Serena Williams Champions Women’s Health Innovation at Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity

Reckitt Catalyst sets out bold ambition to back 200 diverse entrepreneurs by 2030, with Serena Williams announced as its first Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Tennis icon. Businesswoman. Investor. Now, Serena Williams has added another title to her growing list of achievements Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Reckitt. The announcement came during an inspiring and agenda-setting seminar at this year’s Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, where Reckitt unveiled its Reckitt Catalyst initiative a £10 million ($12 million) programme to fund, mentor and scale health and hygiene start-ups led by women and other under-represented entrepreneurs globally.

Titled “Impact Innovators: Building a Healthier World”, the panel featured Williams alongside Sheila Redzepi, Chief Communications and Corporate Affairs Officer at Reckitt; Catherine Casey Nanda, Managing Partner at Acumen America; and moderator Tania Bryer OBE from CNBC. Their conversation laid bare the systemic inequities in healthcare investment and outlined a clear path for brands to drive meaningful, measurable change.

Cannes Lions 2025, Getty Images: Serena Williams becomes Reckitt's first Entrepren…