Board of Directors
Jeremy Scudamore, Non Executive Chairman
Jeremy Scudamore worked for ICI, Zeneca, AstraZeneca and Avecia for 35 years in a number of senior positions, latterly as chairman and chief executive of the Avecia Group and previously as chief executive of Zeneca Specialties, managing director of Zeneca Seeds, business director of Zeneca Agrochemicals, and has held various general manager and international roles including Zeneca Group regional executive for Eastern Europe and general manager in Brazil. Jeremy was educated at Nottingham University and INSEAD, France. Currently Jeremy is non executive chairman of SkyePharma plc, non executive director of Oxford Catalysts Group plc, Stem Cell Sciences plc, and ARM Holdings plc, director of The Board Link Group, chairman of England’s North West Science Council and board member of Manchester Knowledge Capital.
Marcelo Bravo, Chief Executive Officer
Marcelo Bravo has a background in chemistry and chemical engineering and business development experience with major blue-chip companies. Marcelo worked for the Procter & Gamble company for 16 years commencing in 1983 and subsequently with Boots (now Boots Alliance Plc) for three years commencing in 2000 in various operational and strategic roles and has significant experience in developing, launching and growing new products and services across a range of both geographic and product markets. Marcelo is also an experienced entrepreneur having founded two start up businesses in the past 15 years. He is currently a director of Super Foods Ltd, a company he founded. Marcelo holds a B.A. in Chemistry from the College of Wooster, USA and a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University, USA and M.Sc. in Management from the London Business School.
Philip Spinks Chief Financial Officer & Company Secretary
Philip Spinks joined the Board in February 2008. Prior to this he worked in senior financial positions within the BOC Group plc, a global industrial gas and engineering business. Also, he is an associate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and associate member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers.
Non Executive Directors
Michael Bretherton, Non Executive Director
Michael Bretherton graduated with a first class degree in Economics from University of Leeds in 1978. He worked as an accountant and manager with PriceWaterhouse for seven years in both London and the Middle East before joining The Plessey Company Plc in 1985 as a corporate financial manager. Michael was appointed finance director of the fully listed Bridgend Group Plc in 1988 where he was involved in the strategic evaluation and commercial implementation of a broad range of business initiatives over a twelve year period, including acquisitions, disposals and company restructurings. He subsequently worked at the property and services company, Mapeley Limited, as financial operations director until he was recruited to the entertainment software games developer, Lionhead Studios Limited, in 2002 where he helped to complete a venture capital syndicate funding and also a trade sale of the business to Microsoft in 2006. Michael Bretherton is currently a director of Ora.
Dr Mark Moloney, Non Executive Director
Dr Mark Moloney, one of the founders, provides technical counsel on a consultancy basis and is a Non-executive Director. Mark is an internationally recognised lecturer in organic chemistry at the University of Oxford where he was appointed in 1990, and he was promoted to Reader in Chemistry in 2006. Mark has over 115 publications, including research articles, books and patents, and has been involved in organic synthesis research for twenty-five years. His main areas of interest are the synthesis of chemical compounds with antibiotic, cytotoxic or neuroexcitatory activity; the development of new chemical methodology; and the surface modification of polymers. Much of Mark’s research work has been conducted in collaboration with industry, including GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Merck, Sharp and Dohme and Associated Octel.
Dr Andy Naylor, Non Executive Director
Dr Andrew Naylor has had extensive experience with university spin-out companies in a number of roles. Andrew is currently Chief Executive Officer of Pembroke House Technologies Limited, an intellectual property commercialisation company based in Oxford. Andrew was with IP Group plc from 2001 to 2007 and prior to that he was with IndexIT Partnership Limited and Beeson Gregory. Andrew received a first class degree and PhD in Physics from the University of Nottingham.
David Norwood, Non Executive Director
David Norwood is the founder and special projects director of IP Group plc, a company focused on the commercialisation of research and intellectual property from universities. David graduated in modern history from Keble College, University of Oxford following which he worked as a foreign exchange trader at Bankers Trust and then as an investment analyst at Duncan Lawrie. In 1997 he joined Williams de Broe to advise quoted and unquoted technology companies. David founded IndexIT Partnership in 1999, a technology advisory boutique which was subsequently acquired by Beeson Gregory Group Plc, at which time he joined the board of Beeson Gregory and was appointed chief executive at the beginning of 2001. David joined the board of The Evolution Group Plc following its merger with Beeson Gregory in July 2002 and then became chief executive (now special projects director) of IP Group Plc (formerly IP2IPO Group plc) when it was admitted to AIM in October 2003 and subsequently transferred to the Official List. Finally, David is a currently a director of several other AIM quoted companies.
Senior Management
Dr Jon-Paul Griffiths, Chief Technical Officer to the Company
Dr Jon-Paul Griffiths is a co-founder of Oxford Advanced Surfaces Limited and is a key employee of the company. Jon-Paul, has a background in organic materials and has researched the coating of polymers with Dr Mark Moloney at Oxford. Jon-Paul obtained his Masters degree in Chemistry at The Nottingham Trent University in 2000 and completed a Ph.D. in novel organic materials at The Nottingham Trent University in 2005. Jon-Paul is a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Prof. Peter Dobson, Consultant and Chief Scientific Adviser to Solar Labs
Prof. Peter Dobson has extensive experience in sustainable energies including solar energy. He was appointed to a university lectureship and college fellowship at Queen’s College Oxford in 1988 and a Professorship in 1996. Prior to this he lectured in Physics at Imperial College and was senior principal scientist at Philips Research laboratories. At Oxford University, Prof. Dobson is responsible for setting up new interdisciplinary research institutes that combine University activities with commercial R&D. One of these research institutes will be devoted to sustainable energy. Prof. Dobson has been responsible for two university spinouts, Oxonica Plc and Oxford Biosensors Limited. Oxonica Plc is an AIM listed company. He also serves on advisory committees of several companies that have been “spun out” of Oxford University.