Innovation for Growth Summit

Executive Chair, Innovate UK
Tom brings a wealth of experience spanning technology, investment, entrepreneurship and digital transformation to his role as Executive Chair of Innovate UK. He previously grew his fashion technology startup Metail to exit raising £25 million, took women’s personal wellness scale-up Elvie from inception to Series B, and took net zero strategy consultancy Verco through to acquisition. He also serves on the steering board of The Startup Coalition, advocating for high-growth tech businesses across the UK.

Head of Global Business Development, Cumulus Neuroscience
With a background in psychology and neuroscience, Alison is focused on integrating technology into healthcare. Prior to joining Cumulus Neuroscience in 2017, her academic research in the UK, Ireland and Canada explored neurophysiological interventions and medical devices for remote use. Currently, her focus is on building strategic partnerships with biopharma to drive adoption of innovative digital technologies for acceleration and enrichment of clinical trials. The ultimate goal is to deliver faster, more effective healthcare outcomes for patients.

CEO, Oxford Science Enterprises
Edward is responsible for leading OSE’s mission to build transformational companies from Oxford’s world-class research. A serial entrepreneur, he has launched, scaled and successfully exited three disruptive technology businesses. Recognised as a technology thought leader in the UK, he has been awarded ‘UK Entrepreneur of the Year’, ‘Disruptor of the Year’, and is a member of the Oxford-Cambridge SuperCluster Board. Edward began his career serving in the UK military and national security agencies. 

CEO, UK Research and Innovation
Ian rejoined the UKRI Board as CEO in August 2025, where he is leading a mission that puts economic growth at the heart of public investment in research and innovation. Before joining UKRI, Ian was Chief Executive of the UK Atomic Energy Authority and held several international roles in fusion, including chairing the International Atomic Energy Agency International Fusion Research Committee. His research has been recognised with multiple international awards, and in 2023, he was knighted in the King’s New Year Honours, made an Honorary Fellow of the Nuclear Institute and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.

Executive Chair, University of Warwick Innovation District
Former Cabinet Minister Greg Clark is Executive Chair of Warwick Innovation District and Chair of the Warwick Manufacturing Group. Greg served for 19 years as a Member of Parliament, before stepping down in 2024. He served in the UK Cabinet as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Minister for Science and Universities. He is a member of the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council (ISAC), which contributes to the development and delivery of the Government’s industrial strategy.

Executive Chair, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Charlotte is Executive Chair at EPSRC, Professor of Structural Bioinformatics in the Department of Statistics at the University of Oxford and co-director of the Systems Approaches to Biomedical Research Centre for Doctoral Training. From 2022 to 2023 she was Chief AI Officer at biotech company Exscientia. Charlotte is on several advisory boards and has consulted extensively with industry. She has set up a consulting arm within her own research group as a way of promoting industrial interaction.

CEO, Science Creates
Harry is a scientist, entrepreneur and investor. He founded Science Creates and SCVC, a venture firm backing category-defining Deep Tech startups. During his chemistry PhD, he founded Ziylo, acquired by Novo Nordisk in 2018 in a deal worth up to $800 million, and later co-founded Carbometrics to advance the technology. Before that, in 2017, he built Bristol’s first Deep Tech incubator, which was the foundation of the Science Creates ecosystem. Harry was awarded an MBE in the King’s 2025 New Year Honours List for his services to science. 

Chair, JP Morgan European Growth and Income PLC
Rita is experienced investor and supporter of innovative businesses, with more than 30 years of experience spanning private and public markets, covering early to institutional stages of investment. She currently serves as Chair of JP Morgan European Growth and Income Plc and as a Non-Executive Director on the boards of Integrafin Plc and Ashoka India Equity Plc. With a diverse background in finance, she has held key roles on various committees, including audit, risk, renumeration and cybersecurity. Rita is a member of the UKRI Board.

CEO, Siemens UK
Carl is Chief Executive of Siemens plc and Siemens Smart Infrastructure. He has worked in the power and infrastructure industries for more than 35 years. Having started his career as an apprentice, he is a keen advocate of the skills and diversity agendas. Carl is a Chartered Engineer and a fellow of the Institution of Engineering & Technology. He is also a member of the Government’s Investment Council, represents Siemens on the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero’s (DESNZ) Energy Efficiency Task Force and Net Zero Council.

CEO, Xampla
Alexandra is an experienced chemist with a degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge. She has extensive global commercial and business leadership experience from 25 years at Johnson Matthey, a multinational specialty chemicals and sustainable technologies company. She was CEO of AIM listed business Titon Holdings prior to joining Xampla as CEO in October 2023. She is an accredited coach and is passionate about helping people grow and develop. 

Senior Director of AI, Tony Blair Institute
Laura runs the Tony Blair Institute AI Innovation Lab. From Sept 2020 to Jan 2025 she worked in 10 Downing Street as the founding director of both 10DS, the data science and analytics team, and the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (i.AI). Laura holds a doctorate in Particle Physics from the University of Oxford, undergraduate degrees from the University of Cambridge and is a Visiting Professor at LSE. In 2023 she was awarded a CBE for services to technology and analysis.

Executive Director of the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE)
CaSE is leading policy influence in UK R&D and Alicia joined them in April 2024, following senior roles including CEO of the Knowledge Transfer Network and Global Director of Research and Enterprise at Heriot-Watt University. Alicia previously held leadership positions at UK Research Councils, founding RCUK India and China. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and serves on advisory boards including the Royal Society’s Science, Industry and Translation Committee and the Strategic Board of Interface.

Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Innovation Management & Policy, Queen’s University Belfast
Nola is an internationally recognized academic whose research has focused on innovation systems, university-business relationships and science policy. With over 100 peer-reviewed publications she has served as a UK REF sub-panel member and recently appointed to the Hong Kong research assessment exercise. With various international advisory and consultancy engagements, Nola was appointed in 2022 as a member of the UKRI Board.

Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Liz was elected as the Labour MP for Leicester West in 2010 and served as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions before her appointment as Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology in September 2025. Passionate about creating a fairer society and improving public services, she previously worked for think tanks the Institute for Public Policy Research and the King’s Fund, as well as the Ambulance Service Network and Maternity Alliance.

Partner, Lakestar; EPSRC Council Member
Simon King is a Partner at Lakestar, where he focuses on deeptech investments. He works closely with founders operating at the frontier of technology, helping turn scientific breakthroughs into commercial reality. Simon also serves as a member of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Council. Previously, Simon was a Partner at Octopus Ventures, leading a team that invested in technology-rich businesses. With 14 years of experience in venture capital, he is deeply passionate about emerging technologies and their potential to positively transform lives.Before moving into investing, Simon built a strong academic foundation in physics, chemistry, and materials science, culminating in a PhD in plastic electronics from Imperial College London.

President, Royal Academy of Engineering
John is a software engineer and entrepreneur with experience of building and managing successful global businesses. Sir John was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2011 and chaired the Academy’s Enterprise Committee, which supports startups and scaleups across the UK and globally through the Enterprise Hub. He is Chair of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, which aims to help young people realise their full potential through the power of digital technologies.

CEO, Zero Point Motion 
Lia is founder of Zero Point Motion, an innovative tech company that develops chip-scale inertial sensors that measure motion and rotation – these sensors are found in cars, phones, robots and motion capture wearables. Lia has a PhD in cavity optomechanics from University College London, as well as a wealth of experience from her work in laser development at Imperial College and sensor innovation at BAE Systems. She holds four granted patents and has three pending.

Government Chief Scientific Adviser
Angela took up the role of Government Chief Scientific Adviser in April 2023. She is also Head of the Government Science and Engineering Profession. Prior to this she was the Chief Scientific Adviser for the Ministry of Defence. Angela was a Professor of Mathematical Biology at Oxford University and a Fellow of All Souls College. Her research interests lie in the use of mathematical models to aid our understanding of the evolution and spread of infectious agents.

Honorary Life President, Francis Crick Institute; President Elect, Royal Society
Paul is the honorary life president and principal leader of the Francis Crick Institute and has been elected as the next President of the Royal Society. He is a geneticist and cell biologist whose discoveries have helped to explain how the cell controls its cycle of growth and division. His contributions to cell biology and cancer research were recognised with a knighthood in 1999. In addition, Paul’s endeavours relating to the discovery of cell cycle regulatory molecules saw him jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 2001.

CEO, Climate Change Committee
Emma is the Chief Executive of the Climate Change Committee, the UK’s national climate advisor. She is an expert in whole-economy decarbonisation and the energy transition and is a Fellow of the Energy Institute. From 2020-2024, Emma was the Chief Executive of Energy UK, and from 2016-2020, she served as deputy CEO of the trade body Renewable UK. Earlier in her career, Emma worked in finance and in commercial consulting for start-ups in the energy sector. 

CEO, Power to the Pixel
Liz is the founder of Power to the Pixel, an organisation helping international film and media businesses adapt to stay relevant to digital and changing audiences. She is also the Curator of Venice Immersive, the Venice Biennale’s official XR programme at the Venice International Film Festival, and Executive Producer for CreativeXR, an immersive content accelerator programme. Liz began her media career in the film business and is an expert in devising innovation-centred development labs, programmes and exhibitions around immersive and interactive entertainment and art.

Deputy Chair, Industrial Strategy Advisory Council
Nancy is a British physiologist who served as president and vice-chancellor of the University of Manchester between 2010 and 2024. She was non-executive director of AstraZeneca between 2006 and 2015, and was previously co-chair of the Council for Science and Technology. Her research in the field of neuroscience has contributed towards major advances in the understanding and treatment of brain damage in stroke and head injury. She was awarded a damehood for her services to science in 2005.

CEO, Cellular Origins
Edwin has spent over two decades bringing breakthrough life science technologies from concept to market, the last ten dedicated to solving the challenge of how to manufacture cell therapies at scale. He has been involved in the development of over 10 novel cell therapy automation platforms and now leads Cellular Origins’ mission to enable broad patient access to advanced cell therapies. Edwin holds a Master’s degree in Engineering and a PhD in Robotic Vehicles from the University of Cambridge.

Vice-Chancellor and Principal, University of Birmingham
Adam trained as an economic geographer at the University of Manchester, where his research explored the political economy and regulation of finance, English regionalism, and the economic ‘common sense’. He has also held leadership roles at the University of Sussex, University of Bristol, Royal Holloway and University of London. In November 2024, Adam was appointed as a non-executive director at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to guide the use of science and technology to enhance public services, promote digital inclusion and drive economic growth.

CEO, Graphcore
Nigel has a background as a technology business leader, entrepreneur and engineer.  Prior to co-founding Graphcore, he was CEO at two successful venture capital-backed proces­sor companies and co-founder and board director at Icera, a 3G cellular modem chip company, which was sold to NVIDIA in 2011 for $435M. He was previously a senior executive at a major Silicon Valley, publicly listed semiconductor company, and is the author of three granted patents. Nigel is a member of the UKRI Board.

Minister of State for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear
As Minister for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear, Patrick is responsible for advancing the UK’s science and innovation ecosystem. He previously served as the Government Chief Scientific Adviser from April 2018 to April 2023 and as National Technology Adviser. Prior to this, Patrick was President, R&D at GlaxoSmithKline. He has also worked as a clinic academic, Professor of Medicine and led the Division of Medicine at University College London. He has many years of experience in basic science and clinical research and was a consultant physician in the NHS. 

Distinguished Policy Fellow at the Centre for Economic Performance, LSE
Anna is a Distinguished Policy Fellow and Director of the Growth Programme at the LSE’s Centre for Economic Performance, Deputy Director of the Programme on Innovation and Diffusion, and an Associate of the Grantham Research Institute, LSE. Her research is focused on the drivers of productivity and innovation in firms and regions. Anna was a member of the Steering Group of the Economy 2030 Inquiry. She is currently serving as Industrial Strategy adviser to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, having previously served as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers over 2024-25.

Director of Technology and Innovation, Confederation of British Industry
Naomi leads the CBI’s work to make the UK a great place for businesses to innovate, whether that is nurturing a culture of entrepreneurship, adopting tried and tested technologies or making breakthrough developments at the leading edge. She began her career in financial services before moving into policy, working on policy areas including research and development, entrepreneurship, skills, immigration and diversity in STEM. 

Chief technology officer, Adaptix
Steve Wells spent 12 years developing medical devices for Siemens Molecular Imaging before joining Adaptix. He has a PhD in Neuroscience, MSc in Medical Physics and a Natural Sciences degree from Cambridge. Prior to Siemens he worked as a software engineer on various commercial science projects.

Executive Chair, Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
Stian’s research interests include the economics and politics of innovation, research and technology. He is a regular commentator on science and innovation policy, and co-author of ‘Restarting the Future: How to Fix the Intangible Economy’ and ‘Capitalism Without Capital: The Rise of the Intangible Economy’. Before taking the role of Executive Chair at ESRC, he served as Chief Executive of the Royal Statistical Society, as Executive Director of Policy and Research at Nesta, as adviser to three UK science ministers and as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company.