Bio

Mary Gunn, PhD, MBA, LLM, is a Chair, Non-Executive Director, Advisory Board Member, and CEO with over two decades of governance and executive leadership experience across technology-enabled, innovation-led businesses, financial services, and global enterprises.
She brings deep experience in scaling companies from early-stage through global expansion, working closely with founders, management teams, and investors on capital allocation, operating model design, commercialization, and value creation.
At board level, Mary supports strategy formulation, investment oversight, and governance build-out, with particular strength in navigating complex environments including rapid scaling, operational reset, cross-border expansion, and shareholder activism. She has served across audit/risk, nomination/compensation, and investment committees, with a focus on aligning long-term value creation with disciplined execution.
Mary is currently a board director of FTSE 250 listed Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust (EWI:LSE), an innovation-focused global investment trust investing across public and private markets, and several growth-stage companies. She also serves on the business, investment, and international committees of the University of Edinburgh, including the Investment Committee of Old College Capital, overseeing a portfolio of 100+ venture-stage companies across technology, climate, and life sciences.
She has advised private equity, venture capital, and corporate development teams for over a decade, supporting the deployment of $20B+ across 150+ investments. Her role has consistently focused on bridging investment strategy with execution, particularly in situations requiring hands-on operational leadership.
As a global C-level executive and interim CEO, Mary has overseen multi-billion-dollar portfolios, large international teams, and operations across up to 75 countries, with a track record of driving growth, transformation, and successful exits.