AberInnovation Appoints Two New Non-Executive Directors
Aberystwyth Innovation and Enterprise Campus (AberInnovation) is pleased to announce two new Non-Executive Directors appointments to its Board. The appointments of Rob Bryan and John Berry have been made to provide additional expertise to the Board in legal and marketing areas and both Non-Executive Directors bring a wealth of experience and an extensive professional network to AberInnovation.
Rob Bryan is an Equity Partner at BPE Solicitors where he heads up their Science and Technology team, which he founded in 2010. His team was the UK’s first dedicated legal service to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (‘STEM’) and he brings a wealth of legal and governance experience and expertise to the Board. Rob is Non-Executive Chairman of Action Against Macular Degeneration. He also sits on the board of several other companies working in STEM, including the Open Data Institute and the Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult.
Commenting on his newest role as Non-Executive Director at Aberystwyth Innovation and Enterprise Campus, Rob said: “I am delighted to join the board of AberInnovation, led by a superb chief executive in Dr Rhian Hayward. Having been extensively involved in knowledge exchange for a number of years, AberInnovation represents an exciting and transformational opportunity to harness academic and industrial collaboration to bring to fruition the myriad benefits of a knowledge-based bioeconomy.”
John Berry is a Director at Cognition Agency, a marketing agency headquartered in Birmingham and with clients all over the world. With extensive experience in harnessing the power of effective marketing to create brand value in the global market place, his appointments include Business Development Director at Qcom Outsourcing and Partner at Yolsum LLP, a boutique strategic marketing company working with start-ups and small and medium sized enterprises.
John, who will bring a wealth of marketing and business engagement knowledge to the Board, commented: “It is exciting to join the Board of AberInnovation at this time. The business is poised to make a very significant strategic impact, supporting UK businesses as they grasp the opportunity to harness new bioscience technologies for a more sustainable world.”
Dr Rhian Hayward MBE, Chief Executive Officer at AberInnovation, said of the appointments: “Following a comprehensive selection process the Board are delighted to appoint two very talented Non-Executive Directors. AberInnovation can now further strengthen its senior team as we move into the final stages of construction, and prepare to open the Campus buildings for collaborative research and development projects with industry. I look forward to working with Rob and John to develop the AberInnovation brand nationally and internationally.
Construction work on the Aberystwyth Innovation and Enterprise Campus continues apace and on 25 October 2019, Jeremy Miles AM, Counsel General and Brexit Minister for Welsh Government was invited to official open the first two of the Campus’s buildings: the AberInnovation Biorefining Centre and Aberystwyth University Seed Biobank. The Campus is supported by European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government, the BBSRC – part of UK Research and Innovation - and Aberystwyth University and becomes fully operational in August 2020.
