Bio

A serial entrepreneur with broad experience in starting technology businesses, particularly businesses arising from university research. Roger is the individual who foresaw and proposed the need for seed funding, which the government accepted, resulting in the creation of the GBP 40 million University Challenge Fund. The Fund was launched in 1998 and was allocated to 14 universities. Began his career in the petrochemical industry as a project manager responsible for turnkey construction contracts. He was later appointed Development Director of Renwicks plc, a diversified engineering group and, in 1992, joined with past colleagues from the oil industry to form Dove Energy Ltd, a company that used new low cost technology to acquire declining oil reserves and recover additional outputs. In 1995 became an adviser to the Gatsby Trust for a 3-year assignment to suggest how Universities could exploit their intellectual property. He helped start companies in various disciplines, the most successful of which, Kymata Ltd (an optoelectronic components manufacturer), reached a valuation of USD 600 million after 3 years. In 1997, Roger was awarded the prize for MD of the Best New Business by KPMG. Currently Director of one spin-out company and is responsible for fund raising and university liaison. Having recently completed GBP 10 million second round financing for another firm, he is continuing to advise several early stage companies on commercial strategy and fund raising. Member of the International Licensing Executives Society, University Companies Association and American University Technology Managers. BSc from University of Leeds. Certificate in Finance from the Welsh School of Management. Post-graduate diploma in the Solidification of Metals from TWI, Cambridge.