David Gammon HonFREng
CEO and founder, Rockspring
David Gammon is the CEO and founder of Rockspring, a family owned and managed angel investment company. Prior to Rockspring, he spent 17 years in investment banking and brings with him a wealth of financial acumen and experience, plus his own personal passion for computing and artificial intelligence. Rockspring focuses on early-stage technology companies, especially those with a strong knowledge base or intellectual property, who have a desire to grow and disrupt an existing product or service. Since its foundation in 2002, Rockspring has invested in 32 startups, primarily in the UK, which have ranged from a company with more than 5,000 employees and over £1 billion turnover, to a four-person pre-revenue startup.
Besides leading and administering the business, David spends much of his time providing advisory services. He has a hands-on style and has taken a personal role in several of Rockspring’s investees, including as non-executive Chairman at Frontier Developments, a computer games company, and a term as non-executive director (NED) at DeepMind Technologies Ltd (now GoogleDeepMind, following a successful £400 million acquisition).
He has also served as: an advisor to Hawkwood Capital LLP; NED at real-time location technology specialist Ubisense Trading Limited; NED at internet TV specialist Amino Technologies plc; NED at smart metering and software company BGlobal plc; acting CFO at internet specialist Envisional Solutions Limited; NED at Accesso Technologies plc, Funderbeam Limited and Raspberry Pi Trading Limited; and was Group Strategy Advisor at Marshall of Cambridge (Holdings) Limited.
David Gammon has been a committed member and supporter of the Academy’s Enterprise Hub for a number of years. He and his family are the benefactors of the Launchpad Competition for young entrepreneurs. The Launchpad Competition helps ambitious young entrepreneurs realise their ideas and achieve commercial success. The winner of the competition receives the JC Gammon Award in recognition of their excellence and potential in engineering entrepreneurship and innovation. The Award includes a cash prize of up to £15,000 and membership of the Academy’s Enterprise Hub, which connects them to world-class mentoring and business advice from industry leaders, as well as networking opportunities with leading UK business angel groups, investors and other early-stage specialists.
David Gammon brings an impressive network of high-level connections from the various industries he has been involved in over the years. His business acumen allows him to deliver ongoing support to the companies that he invests in, making him a value-added and enthusiastic co-investor. He is, and will continue to be, an enthusiastic supporter of the Academy and its Enterprise Hub.