Jonathan Yates

Jonathan Yates is a British author, entrepreneur and commercial strategist with three decades of experience at the intersection of business and technology. A father of three boys, he divides his time between London and Harrogate, balancing a love of family, the outdoors and innovation.

A published author with Wiley/Capstone, Jonathan’s titles include All-Time Essentials for Entrepreneurs: 100 Things to Know and Do to Make Your Idea Happen and Freesourcing: How to Start a Business with No Money. His work distils years of entrepreneurial experience into practical insights for founders and business builders, and his writing spans both nonfiction business books and fictional children’s stories.

Jonathan’s entrepreneurial journey began in product innovation when training for a marathon across the Sahara Desert inspired him to invent WAHOO, an award-winning hydration product sold through UK retailers and the military. Since then he has built and scaled ventures across AI, data, Web3 and quantum computing, helping startups and global enterprises turn frontier technologies into scalable commercial success. He has served as General Manager EMEA at D-Wave, Head of Commercial at IBM Watson Group and now leads global growth for Silent Waves, a European quantum electronics company.

As co-founder of ClarityScale, Jonathan works with venture and private equity investors to accelerate portfolio growth through AI-driven insight. His expertise spans sales leadership, marketing, customer success, partnerships and go-to-market strategy, underpinned by deep knowledge of quantum, generative and agentic AI and advanced analytics.

Jonathan has appeared widely in national press and international radio. His top ten tips for business success were once compared to those of The Apprentice’s Sir Alan Sugar and in The Sunday Times, entrepreneur Peter Jones praised Jonathan’s instinct, writing that “it won’t be long before he gets a loyal following.”

An accomplished public speaker and former ambassador for Enterprise UK, Jonathan has advised founders, boards and investors on commercialising emerging technologies and building high-performance teams. He holds certifications in Strategic Thinking, Adaptive Leadership and Governance and serves as a Non-Executive Director for growth-stage businesses.

Outside of work, Jonathan is an avid skier, cyclist, swimmer and hiker with a lifelong love of rugby, adventure and technology.