Appointment marks a major step for the Foundation’s next stage of growth
Martingale Foundation is thrilled to announce that Prof Kathryn Hess Bellwald has been appointed as Chair of the Advisory Board, as of October 2025. Kathryn, a mathematics professor at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland, will succeed Michael Clark as Chair.
Kathryn is a distinguished mathematician, professor, former Associate VP for student affairs and outreach at EPFL, and an advocate for supporting more people to have a chance to pursue STEM.
Kathryn is an excellent fit for Martingale’s next chapter. Her career thus far has been defined by building communities of talented young people and ensuring that potential is never limited by circumstance. She brings a blend of academic excellence, leadership experience and a deep understanding of how to nurture students from diverse and non-traditional backgrounds into thriving STEM innovators.
Having supervised over 20 PhD theses and 30 Post-Docs over her career, Kathryn’s commitment to supporting students is abundantly clear. From founding the ‘Summer in the Lab’ Programme to leading the Bachelor Excellence Fellowships at EPFL, she has consistently created opportunities for students to develop both academically and personally. She received the EPFL Award for Best Teacher, as voted for by students, an honour she describes as especially meaningful as it reflects the value she places on mentorship and engagement with students.
Kathryn’s mathematical interests lie in algebraic topology and its applications in the study of neuroscience, cancer biology, and materials science. With a background in homotopy theory from her PhD at MIT, she founded Women in Topology, contributing to the noticeable increase of women in the field today. She was named a Fellow of the Association of Women in Mathematics in 2024.
A core theme throughout Kathryn’s work is giving back. Her mathematical ability was noted in childhood and fostered by her parents, who created the Association for High Potential Children and the Mathematical Talent Development Project, something she says greatly impacted her career trajectory. It is now something that she works to embed in every programme she is involved in. A cornerstone of the Bachelor Excellence Programme is the intentionally named ‘Giving Back’ project, where students who have benefitted from the programme can take what they learned and give back to their community, building their confidence while applying their skills to support and inspire others.
Kathryn shares Martingale’s belief that community is key to helping students thrive, saying: ‘This is where Martingale also resonates with me. Martingale creates cohorts of Scholars that go through the programme together, they’re part of something bigger, which makes such a huge difference for actually staying the course […] This is something that I feel is very important and why we built it into the Bachelor Excellence Fellowship Programme.’
Kathryn notes one of her proudest achievements in setting up Cours Euler, an accelerated maths programme for high-potential students. This involved gaining permission from every school authority to ensure high-potential students from any background have the opportunity to join. 17 years on, students have seen incredible outcomes, going on to pursue their own PhDs in mathematics. Kathryn has numerous additional achievements and awards, and brings a wealth of board experience to Martingale, including setting up the Laidlaw Scholars at EPFL.
On why she joined as chair, Kathryn shared, ‘Martingale is so closely aligned to the things that matter to me and what I’ve worked on in my career up to this point. Encouragement of young people to go into STEM fields, particularly mathematics, and providing opportunities to people who might not have opportunities otherwise and who need a little extra boost to make it. They have the potential; they have the drive and the ability to succeed. But they don’t have the same privilege as other people.’
Looking ahead, Kathryn is excited to support the Foundation’s ambitions to grow significantly, strengthen its partnerships with universities, and expand the reach of the Martingale Scholarships so that even more talented students can access them. Central to her vision is ensuring that every Scholar not only succeeds academically but develops the confidence and sense of belonging that helps them thrive at university and beyond. She looks forward to working closely with the team and Advisory Board to continue building a strong, supportive community of future STEM leaders.
Martingale would like to thank Michael Clark, Chief Executive of Purposeful Ventures, for his work as Chair since 2022. During his term, Michael oversaw Martingale’s inception and its growth to over 100 Scholars, alongside successful funding renewals and programme expansion. He brought a wealth of experience in building and scaling education initiatives from his previous role as Deputy CEO of Ark, where he founded Ark Ventures, and through his service as a founding trustee and board member of multiple charities.
Michael shared: ‘It has been an immense privilege to serve as Martingale’s first Advisory Board Chair. Seeing the Foundation grow from an ambitious idea into a thriving community of over 100 Scholars has been incredibly rewarding.
Kathryn is the perfect person to take the baton – her dedication to nurturing potential and her deep understanding of how to build inclusive academic pathways will be invaluable as Martingale continues to expand. I am proud of everything the team and our partners have achieved so far, and I look forward to continuing to support Martingale to grow and thrive.’
Martingale Foundation was founded with the belief that family income should never be a barrier to academic excellence, and partners with leading UK universities to open doors for the brightest minds.
On Martingale’s future, Kathryn shared, ‘I would love to see Martingale grow to the point that any student who would like to go into a STEM field, comes from a low-socioeconomic background and is talented would have the possibility of a Martingale Scholarship.’
Kathryn concluded by saying, ‘It’s going to take work to get there, but it’s definitely worth it.’ We could not agree more – we are excited to roll our sleeves up and continue expanding our impact with Kathryn on board.