Gillian Youngs

I have a leadership and innovation background in media, entrepreneurial business and applied academic research in the start-up creative and digital economy.

Digital transformation has been at the heart of my work.

For me, digital transformation is about entrepreneurial, social and individual change and empowerment and my leadership work and roles in these areas have covered business, non-profit, policy and academic spheres.

As a political economist dedicated to understanding patterns of inequality I have been at the leading edges of the fields of globalization and internet studies as well as feminist international relations.

I champion the integrated power of creative arts, design and tech as drivers of innovation and inclusive digital economy, and have worked with tech and innovators throughout my professional life.

I have focused on issues of diversity, inequality and exclusion, through my academic research, teaching and senior management roles, as well as my applied and practice-oriented work, including in the start-up sector.

I was honoured in 2020 to become a Fellow of the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) in recognition of my contribution to digital economy and support of women in STEM.

I co-founded International Feminist Journal of Politics in 1999. In addition to several major reports, I have published monographs, edited and co-edited books, as well as journal articles and chapters.

My projects have been supported by funding from government, research councils and other bodies.

My professional expertise includes:

-Strategic visioning, planning and budgets

- Project development and management

- Research design and impact

- Team-building and senior management

- Problem-solving and critical thinking

- Mentoring (formal and informal)

- Partnership creation and maintenance

- Consultancy and interim roles

- Inclusion and diversity work

- International network development and community building

- Board membership and Trustee roles

- Professional writing and editing

- Presentations and public speaking