Women in Scale-Ups

Liz Ashall-Payne

CEO, ORCHA Health

Liz Ashall-Payne is a dynamic entrepreneur and healthcare innovator renowned for her pioneering work in digital health. With a blend of visionary leadership and technical expertise, she has carved a significant niche in transforming healthcare delivery through technology.  As the founder and CEO of ORCHA (Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Applications), Liz has led the charge in revolutionizing the way digital health apps are evaluated and utilized within healthcare systems worldwide. Her passion for empowering both patients and healthcare professionals with reliable, safe, and effective digital tools has been the driving force behind ORCHA's success.  Liz's career trajectory has been marked by a relentless commitment to bridging the gap between traditional healthcare and cutting-edge technology. Her innovative approach has earned her numerous accolades, including recognition as one of the top 50 influential women in tech by Forbes.  Beyond her entrepreneurial pursuits, Liz is a sought-after speaker and advocate for digital health literacy and accessibility. She actively engages in initiatives aimed at fostering innovation and collaboration within the healthcare industry, cementing her status as a leading figure in the digital health revolution.  With a steadfast dedication to improving healthcare outcomes through innovation, Liz Ashall-Payne continues to push boundaries and inspire change in the ever-evolving landscape of digital health.

Casey Calista

Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Vorboss

Casey is the Head of Policy and Public Affairs and Vorboss - a scale-up building the connectivity infrastructure needed to underpin our economy. In her role, she is focused on  supporting future-facing skills, diversity in tech & infrastructure, security & resilience, and our future needs to underpin growth.

Prior to working at Vorboss, Casey launched and grew the tech public affairs practice at two agencies. As a tech policy specialist, she has worked with some of the largest and most exciting technology companies in the world - helping them with policy, government relations and strategic communications Westminster-focused to global. Previously, she managed the leading parliamentary technology policy group, mobilising cross-party coalitions to educate policymakers on emerging tech, and ran a London-based startup media company.

Casey is the Industry Chair of Labour Digital and co-founder of the Women in Tech Policy Network. 

Mireille Elhajj

CEO, Astraterra

Dr Mireille Elhajj is the founder of London-based boutique consultancy Astra-Terra, a company specialising in Positioning, Navigation Timing and intelligent systems with an emphasis on space and infrastructure, including smart transportation. (www.astraterra.com). She is also a Fellow at The Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN) in London and a Senior Honorary Lecturer at Imperial College London. Dr. Elhajj has a background in PNT, systems engineering, space applications and transportation. Previously, she was the Director of the Integrated Space Science Engineering Program and an Advanced Research Fellow at Imperial College London's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. A Lecturer and an “Infrastructure and Space Science Fellow” at the ISST and now sits on the Industrial Advisory Board of the CEE.  She has published various papers in Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT), Interference mitigation and novel integrity monitoring methods for multiple applications in telematics and smart cities.  She holds a PhD from Imperial College London, where she researched the use of new GPS signals to improve accuracy for surface transport. She has an MSc in Financial Analysis and Fund Management (FAFM) from Exeter University and an MSc in Transport Engineering from Imperial College London. 

Hollie Hodgson

Head of Account Management, Tussell

Hollie is Head of Account Management at a UK data provider called Tussell – a company that sells insights on public sector contracts & spending to bodies in both the public and private sector.  

Hollie has been with the company for nearly 5-years and, as anyone who’s worked at a start-up would say, Hollie has had her fingers in a lot of pies! Hollie has sat in nearly every business unit and loved being able to work my way through the ranks – from initially joining as a Researcher to now leading a team of 7 account managers. Hollie joined after developing a love for start-ups during my time as a data analyst for an ESG reporting start-up called Engaged Tracking, a role which Hollie came across while studying my master’s at King’s College after completing a law degree at the University of Law. 

Hollie has a keen interest in the public sector and a desire to transpose policy into action, with data at the heart of every decision. Hollie is passionate about the role scale-ups play in local economies and driving innovation in public procurement.