Dr Sally Ann Forsyth appointed CEO of Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst
Stevenage, UK, December 15 2017 – Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst (SBC), the open innovation campus driving collaboration to improve healthcare, is pleased to announce that Dr Sally Ann Forsyth is to join as CEO in March 2018. Dr Forsyth, who joins from Norwich Research Park, has driven the development of several leading UK science parks with associated investment of almost £100m. With scientific and financial expertise and as an open innovation practitioner, she will lead SBC through its next phase of expansion.
Since 2013 Dr Forsyth has been CEO of Norwich Research Park, a life science cluster of world leading academics, researchers and clinicians which is now home to over 80 companies, and where the new food and health Quadram Institute will open next year. Prior to this, she was the first Director for Harwell Oxford, where she was responsible for the establishment of the Harwell Enterprise Zone, inward investment by De Beers and the European Space Agency complemented by the establishment of the UK Space Satellite Catapult Centre. She was also Director of Colworth Science Park, a leading location for open innovation. Dr Forsyth began her career with Unilever where she held a range of roles across venture capital, technology licensing and alliance management. She holds a PhD in molecular biology from Cambridge University and is a qualified Chartered Global Management Accountant.
Ian Tomlinson, Independent Chairman of SBC, said, ‘With her extensive experience across a range of science parks, a focus on collaborative culture and a track record in attracting finance, Sally Ann is ideally placed to drive SBC through its next phase of development. We are delighted to welcome her to the team, and look forward to working with her. The Board would also like to express its appreciation to Interim CEO Miranda Knaggs for her stewardship since June.’
Sally Ann Forsyth, incoming CEO of SBC, said, ‘In its six years since inception SBC has developed into a leading UK bioincubator and hub of life sciences innovation. Having established a unique blend of high-growth companies, academic interactions and cornerstone tenants such as LifeArc and the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult Manufacturing Centre, it is ready for the next phase of growth. I am very pleased to have been appointed CEO to lead this development.’
–ENDS–
Photo available on request
For more information, please contact: Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst Emma Palmer Foster, Strategic Communications Consultant +44 (0)7880 787185 comms@stevenagecatalyst.com
Notes for Editors About Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst (SBC) opened as the UK’s first open innovation biomedical campus in 2012, and combines a unique blend of infrastructure and virtual networks to drive collaboration. Backed by a novel partnership between Government, GlaxoSmithKline and Wellcome, the remit was, and remains, to catalyse innovation for patient benefit in a phased development. SBC has a strong commitment to companies that focus on high quality science and share its vision, and its development of activity clusters and direct access to the expertise of a major pharmaceutical company are among its unique characteristics. There is start-up and grow-on space for companies, plus a commercially focused management team viewed as a leader in UK incubation. With Phase 1 at capacity, the next phase is in development for the continuation of the collaborative vision. Co-located with GlaxoSmithKline in Stevenage, Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst is located close to both London and Cambridge. For more information, please go to www.stevenagecatalyst.com. Follow us on twitter @SteBioCat
About Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst’s stakeholders Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst’s stakeholders are GlaxoSmithKline (www.gsk.com), Wellcome (www.wellcome.ac.uk), the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-business-energy-andindustrial-strategy; formerly the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills), and Innovate UK (formerly the Technology Strategy Board; www.innovateuk.org).
