Co-Founder, Octopus Group

Chris Hulatt is the co-founder of Octopus, a group of innovative, entrepreneurial businesses investing in the people, ideas and industries that will help to change the world.

The Octopus Group ties together seven distinct businesses: Octopus Investments, Octopus Real Estate, Octopus Energy, Octopus Ventures, Octopus Renewables, Octopus Wealth and Seccl Technology.

When Chris co-founded Octopus in 2000, it was with the belief that entrepreneurs can help drive change by disrupting established industries and putting customers first. Octopus has grown rapidly since then, building sizeable investment platforms in renewable energy, healthcare infrastructure and smaller companies. Octopus now has more than £9.1 billion funds under management from retail and institutional investors.

In 2016 Octopus launched its consumer energy supply business, Octopus Energy, providing customers with sustainable and fair pricing, combined with truly digital customer service. It has scaled quickly to more than 1.4 million customers and is the only supplier to be recommended by Which? recommended three years in a row.

Chris is a passionate champion of UK entrepreneurs and high-growth small businesses, and serves as an adviser to The Entrepreneurs Network.

In 2017, Chris was named EY UK Entrepreneur of the Year, alongside Octopus co-founder Simon Rogerson. Chris is a Chartered Financial Analyst and has an MA in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge.