’s growth, we can draw on Tamara's time at the heart of government policymaking, Swarna's track record leading technology and strategic transformation at scale and Shaunak's expertise in long-term investment stewardship. I am sure that they will all make an important contribution to Nesta’s work.”

Tamara Finkelstein

Tamara Finkelstein is the Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Engineering. She studied engineering and economics before starting her career as an economist in HM Treasury, where she worked for over 20 years as a policy adviser and leader in roles spanning tax, public spending and debt management. Her wider career in government included leadership roles in Sure Start, Adult Social Care and the Building Safety Programme in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire. Before joining the Academy in 2026, she spent six years as Permanent Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, having previously led the department's work on EU Exit Delivery. She was also Head of the Government Policy Profession. Tamara is a trustee of a number of community and social care charities.

Swarna Ramanathan

Swarna Ramanathan is a senior strategy and technology executive with over 20 years of international leadership experience across the automotive, energy and industrials sectors. She brings deep expertise in enterprise strategy, M&A, digital transformation and corporate development, having led AI and digital transformation agendas, strategic technology partnerships, and M&A and venture capital investing activity at a major industrials and automotive manufacturer.

Earlier in her career, Swarna spent 12 years at a leading global management consultancy, rising to Equity Partner, where she led strategy, digital and IoT transformation engagements for Fortune 500 clients across multiple continents. She began her career as an engineer and global programme manager in the automotive industry, working across the US, India, Sweden and Germany.

Swarna holds an MBA from INSEAD and a degree in Mechanical Engineering from India. She is a long-standing advocate for women in STEM and diversity in leadership, having led initiatives to advance senior women executives and build high-performing, diverse global teams across more than 40 countries.

Shaunak Mazumder

Shaunak Mazumder has 20 years of investment management experience at financial institutions across Europe, London, New York and Toronto, running large, multi-billion dollar portfolios throughout his career. He was previously Partner and Head of Investments at Ownership Capital in London and Amsterdam, where he led a strategy for institutional clients, pension funds and family offices. From 2014 to 2022, he was Senior Portfolio Manager and Head of Global Active Equities at L&G Asset Management, where he launched and led global equity, multi-strategy and absolute return portfolios, and served on the senior management team and investment committees. Earlier in his career he was a hedge fund analyst, and he began his career in investment banking at Morgan Stanley, advising on cross-border M&A.

Shaunak is an ambassador for Inclusion in Finance and is an accredited executive coach.

Notes to editors

1. For more information or to speak to one of the trustees, please contact Anja McLoughlin, Group Media Manager, on 07749966802 or [email protected]. Spokespeople are available for broadcast interviews.

About Nesta

Nesta is a research and innovation foundation that designs, tests and scales solutions for the biggest challenges of our time.

Driven by a vision to improve the lives of millions of people, our focus up to 2030 is on three missions: breaking the link between family background and life chances, halving obesity and cutting household carbon emissions.

We work with partners to develop high-potential solutions and test them as they evolve, drawing on expertise in qualitative and quantitative research, data science, behavioural science and design.

Once confident in the effectiveness of a solution, we take it to scale. We create national policy proposals, develop consumer-facing products and services, build and spin out commercial ventures and harness the power of the arts.

We work with two specialised units: BIT applies a deep understanding of human behaviour to help clients achieve their goals. Challenge Works designs and runs challenge prizes to spark innovation in science, technology and society. Find out more at nesta.org.uk