| Honorific Prefix: | The Right Honourable |
| The Baroness Gustafsson | |
| Office: | Minister of State for Investment |
| Term Start: | 10 October 2024 |
| Predecessor: | The Lord Johnson of Lainston |
| Primeminister: | Keir Starmer |
| Office1: | Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal |
| Term Start1: | 15 November 2024 Life peerage |
| Birth Name: | Poppy Clare Veronica Prentis |
| Birth Date: | 24 August 1982 |
| Birth Place: | Kettering, Northamptonshire, UK |
| Party: | Labour |
| Alma Mater: | University of Sheffield (BSc) |
| Children: | 2 |
Poppy Clare Veronica Gustafsson, Baroness Gustafsson, (; born 24 August 1982), is a British businesswoman and Labour Party politician who has served as Minister of State for Investment since 2024.
Gustafsson was born Poppy Clare Veronica Prentis on 24 August 1982 in Northamptonshire to John Prentis and Gilly née Johnson. Her father ran an agricultural-sales business, and her mother was a journalist for Farmers Weekly.[1] Growing up in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, she attended Hinchingbrooke School, before going up to read Mathematics at the University of Sheffield, where she graduated as Bachelor of Science (BSc) in 2003 before studying for an accountancy qualification at Deloitte, qualifying as a chartered accountant in 2006.[2]
In her early career, Gustafsson worked for the venture capital firm Amadeus Capital Partners. In 2009, she moved to Autonomy, working as a corporate controller until the company's acquisition by HP.[3] [4]
Gustafsson co-founded Darktrace in 2013 and initially held the position of chief financial officer. She subsequently took on the role of co-CEO in 2016 and became the sole CEO in 2020.[5] She led Darktrace's initial public offering in 2021, and left the company in 2024 prior to the completion of its sale to the private equity firm Thoma Bravo.[6]
On 10 October 2024, Gustafsson was appointed to government as Minister of State for Investment by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.[7] She was created a life peeress as Baroness Gustafsson, of Chesterton in the City of Cambridge, on 15 November to allow her to sit in the House of Lords.
In 2008, Gustafsson married Roland Joel Gustafsson, a Swedish engineer; they have two daughters. She took her husband's surname after the birth of her eldest daughter.[8] She lives in Cambridge .
Appointed OBE in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to the cyber security industry, Gustafsson was named Tech Businesswoman of the Year at the 2019 UK Tech Awards.[9] In 2022, she was awarded an honorary doctorate (Hon. DSc) by the University of Sheffield, her alma mater.[10]