Mike Lawton

Co-Founder & Director, Oxford Dynamics

Mike Lawton is a serial entrepreneur, which he thinks is probably code for getting things wrong slightly less often than he gets them right. Mike enjoys building early-stage tech businesses in demanding commercial environments: taking an idea from concept, raising investment, and building motivated teams that focus on delivery and sustainable value generation

He is a keen promoter of STEM subjects, with a particular passion for inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurial engineers and scientists. Before the world shifted on its axis with COVID-19, Mike frequently presented at events in the UK and overseas on his entrepreneurial experiences, space technology, and the ‘dark arts’ of raising finance for tech businesses.

Most people consider him a pragmatic, determined, and enthusiastic leader with a hands-on approach who believes in direct reward for achievement.

Mike was Barclay’s Bank UK Start-Up Entrepreneur 2018 for the progress and achievements of a previous venture, Oxford Space Systems is now one of the highest-valued space-tech start-ups in the UK. He is also proud to say that he was a mentor for the 2021 Santander Breakthrough Women Business Leaders’ Mentoring Programme.