Fran Sanderson
Fran Sanderson is the Chief Executive Officer of Figurative, a not-for-profit organisation focused on driving impact, investment, andinnovationin the global cultural and creative sectors.
Figurative is incubated at Nesta, where Fran previously worked as the Director of Arts & Culture Investments and Programmes. During her time at Nesta, Fran led initiatives, including Arts & Culture Finance, a £30m impact investing business supporting the arts and cultural sectors. She also worked on Creativity, Culture & Capital, a platform advocating for impact investment in the creative economy, and several interdisciplinary innovation programmes aimed at usingdigital technology for social change.Fran is involved in various impact investment initiatives and has collaborated with partners such as Arts Council England, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, andBank of America. She contributed to several key projects, including the RSC’s Dream project, which used motion capture to reimagine Shakespeare. Fran also serves as a non-executive director for UnLtd, a foundation that supports social entrepreneurs.
Before joining Nesta, Fran had an extensive career in finance. She started atJPMorganas a fund manager, focusing on high yield and investment grade debt, as well as global equities, in both London and New York. After a career break spent living off-grid in Portugal with her family, Fran moved into impact investing at Big Society Capital (now Better Society Capital). There, she worked on numerous social investment deals and researched social pensions.
Fran is involved with the Arts Impact Fund and initiatives like the Innovate UK-funded performance demonstrator project. She also serves as Chair of the UK Social Investment Forum and Treasurer of Cambridge House in South London. Fran’s passion for literature, creative writing, and the arts is further reflected in her membership in the National Academy of Writing.
Fran Sanderson holds a Master of Arts (MA) in Philosophy and Maths from the University of Edinburgh. Additionally, she is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), having received the designation in July 2003.
