Hanadi Jabado appointed as Deputy Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire

Hanadi was one of nine new Deputy Lieutenants appointed by His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire on 15 March, and received her commission on Thursday 20 March. 

Hanadi Jabado receives her commission from Mrs Julie Spence OBE QPM, Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire. (Photo credit: Cambridge Independent.)

Deputy Lieutenants assist the Lord-Lieutenant in promoting civic, voluntary, and charitable work within Cambridgeshire. The Lord-Lieutenant is appointed by His Majesty the King, and acts as the King's representative in the county. 

"It is a real pleasure and privilege to be appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve under the inspiring Lord-Lieutenant, Mrs Julie Spence OBE QPM, and alongside my fellow distinguished Deputy Lieutenants."

Hanadi Jabado

Hanadi Jabado was born in Lebanon and raised in France. She is fluent in English, French and Arabic, and can speak a further four languages.

She matriculated in 1995, and joined the fifth cohort of MBAs at the Cambridge Judge Business School, completing her studies in 1997. Hanadi is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor turned venture capitalist, with expertise in translating cutting-edge science into scalable, innovative business models. She is an outspoken advocate for equality, diversity, and inclusion.

As founding Director of Accelerate Cambridge, a start-up accelerator based at Cambridge Judge Business School, Hanadi supported the creation and development of 180 early-stage ventures, building a portfolio with an estimated value of £1bn. She chaired the Boards of Cambridge Spark from 2019 to 2021, Satavia from 2019 to 2020, Qureight from 2020 to 2023, and is currently Chair of ExSeed.

Hanadi is an independent external member of the Innovate UK Innovation Loans Credit Committee, sits on the LIF steering committee at the Royal Academy of Engineering, and is a President Fellow at Murray Edwards College.

Hanadi’s work to support entrepreneurs earned her recognition as one of the Maserati100 in 2016 and the top 20 Asian Tech Pioneers in 2020.

In January 2022, she co-founded Sana Capital, one of the first early-stage funds in Europe focused on ‘TechBios’. TechBios are companies that seek to bring cutting-edge technology and a data-driven approach to the biotechnology sector.

Speaking in 2022, Hanadi said, “More and more, there is a huge crossover between healthcare innovation, life science innovation, computer science, machine learning and data science. I found that all my experience from tech was transferable into biotech. That’s how I got to what I’m doing now.”

Hanadi recently shared her experience of start-ups, and of challenging sexism in the workplace, at the launch of the Sidney Young Alumni programme.