Dr. Annette Kramer on Playful Problem-Solving, Systems Thinking, and Space Innovation

Host Liz Sweigart first spotted Dr. Annette Kramer in a Zoom “salon” led by their mutual friend and editor, Art Kleiner. Kramer — a dancer-turned-long-18th-century scholar and self-described “fixer” — immediately stood out for her mix of scholarly rigor and playful curiosity.

In this episode of Past the Profile, Liz and Annette trace that first virtual meeting into a far-ranging conversation on authentic leadership, designing accelerator programs that actually fit researchers’ needs, and why the emerging space economy feels like the early internet all over again.

Highlights:

• How theatre training (making something from nothing to a deadline) maps perfectly onto entrepreneurial leadership.
• Annette's core operating premise — play — and how laughter unlocks resources serious meetings miss.
• A five-week accelerator model that moved African and UK researchers from idea to business pitch by teaching one evolving frame instead of 18 disjointed tools.
• Why she loves the “messy middle” of projects and prefers long-term advisory roles that keep teams honest.
• The power of embodied knowledge: standing up, collaborating, and “using your whole self” to solve supposedly intractable problems.
• Who she hopes to collaborate with next — especially curious, bright minds in London and Toronto.

Connect with Annette

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/annettethefixer/

Substack → https://annettekramerphd.substack.com/p/stay-curious

Website → https://www.annettekramer.co.uk/