Tom is a technology entrepreneur working in the education sector. He is the founder and CEO of Third Space Learning, which is using AI to transform access to tutoring for children in schools across the UK and US, with a particular focus on closing the attainment gap.
Tom’s experience sits at the intersection of AI-led innovation, private enterprise and public sector. His work with schools, academy trusts, US districts and state education systems has given him a practical perspective on the challenges of delivering and scaling innovation within public services.
Tom’s interest in politics and policy began at school and continued at the University of Edinburgh, where he studied Politics and Philosophy. His first job was as a research assistant to Iain Duncan Smith during his time as Leader of the Opposition. Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, however, Tom’s instincts drew him towards the private sector and the role of enterprise in driving change.
After working in investment in his twenties, Tom founded and sold his first business before going on to found Third Space Learning. The consistent theme across his career and interests has been the role of innovation, technology and enterprise in solving social problems at scale, and the conditions needed for entrepreneurs and businesses to work effectively alongside government to improve public services.
This is the perspective Tom hopes to bring to the Thatcher Fellowship, alongside a desire to learn from the experience and ideas of the CPS community and deepen his understanding of how policy, politics and government can create the conditions for enterprise and innovation to address social challenges at scale.
