Professor Gail Whiteman - University of Exeter Business School
As a leading research institution for sustainable business, climate, and environmental sciences, the University of Exeter is at the cutting edge of scientific understanding and innovation. In 2023 we established the Green Futures Solutions initiative to bring together our executive education programme, green consultancy services and applied research activity to make it easy for businesses to engage directly with our leading scientists.
To effect positive change, we know from experience that we need to speak to and engage the companies who are sitting at key leverage points in their sector and who will activate wider systems change. We want to systematically approach sectors with a team of experts and resources under the new organisational format of “The Nature and Climate Impact Team – Accelerating Action on Nature & Climate”.
The Nature and Climate Impact Team will be led by Professor Gail Whiteman as the inaugural Hoffmann Impact Professor. The goal of this Professorship is to turbocharge support for low carbon action by building science-informed impact pathways in key target industry sectors. An “Impact Professor” is a unique role which privileges the role of scholarly engagement with a primary focus on mobilising “action” as opposed to more traditional academic roles.
The Nature and Climate Impact Team will focus on three industry sectors in the first two years and include a Research Impact Fellow and a Communications Impact Fellow for each sector, coordinated by a Senior Research Project Manager alongside Prof Whiteman. The Impact Fellows will each be complimented with a Communication Impact Fellow to help stakeholders understand the changes and adapt.
Gail Whiteman is the Hoffmann Impact Professor for Accelerating Action on Nature & Climate at the University of Exeter Business School. A social science expert, she focuses on how decision-makers interpret and respond to systemic global risks, including those posed by climate change and environmental threats. She is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Earth Decides community and the Professor-in-Residence of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. An award-winning science communicator, she is founder/co-founder of Arctic Basecamp and Climate Basecamp.
Katie Cooke is an experienced Higher Education research programme manager, specialising in multi-million-pound UKRI research projects including the CE Hub and NICER programme at the University of Exeter. She excels in managing complex, large-scale research initiatives and fostering partnerships with academia, industry, policymakers, and society.
Frances combines an academic background and a focus on food systems with extensive experience in storytelling, strategy, and foresight. After years directing and producing BBC documentaries, Frances moved to Scandinavia where she became interested in the food space whilst working at Oatly. She has since built up both practical and theoretical experience in sustainable food systems, including working with government actors, local authorities, producers, and brands.
Josh Ayers brings nearly 20 years of international experience as a climate professional rooted in systems thinking and nature-positive approaches. He has directed large programmes at the intersection of environmental, economic, and social development. Josh’s experience with interdisciplinary research and multidisciplinary partnerships facilitates innovative, sustainable solutions.
Cora has a background in chemistry and environmental science and policy. She has spent almost four years working with the Swedish start-up Volta Greentech, tackling climate change by reducing methane emissions from cows. As part of a small, driven team, she’s managed a factory, spoken at international events, secured funding, and worked closely with European policymakers.
Marcos holds BSc (2013), MSc (2016), and PhD in Computer Science (2024) focused on AI and meteorological data, applying Machine Learning to digital agriculture and agrometeorology. In addition to a 10-year career as an IT analyst, he has experience in innovation, entrepreneurship and startups, with his main interest being data science applied to climate change.
Anna brings over 15 years of experience in live sports broadcasting, where she delivered high-profile projects and built a reputation for operational excellence. Her career highlights include leading the rebranding of BT Sport to TNT Sports, overseeing the launch of pay-per-view Box Office channels, and managing the promotion of large-scale events including the UEFA Champions League and Premier League.
By focusing on key industry sectors, we will be able to bridge the gap between the scientific understanding of systemic change and the practical methods of delivery. There are currently insufficient tools available for business leaders to understand their impacts on nature and our climate; to be able to commit to change at Board level; or to measure progress against their ambitions to be nature and climate net-positive.
Crucially, we will also share knowledge broadly to ensure there are opportunities for others to learn from best practice, applying learnings from one sector to another and at different scales.
Our aim is that this will be a rolling programme over the next five years where we will recruit specialists for three sectors at a time to maintain momentum, share best practice and work at scale.
A critical next step is to identify key collaborators to work closely with the Nature and Climate Impact Team.