Belfast-based sovereign AI company Whitespace has announced the appointment of Ruth Hengari as Chief Financial Officer, as the company continues a period of rapid growth across defence, national security, and regulated sectors.
The appointment comes during a significant phase of expansion for the Northern Ireland-founded technology company, which has grown to more than 65 employees over the last four months while continuing to scale operational AI deployments and commercial activity across the UK defence ecosystem.
Ruth joins Whitespace with more than a decade of experience in global finance and corporate operations. Most recently, she served as VP, Controller of Global Finance at Turnitin, where she oversaw financial operations supporting more than 34 million students and 15,000 institutions worldwide.
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Her background spans M&A, corporate compliance, treasury, operational scaling, and international financial reporting across USGAAP, IFRS, and multiple global jurisdictions.
At Whitespace, Ruth will lead the company’s financial strategy as it continues expanding its sovereign AI capabilities across defence, government, and wider regulated industries.
Speaking about the appointment, Ruth Hengari said: “Whitespace is building technology that addresses genuinely important operational challenges across defence, national security, and the public sector. The opportunity to help scale a Northern Ireland-founded company operating at the forefront of sovereign AI is incredibly exciting.
What stood out to me was the combination of technical ambition, operational credibility, and the quality of the team being built here. There is a real opportunity to create long-term impact from Northern Ireland on a global stage.”
Whitespace has become increasingly recognised within the UK defence and national security ecosystem through its work delivering operational AI capabilities designed for secure, governed, and real-world deployment environments.
The company’s technology has been deployed across cloud, edge, and disconnected operational settings, supporting operational learning and decision support use cases where security, auditability, and resilience are critical. Recent momentum has included continued collaboration across major defence and technology ecosystems, alongside growth in both commercial opportunities and strategic partnerships.
The announcement also follows the recent UK Ministry of Defence confirmation of a £50 million Defence Growth Deal aimed at accelerating defence innovation and strengthening Northern Ireland’s role within the UK defence supply chain. Whitespace was referenced as part of Northern Ireland’s growing AI capability base supporting defence innovation.
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Paul Jenkinson, CEO of Whitespace, said: “Ruth joins us at an important point in the company’s growth. We’re scaling quickly, continuing to win opportunities, and building long-term capability from Northern Ireland into markets that are becoming strategically important to the UK.
Her experience in scaling international technology businesses and building strong financial foundations will be critical as we continue to grow.”
Founded in Belfast, Whitespace develops sovereign AI technology for defence, national security, government, and other highly regulated sectors. At the core of its ecosystem is Collective, the company’s sovereign AI operating system designed to securely connect data, reasoning, and operational workflows across cloud, edge, on-premise, and fully air-gapped environments.
Built for high-assurance operational use cases, Collective enables organisations to deploy AI capabilities securely within their own environments while maintaining governance, auditability, and control. The platform underpins Whitespace’s growing portfolio of operational applications already being deployed across real-world operational settings.
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