Tessa Clarke

Tessa Clarke is the co-founder and CEO of OLIO, a neighbor-to-neighbor food sharing app focused on sustainability and reducing food waste. Clarke studied social and political sciences at the University of Cambridge and earned an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business, where she met OLIO co-founder Saasha Celestial-One. Clarke began her career in the corporate sector, working for companies including Boston Consulting Group, Planet Retail, and Dyson, where she served as the first C-level director responsible for digital transformation, launching e-commerce stores in major international markets, and managing teams of web developers and digital marketers.

The idea for OLIO was inspired by a personal experience when Clarke, after moving back to the UK from Switzerland, was faced with the prospect of discarding uneaten food. This led her to recognize the need for a simple app to connect neighbors for food sharing. Together with Celestial-One, Clarke developed OLIO as a marketplace-social network that enables local communities to share surplus food and household items, helping to prevent waste and promote the sharing economy.

OLIO has grown to over 8 million users in 63 countries and has been recognized by organizations such as the United Nations, which described OLIO as a beacon for global sustainability, and by Vivatech, which awarded OLIO the Next European Unicorn distinction. The app has established partnerships with major food retailers including Tesco, Iceland, and Amazon Fresh, saving more than 100 million portions of food from waste and mobilizing 86,000 food hero volunteers to rescue and redistribute food within communities. OLIO is backed by investors such as Accel, Octopus Ventures, and Alumni Ventures, with more than $50 million raised to date.

Clarke delivered a TED Talk on the power of sharing, which has been viewed over 1 million times, and received the Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award, a prominent recognition for female business leaders. OLIO's work has also been acknowledged by the United Nations with the Momentum for Change award and has received accolades including Chivas The Venture in the UK, The Europas, Sustainable Cities, Feel Good Brands, and the Digital Agenda Impact Awards. Clarke advocates for the integration of technology and community to address the climate crisis and promotes the sharing economy as a sustainable business model. Clarke is recognized as a leading voice in sustainability, food waste reduction, and entrepreneurship.