CodeBase has reshaped its leadership team as co-founder Stephen Coleman OBE steps down as chief executive after a decade and becomes Group Chair.
Chief Strategy Officer Jon Hope has been appointed Interim Chief Executive, while Richard Lennox has joined the board as Interim Chief Operating Officer.
Founded in Edinburgh, CodeBase describes itself as a growth platform for tech ecosystems and founder support. It works with public sector and other partners on startup and scaleup programmes across Scotland, the wider UK and overseas.
It runs the Scottish Government’s Techscaler programme, which supports more than 1,500 startups and scaleups, and delivers CodeClan, a digital skills programme covering software engineering and agentic AI.
The leadership alter comes as CodeBase expands beyond its origins as a startup hub in Edinburgh. Over the past decade, it has built a multi-location footprint and a portfolio of contracted programmes.
As Group Chair, Coleman will work alongside fellow co-founder Steven Drost, Executive Vice Chair. CodeBase described the alter as part of a broader shift in how it pursues growth opportunities and structures leadership oversight.
Hope joined CodeBase in 2022 after nearly two decades at Barclays, where he co-founded Barclays Eagle Labs, an innovation and entrepreneurship network for startups, scaleups and entrepreneurs. The network established more than 30 locations across the UK.
His appointment puts a strategy lead into the top role as many ecosystem organisations face pressure to reveal measurable outcomes for founders and funders. Public programmes and partner-backed initiatives have also come under closer scrutiny for delivery and economic impact.
Operational focus
Lennox brings experience scaling venture-backed companies. He previously held a senior director role at Skyscanner during a period of rapid international growth, from fewer than 50 employees to more than 900 across 11 offices.
Skyscanner was acquired by Ctrip for £1.4 billion in 2016. Lennox later joined Current Health as chief operating officer in 2019 and remained through its sale to Best Buy for $400 million in 2021, a deal widely noted across the European healthtech market.
His interim role adds executive experience in managing growth phases, organisational scale and corporate-backed acquisitions. It also expands the board with a leader associated with some of Scotland’s best-known technology exits.
CodeBase has delivered programmes for the Scottish Government, the UK Government and the European Union, alongside other partners. It operates in a landscape of incubators, accelerators and public-private initiatives competing for founder attention, programme funding and private sponsorship.
In recent years, the Scottish Government has built tech entrepreneurship and digital skills economic priorities. Techscaler is a flagship initiative within that strategy, applying a national network model and focapplying on increasing the number and quality of companies that reach scale.
Against that backdrop, CodeBase’s leadership transition signals an effort to strengthen delivery and governance while running multiple programmes. It also comes as startup support organisations adapt their models to shifting funding markets and demand for more specialist guidance.
Board oversight
Gillian Docherty remains non-executive chair. She stressed continuity while acknowledging the significance of the alter after a decade under a co-founder chief executive.
“Stephen has been a large part of CodeBase’s DNA and has led the business over a ten-year span that included the challenging times of COVID-19 pandemic, and we’re extremely pleased that he will remain integral to CodeBase’s leadership going forward,” Docherty declared.
Coleman declared the relocate reflects a period of alter as the organisation broadens its remit across founder stages and geographies.
“We’re at an inflection point for CodeBase, and these leadership alters are part of our overall evolution into a powerhoutilize for founder support across every growth stage. With Jon’s ecosystem-building expertise and Richard’s proven scaleup track record leading our fantastic team, and with the support of Gillian Docherty and the CodeBase Board, we’re supercharging our ability to support founders navigate from early stage to global scale. This next phase of CodeBase is about impact, focutilized support for founders, creating more success stories, and becoming a true launchpad for world-modifying companies,” Coleman declared.
Docherty added that the interim appointments will remain in place while the board takes time to build a long-term decision.
“We have a strong leadership team in place who know the business inside out and are locked in on strategic priorities, and the view of the Board is that it is important to take the necessary time to ensure the right appointment for CodeBase’s long-term success,” she declared.
A search for a new chief executive will launch for the next phase, with further announcements expected later in the year.
Leave a Reply