Professor Wayne Powell is Principal and Chief Executive of Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), the UK’s leading agri-food-environment, tertiary education Institution.
His previous roles include Chief Science Officer at CGIAR, a global agri-food partnership, Professor & Founding Director of the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS), Aberystwyth University, and CEO & Director NIAB, Cambridge. He is a Senior Fullbright Scholar and worked for the DuPont Company in Wilmington, Delaware, USA.
Professor Wayne Powell has more than 30 years experience working in the field of contemporary plant genetics and has extensive experience leading organisational and cultural change programmes.
Wayne is a member of Scotland’s Science Advisory Council, Board member of NatureScot and member of the FCDO Research Advisory Group (RAG). Until recently he was a member of both DEFRA and DFID’s Science Advisory Council and Convenor of the Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee of Universities Scotland. He maintains an active research group and is an elected Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales and the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Dr Alicia Greated is Executive Director of Campaign for Science and Engineering where she leads a dynamic organisation that has shaped significant changes in UK public policy.
Alicia joined CaSE in April 2024 and has extensive experience of strategic leadership and management in the R&D sector, including as a CEO, both in the UK and overseas. Prior to joining CaSE Alicia was CEO of the Knowledge Transfer Network, and before that, was Global Director of Research and Enterprise at Heriot Watt University, from 2015-2019.
Alicia spent many years working for the UK Research Councils. She was founder and Director of Research Council UK (RCUK) India at the British High Commission in Delhi, and Director RCUK China at the British Embassy in Beijing. She also worked as acting Director of Research for the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and was Head of Engineering at the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
Alicia is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and holds a number of advisory roles including as a member of the Royal Society’s Science, Industry and Translation Committee, and a recently as a member of the Scottish Funding Council’s (SFC) Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee.
Dr Taylor is an entrepreneurial leader with 25 years of experience in innovation, commercialisation and deal making across academia, industry and the public sector, particularly in the life sciences and deeptech sectors.
Andrea is CEO of Edinburgh Innovations (EI), the commercialisation service of the University of Edinburgh. She has worked at EI for 7 years during which time EI has helped the University grow its industrial and translational income from £10m to over £90m and double company launches to 123. Last year alone the University created 115 student startups, 4 staff startups and 4 staff spinouts. During the same year, University associated companies secured a total investment of £107.6m.
Dr Taylor has secured multimillion pound seed investment from first time investors leading to the creation of several spin outs. She has led numerous commercial and licence deals contributing to the University of Edinburgh rising from 15th to one of the top 5 UK universities for business engagement (HESA HE-BCI Survey).
Andrea has a track record of delivering large multidisciplinary strategic partnerships with industry including establishing beLAB1407, a E20 partnership with Evotec and Bristol Myers Squibb to accelerate early stage drug discovery. Andrea also played a pivotal role in the creation of Neurii; a multi partner deal with Gates Ventures, Eisai, HDRUK and LifeArc) to develop digital products for neurodegenerative disorders.
Edinburgh Innovations
Edinburgh Innovations is the University of Edinburgh’s commercialisation service. We lead the University’s activities in industry engagement and business development, enterprise support for students and staff, and the identification, management and commercialisation of University intellectual property.
With focus on the University innovation missions of Data, Digital and AI, Future Health and Care and Climate and Environment, EI is developing significant international partnerships to cement the impact of the University of Edinburgh’s world class research.
Early career
Following a PhD in genetics at the MRC Centre for Human Genetics at Edinburgh University, and several post docs in the area of cancer research (including with Cancer Research UK in Oxford) Andrea worked within the drug discovery industry both in Pharma (Smith Kline Beecham now GSK) and Biotech (Oxford Glycosciences, latterly UCB).
Dr Taylor has worked in senior consultancy positions with companies in Oxford and Cambridge providing deal making advice, market forecasting and due diligence to a wide range of healthcare companies from SMEs to global industry players and venture capital investors.
Before, joining Edinburgh Innovations at the start of 2017, Andrea spent 6 years with Scotland’s Economic Development Agency Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International working with CEOs to support company growth and attracting inward investment.
Angela Cox is the Principal & Chief Executive of Borders College with over 26 years of experience in the further and higher education sector in Scotland and England.
Angela started her career in the Leisure & Tourism Sector after studying an HND at the then College of Commerce in Glasgow. Angela went on to achieve a BA Hons Degree in Post Compulsory Education from Southampton University, Post Graduate Leadership Certificate from the University of Warwick and an MBA from the Open University.
With a passion for providing life changing opportunities through education and equipping people with the skills and knowledge to be global citizens, Angela is committed to creating a fairer and more inclusive society through a progressive and green economy.
In her current and previous roles, Angela has led a number of large and small scale innovation projects which have enabled the transformation of the organisations she has led and worked with including employers and communities.
As chair of the Borders Learning & Skills Partnership she plays an active role in the Scottish Borders Council Community Planning Partnership and the South of Scotland Regional Economic Partnership.
As Vice- Chair of the Edinburgh & South East City Regional Deal Education Group, Angela is also a member of the Regional Enterprise Council and Elected Members Oversight Committee.
Angela is currently a member of the Careers Review Board and college principal representative for Climate Emergency.
Graham Watson is an experienced non-executive director and senior executive with a strong commercial track record. He has a mix of board responsibilities in Scotland, including Executive Chairman of InnoScot Health Ltd, UHI Perth, Tennis Scotland and Scottish Futures Trust. He is a former partner in a Big 4 professional services firm, with extensive experience of working with SME clients delivering business development, strategic planning programmes and leading change initiatives.
Louisa Macdonell is the Scotland Director for Business in the Community, which works with companies in the UK and internationally, who are committed to improving their impact on society. Louisa is also an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the University of Edinburgh Business School and mentors a variety of small businesses, particularly those run by women and social enterprises. She also sits on the Board of Social Investment Scotland (SIS), the responsible finance provider and is the former CEO of the Development Trusts Association Scotland (DTAS) the membership organisations for community-led businesses.
Prior to joining DTAS, Louisa was Head of Economic Development at the Scotland Office, delivering Scotland’s first rural, and only cross-border, regional growth deal, and worked in energy strategy development at Scottish Enterprise.
Since graduating with a Physiology degree, Lucinda has spent her career working with food. After training at Leiths School of Food and Wine and the Michelin-starred Bibendum Restaurant, she ran a successful catering company before returning to Leiths to teach. There, she co-authored the award winning Leiths Techniques Bible, focusing on the functionality of mainstream ingredients and cooking techniques.
After her sons were diagnosed with a severe dairy allergy and gluten intolerance, she published How to Cook for Food Allergies, demonstrating how to successfully substitute mainstream ingredients in allergy-free home cooking. Gluten free bread was the hardest recipe to perfect, but Lucinda was determined to crack it for her gluten intolerant son and others like him. In 2009, Lucinda founded Genius Foods, launching the first soft, fresh gluten free bread across the UK. Genius remains the UK’s leading gluten free bakery brand, selling its innovative products globally. Lucinda stepped down from her company in August 2022 to pursue other interests and Chair Scotland Food and Drink.
Appointed as Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence at Edinburgh University in 2018 to 2021, Lucinda continues to support the School of Physics and Astronomy as industry advisor, stimulating industry and academic collaboration and pioneering scale up activity. She mentors and invests in innovative new food and well-being businesses and is an NED Board Director of The Scale Up Institute, Ava Innes and Libereat, in addition to Chairing Scotland Food and Drink
In 2012 Lucinda won EY Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year and was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2017. In 2018 Lucinda was nominated as one of the Maserati Top 100 Innovators and was named in the top 100 Women to Watch, in the annual Cranfield University Female FTSE Board report.
Lucinda lives in Edinburgh with her husband and three sons.
Appointed as the first CEO of the Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA) Marc has been at its helm since its inception in 2012. He is responsible for the day to day operations and leadership of the organisation which is acknowledged as being the overarching tourism industry trade body that is “the voice of Scotland’s tourism Industry”.
The STA has under its umbrella of membership circa 75% of the 27000 Tourism business that operate length and breadth of the country. The STA are also the lead strategic guardians and co-ordinators of Scotland’s national tourism Strategy Tourism Scotland 2020. The organisation delivers and variety of events across the country the largest being the annual Scottish Tourism week programme in March each year. In 2016 the programme engaged 4000 + into the tourism conversation.
Marc also chairs the STA Council, the National Marine Tourism Development Group, is acting Vice Chair of the Thistle Awards industry panel, a member of the VS Growth Fund panel and also represents Scotland’s interests on the UK Tourism Industry Council.
Prior to taking on what he describes as a very unique job and one of the best in Scotland he has had 35+ years working in the front line of the Hospitality, Event, Sport & Leisure industries across the globe for both large organisations and small rural business. He believes that he is able to build strong relations with most operating in the sector because he understands what it’s like to be at the sharp end having worked in both city and rural destinations!
A lover all things Scottish especially his Glaswegian wife, coupled with the fact all five of his children 25yrs to twins of 8 have been born in Scotland despite his accent he considers himself a well and truly adopted Scot!
Dr Martin Hawley is Co-founder of Airspace Unlimited Scotland, which was established to support the digital transformation of airspace management and aims to reduce fuel burn and greenhouse gas emissions from aviation. He has worked in both academic and industrial research, has been an aviation consultant for 25 years, and has established several companies.