The 29-year-old CEO: 'Age doesn't equal experience'

This week, Management Today meets Eleanor Weaver. Earlier this year, at just 29 years old, Weaver was promoted from general manager to CEO of Luminance, an AI platform for lawyers. Under her direction, Luminance’s customer base has grown to more than 300 firms, including all of the ‘Big Four’ and one in five ‘Global Top 100’ law firms. 

Recently listed in MT’s coveted 35 Women Under 35 awards, Weaver has a track record of high growth. In her previous role as director at the cyber-AI company, Darktrace, she grew the business by 119%. One thing is certain: the younger-than-usual boss is not to be underestimated. 

What keeps you up at night? 

Apart from Netflix, trying to foster the right culture in a fast-growing, young company has presented its challenges during the pandemic. At Luminance, we value the importance of hiring young people that are eager to learn and are inquisitive. However, a lot of our staff do not have experience of the workplace or working in a start-up for that matter, so a hands-on approach is key. At first, I found this difficult to do virtually and so I had to think creatively, whether that be virtual coffees, Zoom ‘classrooms’ or interactive training days. But for us, seeing each other in-person is crucial – I think you can’t beat getting together regularly to get the right culture permeating all teams.