Professor Andrea Nolan OBE is Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Edinburgh Napier University. Andrea graduated as a veterinary surgeon from Trinity College Dublin and after a short time in veterinary practice, embarked on an academic career which took her to the Universities of Cambridge, Bristol and the Technical University of Munich before she was appointed as a Lecturer in Veterinary Pharmacology at the University of Glasgow. During the 1990s, she established herself as a research leader in the field of animal pain and was appointed Professor of Veterinary Pharmacology in 1998. She subsequently held the roles of Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (1999 – 2004), Vice Principal for Learning & Teaching (2004 – 2009), and Senior Vice-Principal & Deputy Vice-Chancellor (2009 – 2013) at the University of Glasgow before taking on the role at Edinburgh Napier University. Andrea is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and of the Royal Agricultural Societies, is an honorary life member of the Association for Veterinary Teachers & Research Workers, and holds an Honorary OBE awarded for services to Higher Education and Veterinary Science. She took on the role of chair of Interface Strategic Board in February 2018.

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.

Brian Brown is a Director of the HAS Technology Group where he has been employed since 2009.  Brian’s current role is as the Director for ARMED (Advanced Risk Monitoring for Early Detection). Previously to this Brian was employed in other roles within the HAS Technology group including Business Development Manager and more recently, as the Director of Scotland.

The ARMED solution combines pioneering predictive analytics modelling, (developed in partnership with Edinburgh Napier University) with innovative wearable technology and Health and Social Care data. ARMED helps identify and predict individuals at escalating risk in particular to those at risk of falling, as well as indicating other frailty indicators. This allows for timely intervention and better self-management in the comfort of the individual’s home, avoiding expensive hospital stays. The growing ageing demographics of individuals both UK and wider across the world is now leading to the need for solutions to predict risk at an earlier stage.

A vastly experienced manager, Brian has a depth of background in social work services managing local authority care at home/housing support services both from a direct operational basis and at a senior strategic level. This involved the overall responsibility for both the internally delivered service as well as significant externally purchased services. Brian’s move into the IT world still resonates with his social work background working as a consultant for 5 years prior to moving to HAS Technology Group.

Having previously completed his BA and eMBA, Brian commenced Professional Doctorate studies in 2017 at Glasgow Caledonian University researching the behavioural changes interventions of individuals using digital tools as well as strategic change interventions of statutory services.

Having engaged with Interface services previously to link with academic partners as part of the research for the ARMED solution, Brian is delighted to join the Interface Strategic Board. He hopes to bring positive enthusiasm and help promote interests of Scotland’s dynamic SME sector with a view to driving innovation against rising competition.

Professor Donald MacRae OBE was born and educated in the Highlands. He retired from the post of Chief Economist, Lloyds Banking Group Scotland in November 2015, having spent 30 years with the organisation. He is a former Director of TSB Bank plc, Scottish Homes and Scottish Enterprise.

Donald was a member of the committee of inquiry on crofting, a member of the Rural Development Council and the Land Reform Review Group and is currently an independent member of the Skills Committee between the Scottish Funding Council and Skills Development Scotland. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh; a Member of Court at the University of the Highlands and Islands; and a Member of the David Hume Institute.

He was awarded an OBE in 2011 for services to Business and Rural Development.

Dr Eve Bird, Research and Innovation Director, Celtic Renewables, is an industrial biotechnologist who heads up research and innovation at Celtic Renewables. She has worked in the biobased chemicals industry for over a decade and is an international expert in the industrial acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation process, where her work ranges from genomes to bioreactors. Eve has risen to the top of her field and leads a highly skilled multi-disciplinary innovation team behind the world’s first ABE facility run on sustainable distillery by-products. She was the first recipient of the Achiever Award at the inaugural Scottish Renewables Young Professionals Green Energy Awards for her work in helping Celtic Renewables achieve a world first in producing viable biofuel from whisky industry waste products.

After a BSC and a PhD in Chemistry at Glasgow University, specialising in the synthesis of anti-tumour compounds, George joined ICI and spent 15 years in in Sales, Marketing and Business Management. Sectors covered included bulk petrochemicals, water treatment, electrochemical technology licensing, brine cavity usage and major power contracts. He then joined AstraZeneca Specialty Chemicals to lead their Japanese ink jet dye business.

The newly formed Regional Development Agencies were growing rapidly and George joined the North West Development Agency in 2003 as Director of Science and Innovation. Over the next 8 years, NWDA led a number of major economic development initiatives including Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus. In 2011 he joined Salford University as Professor of Innovation and Enterprise and then took over as Director of Research and Enterprise, standing in for a period as ProVC Research and Enterprise. A move to the University of Nottingham followed as Director of the Business, Enterprise and Innovation Division and also of the Research Support Office before moving to the University of Edinburgh in 2016 as CEO of ERI ltd, the University’s Commercialisation Company.

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, The Law Society of Scotland, the Court of Heriot-Watt University and Scottish Futures Trust.  He is a former partner in a Big 4 accounting firm, with extensive experience of working with SME clients delivering business development, strategic planning programmes and leading change initiatives.

Dr Rattray joined Research and Innovation Department at the University of Aberdeen in 1997 and in her position as Director leads the business development and commercialisation teams.

Dr Rattray has extensive experience of research administration, project and contract management together with commercialisation of research (from collaborating with industry, knowledge exchange, licensing to new company formation). She has held board positions with a number of companies, and previously been a member of the  Scottish Funding Council’s research committee.

The Research and Innovation section of the University of Aberdeen plays a key role in supporting the University to deliver upon strategic priorities for research and knowledge exchange in line with the Institutional Strategic Plan. The section provides support for research development, commercialisation, knowledge exchange, enterprise activities and provides administrative support for research policy and the newly formed Graduate School for post graduate research students. Research and Innovation  is the first point of contact for business – facilitating access to the University’s researchers, services and technologies and offering a wide range of commercial opportunities arising from the University’s research activities.

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.