Following a degree in Law and Japanese, Emma joined international accounting firm Arthur Andersen, where she set up the firm’s Inward Investment practice that attracted overseas companies to locate in the UK.

In 2000, bitten by the dot.com bug, Emma started her first business, Techlocate. After 15 months, the company was successfully sold to Tenon plc. The experience of starting, growing and selling a business from a home base gave Emma the idea for Enterprise Nation which was launched in 2005 to support the flourishing number of start-ups and SMEs.

Enterprise Nation expanded to become an active small business membership community, reaching more than 800,000 businesses each year with its powerful digital business support platform.

Emma started as the Small Business Commissioner in June 2025.