12 March 2012
What does your current job
involve?
I have been a managing partner in The
Oxis Partnership since 1998. I set up a
'virtual' company offering consultancy and
programme/project support to government,
industry and academia. Our skills are
in creativity, innovation, partnership
development and management, strategic
reviews and foresight on science,
engineering and technology across a
diverse range of sectors and disciplines.
One aspect of my job I really enjoy is
making novel connections by pulling
together unique teams of experts to work
on challenging projects.
Did you have an interest in
science from childhood?
I loved making things, such as the usual
boys' models, but I also made a dye laser
from a Scientific American publication
when I was 15! I always wanted the
latest gadgets, like the first Sinclair
calculator, and to find out how they
worked.
How did you decide that you
wanted a career in engineering?
I had a natural flair for maths, physics
and chemistry. My father was chief piping
engineer at Matthew Hall. I loved going
into their offices and seeing the large
models being built of all types of plants,
particularly offshore installations. Work
colleagues, some of whom were chemical
engineers, would drop into our home
with tales of exotic places so I chose
chemical engineering. I also had a great
start by going to Imperial College.
What motivated you to pursue
postgraduate studies?
I met an inspiring professor, Mike Street,
who had a challenging research proposal
and I fell naturally into a PhD project.
This brought me into contact with other
inspiring engineers: Philip Hawtin at
Harwell Laboratory and eventually John
Collier. My first postgraduate job was
at Harwell where I saw something new
and exciting in joining the Separation
Processes Service in its infancy.
What are the most important
things you've learned in your
career so far?
Being insatiably curious about everything,
not just your immediate job, discipline
or sector, will lead you into exciting
new areas. Always be receptive to
opportunities when things are at an early
stage - this brings new knowledge and
experience. Network - firstly with your
peers and then branch out into diverse,
and often unconnected, directions where
others are not going.
As the new chair of SCI's Science and Enterprise group, I love the multi-disciplinary, multi-sector community that makes up SCI. Work with or for inspiring people and treat everyone at all levels with respect and honesty. Try to offer help without expecting something back immediately.
What would you have done
differently?
I should have written up my PhD thesis but
I still went on to lead a world-class research
team and manage significant research
programmes. These days it would be more
difficult to achieve this without a PhD.
What would you say have been
the key milestones in your career?
Working at Harwell gave me amazing
exposure to people, technology and global
experience, and also being seconded to
the Innovation Unit DTI to work under the
passionate leadership of Alistair Keddie
with a diverse group of industrialists. At
Oxis, winning contracts such as managing
the Manufacturing Molecules Initiative,
and working with Peter Lyne of LGC to
set up the Insight Faraday Partnership on
High Throughput Technologies.
Another milestone was working with Professor David Barrow at Cardiff University on exploiting micro- and nanotechnologies in Welsh industry with other Welsh universities and further education colleges. Setting up the Discontinuous Innovation Forum to develop tools and approaches to step change innovation with John Duckett and Lars Nicolls (M4 Innovation Network) and Professors John Bessant and Richard Lamming is also notable.
What key things would a young
person need to do if they
wanted to get to your position?
Get in on the ground and make sure
you really build know-how from the
fundamentals to get a deep feel for your
work area. You should be able to smell
when it's right! Make sure you ask for
help at every opportunity and listen to
genuinely wise, inspirational people. Join
your professional organisation(s) and
get involved. Don't think you can be a
manager from day one.
How do you achieve work/life
balance?
Having worked too hard at times and often
losing that balance, I can now choose to
do things I think are really interesting,
valuable and give me pleasure. I now
know how to say no to work! I really value
having good health that enables me to
enjoy nature and travelling. Having seen
others not so fortunate, I believe you have
to enjoy every day.
You should also find ways to give something back through voluntary work, for example, Hope & Homes for Children and Young Enterprise.
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