Nichola Bates

Nichola is a seasoned venture investor and startup operator with a career spanning early-stage entrepreneurship to corporate innovation at the highest level. She joined Boeing after a decade working with startups across security, resilience, and deep tech, where she championed the role of SMEs to government and industry alike. At Boeing, she became the company's leading venture investor for markets outside the United States-investing in startups across 14 countries-and led all of Boeing's global innovation programs and accelerators, supporting both defence and commercial customers worldwide. Nichola brings deep expertise in international business development, capital raising, and go-to-market strategy, with a strong network across governments, corporates, and the venture ecosystem. Having experienced both startup growth and exit, and corporate venture leadership within one of the world's largest aerospace and defence companies, she understands what it takes to build, scale, and fund innovation from both sides of the table. 

Now serving as CEO of XeleratedFifty, Nichola invests in and supports early-stage companies using breakthrough technologies to transform hard-to-disrupt industries like aerospace, defence, oil and gas, and maritime. She is a passionate advocate for collaboration across cities, countries, and corporates, believing that while innovation is everywhere, access is not-and that global startup success should be a driver of local economic development.