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.
Dr 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. In June 2026 Graham received the Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University (DUniv) from Heriot-Watt University in recognition of his “distinguished leadership in health innovation and national sport”.
John is a collaborative place leader with 25+ years’ experience of pioneering economic development and “making things happen” at the interface between public, private, and higher education sectors.
For the last 10 years, John has been convening and championing all aspects of the Liverpool City Region’s (LCR) innovation agenda and ecosystem, latterly as the Combined Authority’s Lead Officer for Innovation & Commercialisation. His primary role is to catalyse partnerships, policies, and programmes that maximise the LCR’s distinctive, world-leading assets and capabilities, in order to drive transformational regional/national economic growth and solve intractable local challenges. The LCR is now at the forefront of UK place-based innovation, with innovation a primary Mayoral priority.
He previously worked at the LCR Local Enterprise Partnership, Liverpool Vision, and St. Helens Council, where he led a series of successful programmes that included a national City Growth Strategy pilot, plus delivery of the landmark, multi-award-winning 20m Dream sculpture by Jaume Plensa overlooking the M62, commissioned by ex-miners as part of Channel 4’s “Big Art Project”.
Prior to local government, John spent 2 years working for the European Commission in Brussels, has also lived/worked in Germany, the USA, and Canada, grew up in Edinburgh, and speaks German and French.
In a voluntary capacity he is Chair of Future Yard CIC, whose mission is to positively transform both Birkenhead and the nature of what a UK grassroots music venue does, based on the founding principle that music can change the world…
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, in London, 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 and 26 other bakery staples across the UK and 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. In May 2025, Lucinda raised capital and became Executive Chair of the Edinburgh New Town Cookery School. Her vision is to train the next generation of leading chefs and food and drink entrepreneurs, to use the school to support food and beverage product launches, promote Scotland’s larder and engage the community in the joys of cooking and eating together. In addition to her new role, Lucinda mentors and invests in innovative new food and well-being businesses. She is an NED of The Scale Up Institute, Interface and two pioneering start-ups, Libereat and Ava Innes.
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. In July, 2025 Lucinda was awarded an Honorary Doctorate for Business Administration from Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh.
Lucinda lives in Edinburgh with her husband and three sons.
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.
Sam works for UK Research & Innovation (UKRI), the UK’s largest public research and innovation agency, leading on investment strategy. UKRI invests nearly £9bn per year in a diverse portfolio of people and careers, places and infrastructure, ideas and innovation; Sam’s team works to maximise the value of these investments.
Previously Sam worked at the UK’s Department for Business and Trade (DBT) in Singapore, where he was responsible for the trade and investment relationship between ASEAN and the UK. Before joining DBT, Sam worked for the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, where he established the UK Science Policy and Relations function.
Sam’s Civil Service career began in 2001 as a graduate FastStreamer in the Department for Trade and Industry, where he ran a Minister’s Private Office before becoming the Head of External Relations for the Department. He spent 6 years in Asia with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, boosting science and technology partnerships with Southeast Asia and China.
Sam’s structural biology research at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, was published in the journal Science and he has a Masters in Biochemistry from the University of Bath.