Jens Tholstrup

Managing Director, OION and Development Director, SQW Group

Jens is Managing Director of Oxford Investment Opportunity Network, Development Director SQW Group and Senior Advisor, Oxford Economics.

Previously, Jens served as an Executive Director of Oxford Analytica Ltd. from 2000 to 2010. He was a member of the management team, and as Director of Consultancy, he supervised many of Oxford Economics Limited’s key client relationships and was responsible for Business and Financial Markets coverage. Jens acted as Project Director and advisor for a number of major assignments. Prior to joining Oxford Analytica, he worked in investment banking for over 20 years, principally on capital markets, leveraged finance, and corporate finance with a particular focus on financial institutions.

Jens is a Member of the Board of Directors of Oxford Economics, a Trustee of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Visiting Business Fellow at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford University, a governor of St Clare’s, Oxford and a Trustee of Charity Mentors Oxfordshire. He is a member of the Society of Business Economists (SBE). He holds BA (Hons) in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, St Edmund Hall, Oxford University in 1976. He also holds a MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and an MSc in Economic History, both from the University of Oxford.

Jens is also a board member of Venturefest Oxford.

Speaker sessions

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14:45 - 15:45

Creating an ecosystem for start-ups to thrive

Pickavance Lecture Theatre | Main Stage

Oxfordshire has a vibrant community of young and early stage companies, with many new ones created each year. Many of these are spin-outs from Oxford’s two Universities and benefit greatly from the support of their parent institutions. However, many companies start without the backing of Oxfordshire’s universities or decide to locate within the Oxfordshire region to grow and develop their innovation. This panel will look at the ecosystem for start-ups, considering how companies gain support and grow, and will examine the strengths and weaknesses of Oxfordshire as a place for start-ups to scale and succeed.

Panellists: Mark Evans – Adaptix, Jon Rees – MitoRx Therapeutics, Nicki Campling – Barclays Eagle Labs, Oxford, Jens Tholstrup – OION, Megan Morys-Carter – TheHill and Gillian McLaren – British Business Bank.

Chaired by Nicola McConville – Taylor Vinters.

Sponsored by British Business Bank, James Cowper Kreston and Taylor Vinters.

VIEW THE FULL PROGRAMME