Meet Deepa Mann-Kler, CEO of Neon and Inclusion Executive Producer at StoryFutures
“All that you touch you change. All that you change changes you. The only lasting truth is change.”
For Deepa, creativity is a tool for connection, healing and transformation. She’s spent more than thirty years embedding inclusive practice across media, technology and culture, ensuring that innovation reflects the diversity of those it serves. As Inclusion Executive Producer at StoryFutures, she leads inclusive innovation across CoSTAR and CDT AI, building equitable access and representation within the UK’s creative technology ecosystem.
“I am not special,” she said. “Just deeply committed to harnessing human creativity, technology and kindness to solve real problems with the right tools.”
The problem she refused to ignore
Deepa’s career began long before diversity became a buzzword. She worked at the intersection of governance and creativity, designing and delivering equality, diversity and inclusion strategies for national broadcasters, research councils and creative studios. Her work has always been about more than policy—it’s about people, and about making sure that the stories we tell include everyone.
Over the years, she’s built a reputation for integrating inclusive design at every level of production, from commissioning to content creation. Her approach has opened doors for underrepresented communities and changed the way creative organisations think about impact.
“I am deeply committed to harnessing human creativity, technology and kindness to solve real problems with the right tools.”
When creativity met technology
The moment that changed everything came in Iceland, when Deepa experienced Björk’s Vulnicura in virtual reality. “It was my first VR experience,” she said. “It showed me the healing power of immersive technology.”
That moment set her on a new path. Through Neon, the company she founded, she creates award-winning cross-platform experiences in VR, AR, animation and live-action storytelling. Each project explores ethical practice and broadens access to opportunity.
Why Neon is different
Neon stands apart through the way it blends art, ethics and accessibility. Deepa’s work pushes immersive technology beyond entertainment, using it to explore healing, empathy and inclusion. Her upcoming VR experience The Baby Factory Is Closed embodies that mission—a bold, funny, and emotionally rich exploration of menopause through a postcolonial and feminist lens. For Deepa, innovation only matters when it reaches and represents everyone.
How she leads
Deepa’s leadership style is collaborative and human. “My approach is shaped by who I am,” she said. “I accept people fully, without judgment, and work with the belief that we are only as strong as our weakest link.” She values reflection, collective learning and enabling others, creating environments where every voice matters.
Her resilience is rooted in persistence. “Falling down, getting back up, every single time,” she said. “Relentless persistence, anchored in unshakable self-belief.”
What she’s building right now
Deepa is currently developing The Baby Factory Is Closed, a VR experience rooted in postcolonial, feminist and climate-crisis interpretations of menopause. Drawing on her Indian heritage, it combines dark humour with emotional depth and ends with a joyful Bollywood dance finale. “It’s bold, funny and fully immersive,” she said, “taking audiences on a journey of a lifetime.”
Founderland and finding her people
Deepa describes Founderland as a space where community and authenticity meet. It’s connected her with women founders who share the same determination to create change with integrity.
Her biggest challenge—and how she moved through it
The hardest part, Deepa says, has been getting back up—again and again. “Falling down, getting back up, every single time,” she reflected. That resilience is what has shaped her most. Through persistence and self-belief, she learned that failure isn’t the opposite of success; it’s part of the path that leads to it.
Advice to her past self
“Stop worrying about what others think,” she said. “They’re rarely thinking about you as much as you imagine they are.” For Deepa, confidence grew the moment she stopped seeking approval and started trusting her own instincts.
Who inspires her
Maya Angelou remains a guiding light for Deepa. “She found her voice, channelled it into boundless creativity and became a beacon of strength,” she said. “Her ability to transform pain into power continues to inspire me.”
How she stays grounded
Deepa switches off by cycling, listening to music and immersing herself in theatre and film. She prioritises rest, good food and deep sleep. “I try to appreciate everything and everyone in my life, every single moment of every single day,” she said.
A mantra she lives by
Octavia E. Butler’s words guide her: “All that you touch you change. All that you change changes you. The only lasting truth is change.”
Follow Deepa’s Journey
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