Keir Starmer hands ex-Darktrace boss investment minister gig

UK Prime Minister **Keir Starmer** appointed former Darktrace CEO **Poppy Gustafsson OBE** as investment minister (with a peerage), tasking her to promote the UK at the International Investment Summit, while the article recounts Darktrace’s controversies (links to Autonomy/Mike Lynch, a 2022 withdrawn Thoma Bravo bid, a critical hedge fund report and an EY review) and its eventual $5.3B sale to Thoma Bravo. Officials and experts praise the move as aligning subject‑matter expertise with policy, and the government will expand the *Office for Investment* across the Treasury, Department for Business and Trade, and Number 10.