Olivia Burns

Olivia Burns is the Healthtech Startup Navigator at Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber, where she leads the Propel Start Up programme, supporting healthtech startups through market entry, scaling, and expansion within the UK healthcare system. She works at the intersection of innovation, commercial strategy, and system adoption, enabling companies to successfully navigate NHS pathways and deliver scalable impact.

She is the founder of Hypoplas, a medical textile design company focused on dignity-led, sustainable innovation in patient wear, and was selected for the inaugural NHS Patient Entrepreneur Programme. One of the first UK survivors of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, Olivia has undergone multiple surgeries, including four pioneering open-heart procedures, informing her pragmatic, systems-aware approach to healthcare innovation.

Olivia holds an MBA in Health from UCL’s Global Business School for Health, where she holds the Future Leaders Scholarship. She has been recognised with accolades including Medilink’s One to Watch, Innovate UK’s Unlocking Potential, and TiE Global Women UK Finalist, and serves on the United Kingdom Digital Health and Care Innovation Committee.

Olivia regularly contributes to national healthcare innovation discourse through speaking engagements at HETT North and BMJ Future Health, appearances on the Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons podcast, the Healthtech podcast.