About Nesta

Nesta is an innovation foundation. For us, innovation means turning bold ideas into reality and changing lives for the better. We use our expertise, skills and funding in areas where there are big challenges facing society.

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Mark Byrne

Group Head of Media and Marketing

As Group Head of Media and Marketing, Mark helps tell our story in the media and directly to stakeholders.

Mark joined Nesta in June 2021, and was previously Head of Media and Campaigns at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH). At RCPCH Mark led the organisation's communications response to Covid-19, which was designed to highlight the impact of the pandemic on children and young people.

Prior to RCPCH, he was Head of Media at With You, a national service-based charity that helps adults and young people manage problems with drugs, alcohol and mental health. Mark spent the first eight years of his career working in university press offices, helping researchers and academics communicate their work to the public and policymakers. He has a BA in Journalism and an MA in Public Affairs and Political Communication.

Away from work he runs a lot, reads, and mediates disputes between his two cats, Richard and Stella.