Professor Keith Jackson appointed Chair of Digital Catapult 

Digital Catapult’s Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Keith Jackson as its new Chair. Professor Jackson will succeed Juergen Maier CBE from May 2025. 

A successful entrepreneur and engineering leader, Jackson brings wide ranging experience from industry and academia to Digital Catapult. He co-founded the successful startup business Pi Technology, which grew to provide engine control systems used in millions of vehicles around the world and designed a £10 million industry 4.0 digital manufacturing project for Meggitt, working with IBM and the Innovate UK Catapult Network’s AMRC in Sheffield and MTC in Ansty.

At Meggitt, Jackson developed a digital manufacturing project called M4 that optimised the manufacturing life cycle across supply, outsource, assembly and in service operation. He also conceived a project designing new thermal management systems for next generation aircraft engines and secured a patent for a noise-cancelling, 3D printed engine valve. Other projects included optical sensing and advanced composite manufacturing. 

Jackson is Chairman of Ilika, an AIM listed solid state battery development and manufacturing company. Until recently, he was a Royal Society sponsored Visiting Professor of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at The University of Sheffield’s Automated Controls and Systems Engineering department, helping students to turn engineering technology into business ideas. He is an active guest lecturer and mentors leaders at both startups and large industry players. Previous roles also include Chief Technology Officer at Rolls-Royce, where he transformed processes and principles to deliver technically and commercially game changing products and services. 

Jackson is a former Fellow of: Society of Automotive Engineers, Rolls-Royce Engineering, British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing and the Royal Aeronautical Society. 

Digital Catapult is a deep tech innovation organisation, helping businesses grow through the practical adoption of deep tech in partnership with government, industry and academia.