NatWest Venture Banking appoints Emily Pilkington to lead Life Sciences, Healthcare and Planetary Health
Senior appointment strengthens specialist sector expertise within NatWest’s recently launched offering for ambitious, venture-backed businesses and their investors across the UK.
NatWest has appointed Emily Pilkington as head of Life Sciences, Healthcare and Planetary Health within its Venture Banking team, strengthening the bank’s specialist support for innovative businesses in sectors central to the UK’s future growth.
Launched in April, NatWest Venture Banking is designed to transform how the bank supports the UK’s most ambitious and innovative venture-backed scale-ups. Its regional coverage model brings together tailored financial solutions, specialist sector expertise, strong investor relationships and deep ecosystem connectivity to help founders access capital, scale with confidence and navigate the challenges of rapid growth.
Emily will work across the UK, helping businesses from seed stage through to exit access the full breadth of NatWest’s support. Her appointment builds on the recruitment of more than 30 venture banking specialists and the formation of a leadership team from across the innovation ecosystem.
She joins from HSBC Innovation Banking, where she most recently led the Life Sciences and Healthcare Debt Finance team. Emily brings thirteen years’ experience in lending and coverage roles at SVB, DNB and Barclays, working with technology and life sciences companies throughout the growth lifecycle.
Life sciences and healthcare are strategically important to both NatWest and the UK economy, driving innovation, investment, highly skilled employment and improved health outcomes. Emily’s appointment is further evidence of NatWest’s investment in exceptional talent and its ambition to build a market-leading proposition for the UK innovation economy, supporting founders, funds and portfolio companies as breakthrough ideas become scalable businesses.
Jenny Edwards, head of NatWest Venture Banking, said: “To build the economy of the future, we need to back the innovators who will power it. Life sciences, healthcare and planetary sciences are areas where the UK has real strength, and Emily’s deep sector experience will further enhance the specialist, flexible support we provide to founders and investors. Her appointment builds on the strong momentum behind NatWest Venture Banking and our ambition to be the partner of choice for ambitious companies shaping the UK’s future economy.”
Emily said: “The UK has an exceptional ecosystem of life science and healthcare founders, researchers and investors developing innovations that can improve lives, address major global challenges and create lasting economic value. I am excited to join NatWest Venture Banking and build on the team’s strong momentum, combining specialist insight, finance and connections to help ambitious businesses access capital and scale with confidence.”