Fanya Ismail 

CEO and Co-founder at SgMA 

Fanya Ismail is the CEO and Co-founder of SGMA, an award-winning paper treatment technology company, leveraging silica sand to provide a sustainable alternative to plastic. Their technology spans sectors including packaging, hygiene pads, textiles, and wearable electronics. Their treatment, Solgelica, provides a waterproof barrier replacing the plastic liner in the paper coffee cups and wider single use packaging market, making it totally recyclable, compostable, and biodegradable solution. 

Fanya has expertise that spans the chemistry, business and legal sectors and she received an Innovate UK ‘Women in Innovation’ award in 2019. She obtained a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Manchester in 2003 after being awarded a scholarship from the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2000. Fanya previously worked in QMUL, University of Manchester and Kingston University. Since 2015 she focused on advanced materials and launched SgMA in 2017.

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Giovanna Laudisio

CEO and Co-founder at Naturbeads

Giovanna is the CEO and Co-founder of Naturbeads Ltd, an award-winning startup with the bold aim to prevent plastics pollution in the environment by commercialising a platform of plant-based, biodegradable solutions to replace microplastics. 

Giovanna has a technical background (MSc Chemistry, PhD Materials Engineering) and an MBA. She worked in academia (Italy, Germany, US) before moving to industry (DuPont) and then into technology commercialisation (NUS Enterprise) focusing on innovation and start-ups. 

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Alex Groombridge

CTO and Co-founder at Echion Technologies 

Alex is the Chief Technical Officer (CTO) and Co-founder at Echion Technologies Ltd. He is responsible for the technology vision and industrialisation of Echion products. Echion’s niobium based battery anode materials, XNO® give users of heavy duty industrial vehicles access to sustainable batteries with outstanding safety, longevity, and fast-charging capability.  

Alex holds an MChem from the University of Sheffield, and a PhD in Materials Chemistry from the University of Cambridge.  He is further associated with the Royal Academy of Engineering and is a Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry.  

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Daniel Stewart

CEO & Co-Founder at ViridiCO2

Daniel is the CEO and Co-founder of ViridiCO2, a carbon dioxide (CO2) utilisation company whose innovative catalyst technology transforms waste CO2 into high-value chemical intermediates. The ViridiCO2 technology enables the direct replacement of those petrochemicals currently in use, with waste CO2. 

Daniel studied for his undergraduate degree at the University of Southampton, before going onto to complete a PhD under the supervision of Professor Robert Raja, during which he discovered ViridiCO2’s ground-breaking carbon capture utilisation methods.   On completion of his PhD, Daniel was awarded an ICURe grant, enabling him to spin-out his technology into ViridiCO2 Ltd.  

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Naz Bashir

Mentor, Executive and Director at Evolutia Venture Partners

Naz has over twenty years of experience as an entrepreneur in early-stage companies, in/out licensing, investment strategies and in commercial and business development. He has achieved success in driving sales from licensing, strategic partnerships in the biotech, chemicals, biofuels and food sectors; deal packages ranging up to $100 million. 

Naz is Co-founder of an Omega 3 company and has a PhD in chemistry and an MBA from the University of Exeter.

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Lawrie Matthews

CTO and Director at Mimica Lab

Lawrie Matthews is CTO and a Director of Mimica Lab.  Mimica is an exciting young business with the technology to radically reduce food waste and a Royal Society of Chemistry Emerging Technologies Competition Winner in 2019. 
 
Lawrie has 25 years of entrepreneurial and FTSE100 industrial experience in environmental impact chemistry, intelligent packaging, and reducing food waste. Lawrie holds a BSc joint honours in Chemistry and Philosophy (Natural Sciences) from the University of Durham, UK.

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Simon Turner

Mentor, Partner at Alacrita 

After an early career at Eli Lilly and ICI Agrochemicals, Simon spent 10 years as a strategic management consultant to blue chip life science companies.

He was the first CEO of University of Cambridge spin-out Biotica Technology, which he led for five years and is currently Managing Partner of boutique biopharma management consultancy Alacrita.  

Simon has an MA in Natural Sciences and a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Cambridge.

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Mark Verrall 

Mentor, Chairman at Helio Display Materials 

Mark has more than 30 years leadership experience in R&D and product innovation, including international roles (Taiwan and Germany) developing materials technology business to >£1 billion/year revenues. Until 2019 he was Senior VP and global head of R&D for Merck KGaA Display Materials business.

Mark has a scientific background in chemistry (Exeter University) and materials science (PhD, Southampton University). He is currently Chairman of an Oxford-Cambridge start-up Helio Display Materials.

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Patrick Dodds

CEO and Founder at Hexigone Inhibitors Ltd

Patrick is the CEO and Founder of Hexigone Inhibitors which manufactures smart, sustainable, and highly effective corrosion inhibitors. The patented and award-winning technology fights corrosion when used in coatings, with applications in general industrial, protective, marine, coil, powder coatings and more. 

Patrick commercialised his laboratory discovery, developing the company to be a global exporter, with a B2B customer base in seven continents. He studied Chemistry with Biosciences BSc (Hons) at Cardiff University, obtaining positions in environmental chemistry and pharmaceutical research. Patrick returned to Swansea University to study an MRes in Steel Technology and an Engineering Doctorate in Materials Engineering with TATA Steel.

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David Astles

Mentor, former CEO at Ionix Advanced Technologies 

David is an experienced business leader who worked in a mix of technical and commercial roles in Shell, before leading three VC-backed start-ups, most recently as CEO of Ionix Advanced Technologies. 

With a Chemistry PhD background, his interests are in creating effective commercial strategies for businesses faced with a complex range of potential markets and applications; and building key relationships with blue chip partners and clients. 

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Dai Hayward MBE

CEO at Micropore Technologies

Dai has been CEO of Micropore since 2009 and has transitioned it from lab to a growing global business offering a great value proposition to formulators of complex drug delivery systems; notably lipid nanoparticles for RNA therapies, polymer nanoparticles for nanomedicines and bioresorbable microspheres for long-acting injectable, controlled release drugs. 

Dai has spent his career in chemistry and biology related businesses with companies such as Dow Chemical and Thomas Swan, including several periods overseas. He was awarded an MBE in 2019, the CDMA Golden C Award (USA) in 2003 for professional excellence in commercial development and the CIA Award in 2004.  Dai is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and was a Member of the Council of the Chemical Industries Association (1996-2005).

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Graeme Cruickshank 

Mentor, CTO at Center for Process Innovation 

Graeme is part the leadership team at CPI (High Vale Manufacturing Catapult) enabling the UK’s ecosystem of academics, SMEs and large companies to de-risk the development and scale-up of their complex, high value healthtech, sustainable materials and formulated products.

Graeme joined CPI from Procter and Gamble where he spent 20 years in a range of senior product design, R&D and technology innovation roles. He has a chemistry PhD from the University of Edinburgh.

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Susan Brench

Mentor, Director and Founder of Akemi Associates 

 LinkedIn

Susan has over 30 years' manufacturing sector experience in strategic and commercial management, stakeholder engagement, marketing, competitor intelligence, international business development and M&A activity. Her expertise is derived primarily from the fine and specialty chemical manufacturing sector.

Susan is a Physical Natural Sciences – Chemical Engineering graduate from the University of Cambridge, with an MBA from Leeds University Business School.

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Jon-Paul Griffiths 

Mentor, CTO and Founder at OXECO 

Jon-Paul is a PhD organic chemist, CTO and Founder of Oxford Advanced Surfaces (now OXECO) in 2006.

He has since led the team developing OXECO’s Onto™ technology platform from university benchtop chemistry through to commercial product roll out, solving challenges in controlling surface chemistry in new and emerging markets for transportation, wind energy and MedTech applications.

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Mark Selby 

Mentor, Chief Innovation Officer at Ceres

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Ruizhi Wang

CEO and Founder at HexagonFab

Ruizhi Wang is the CEO and Founder at HexagonFab. HexagonFab is a start-up company based in Cambridge, UK, with the mission to create instruments that enable scientists to understand how proteins behave and what their properties are, faster, more accurately and more easily than ever before.  

Ruizhi holds a PhD in Engineering from the University of Cambridge, during which he developed the technology that is the core of Bolt, the first product of HexagonFab. He did his undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley and ETH Zurich. Ruizhi is an Enterprise Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and a recipient of the Fellowship of the German National Academic Scholarship Foundation. His work at HexagonFab has led to several awards, including the Royal Society of Chemistry Emerging Technologies Competition Winner in 2018 and the Displaying Future Award of Merck Group.

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Andy Chapman

CEO and Co-founder at Carbometrics

Andy Chapman is the CEO of Carbometrics, a company on a mission to help people with diabetes to live more normal and longer lives. They are using their proprietary Biomimetic Glucose Binding Molecules (GBM) to develop a new glucose sensor chemistry that will enable market-leading Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGM). Carbometrics was spun-out after the founders sold their first company, Ziylo, to Novo Nordisk in a landmark deal in 2018. 

Andy has a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Bristol and over 10 years experience designing and leading interdisciplinary commercial and academic research programmes. He joined Ziylo as CSO in 2017 after leaving his Senior Lecturer role at Kingston University, London. In 2018, Andy was part of the team that successfully exited Ziylo and founded Carbometrics.

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Alexander Reip 

Mentor, CEO of Oxford nanoSystems

Alex is an award-winning tech entrepreneur working with start-ups across nanotechnology, cleantech and biotech, helping their early-stage growth, through investment readiness and development of their ongoing technology strategy and operations.

He is a Co-founder and now CTO of Oxford nanoSystems (OnS), developing energy efficient coatings. Alex has a PhD from Brunel University, where he is now a Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence.

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George Frodsham

CEO and Founder at MediSieve

George Frodsham is the CEO and founder of MediSieve, a London based biotech that has developed a platform technology that enables the specific removal of harmful substances from the bloodstream. MediSieve’s technology is providing new solutions for a variety of clinical challenges across inflammation, cancer, gene therapies and others.

George spun out MediSieve from University College London following his PhD in biochemical engineering. He has received business and entrepreneurship training from the London Business School, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 2019, George was awarded the "Innovator of the Year" award by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and named one of MIT Tech Review's "30 under 30".

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Pierre Paslier

Co-CEO and Co-founder at Notpla

Pierre is the Co-CEO and Co-founder at Notpla, developing sustainable seaweed and plant-based alternatives to traditional packaging materials that disappear naturally, giving consumers the convenience of single-use, without the plastic waste. Winner of the prestigious Earthshot Prize, Notpla are famed for their edible liquid packaging, Ooho, their takeaway box coating and single-use film sachet replacements. To date, their solutions have already replaced 2.8 million pieces of single-use plastic from entering our environment.

Pierre has a master’s degree from the Royal College of Art’s Innovation Design Engineering programme (MA and MSci) and INSA de Lyon (MEng). He started his career as a packaging engineer for L’Oréal in the daytime and hacking 3D printers in his living room at night. He then decided to study design at the Royal College of Art and in 2013, he co-designed one of the first consumer delta 3D printers. His passion for innovation led him to co-found two start-ups, Gravity Sketch (3D creation in VR) and Notpla. Driven by the urge to act on our plastic crisis, he’s now 100% focused on Notpla as co-CEO.

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