Claire Lewis, co-founder and CEO of Liverpool-based tech accelerator Baltic Ventures, has announced she is stepping down after five years leading the organisation from inception to national prominence.

In a LinkedIn post shared earlier today, Lewis described the move as the end of an “incredible journey,” reflecting on her time taking Baltic Ventures from “the seed of an idea” to becoming “an angel syndicate and leading UK tech accelerator with a portfolio of 30 companies, eight figure follow-on investments and over 200 founders supported.”

She wrote: “I’ve reached a point in my career and life where I am ready for a change of rhythm; to take some time to rest and reset and to dedicate energy and focus to other areas and projects that I’m passionate about. I’ve therefore decided it’s the right time for me to step down as CEO of Baltic Ventures.”

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Lewis said the decision “has not been an easy” one, adding that she had “never been happier than working with the completely awesome Baltic Ventures team: it has been a joy.”

She paid tribute to her colleagues, including Mo Aldalou, Becca Harvey, Rachel Siner, Carl Wong, David Woods, Mark Rathbone and Riam Kanso, saying: “It’s been a privilege to work with each of you over the past few years, you are the best! I consider myself so lucky to have had this opportunity to build Baltic Ventures alongside you all. An enormous THANK YOU and big love 💜.”

Lewis also extended her thanks to the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Baltic Ventures’ angel syndicate, and the wider community of founders and supporters who have contributed to the accelerator’s success.

She confirmed she will remain involved with Baltic Ventures as a board member and consultant while taking on new consulting and non-executive director roles elsewhere.

“I’ll be continuing in my current role until we have appointed the new CEO who will take this amazing organisation, that I am so proud of, on the next stage of its journey,” she added, noting that the role will be advertised on LinkedIn on Tuesday.

Baltic Ventures launched in 2023 with £4.1m of backing from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, aiming to support early-stage tech founders through mentoring, masterclasses and access to investors — without the need to relocate to London.

When it launched, Lewis told Prolific North: “There’s something really special happening in Liverpool at the moment. As a region, we have enormous potential on a global stage.”