Vicki Hearn

Vicki Hearn joined Nominet Trust at the start of 2011 and led it for roughly eight years, ultimately as its Director and Chief Executive. Nominet Trust — founded by UK domain registry Nominet in 2008 — established itself as the UK's leading "tech for good" backer, investing more than £44m in over 750 ventures nationwide during that period. Under Hearn's leadership the Trust became best known publicly for the Nominet Trust 100 (NT100), an annual celebration of inspiring social-tech innovations from around the world that ran through the mid-2010s.

Before entering the social-tech world, Hearn worked at education-technology company RM plc as a Senior Programme Manager, experience that informed her later focus on using digital technology to address social and educational inequality. She has written and spoken widely on social tech — including a HuffPost UK column ("Do IT for the Girls") on encouraging women into technology entrepreneurship — and appeared on podcasts and panels as an advocate for the movement.

A defining chapter of her tenure was steering the organisation through its transition from a corporate-founded trust into an independent charity, rebranded Social Tech Trust, positioning it as a dedicated investor in socially motivated tech rather than solely a grant-maker. She stepped down in January 2019 after nearly four years at the helm of the independent body; Deputy Chief Executive and Investment Director Ed Evans succeeded her as CEO. Trustee chair Bill Liao credited her "passion for social tech, expertise and determination" as "critical to establishing the Trust's excellent delivery track record."

*Note: The stub email and Oxford phone number date from her Nominet Trust / Social Tech Trust years. Because she departed the organisation in early 2019, treat this contact information as potentially stale and confirm her current affiliation before outreach.*

• Backs ventures that "use digital technology creatively to tackle significant social challenges" — social impact is the primary lens, with technology as the enabler
• Historically funded via grants at early/seed stage, later broadening toward equity investment as Social Tech Trust repositioned as a dedicated social-tech investor
• Sector breadth across health and assistive tech, disability/accessibility, education, community empowerment, sustainability and digital inclusion — united by measurable social outcomes rather than a single vertical
• Championed inclusion and equity, including getting more women and under-represented founders into tech entrepreneurship
• Ran structured, thesis-led programmes (e.g. the £1m iAMdigital fund with Creative England, and the Fair By Design fund tackling the "poverty premium")