Speakers
Roz Bird
Victor Christou
Professor Sheng Qi
Dr Daniel Marcu
Dr Jason Mellad
Speaker session
chaired by Michaela Eschbach, CEO of Cambridge Wireless (Chair)
Roz Bird, Chief Executive, Anglia Innovation Partnership, Norwich Research Park
A Chartered Surveyor, and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Roz joined Norwich Research Park as Chief Executive Officer, for Anglia Innovation Partnership, the campus management company, in May 2022.
Roz has had a very successful career managing urban regeneration projects and science parks in Cambridge, Silverstone, Milton Keynes and Bristol, in the UK, including establishing Silverstone Technology Cluster and pioneering the Ox-Cam Arc ‘Supercluster’.
She joined AIP LLP after 15 years with MEPC Ltd – a commercial property company – where she was commercial director. Previously Roz was business development manager for the UK Science Park Association. In November 2023 Roz was elected to the UKSPA Board and in June 2024, Roz became Co-ordinator for Women in IASP.
Victor has over 25 years experience on both sides of the early-stage investment table. In recent years he has focused his attention on the formation of Pebble Investment Partners, a fund headquartered on Norwich Research Park focused on supporting entrepreneurs commercialising innovation in plant and microbial sciences across nutrition, health, the environment and agriculture.
Prior to Pebble, Victor was CEO at Cambridge Innovation Capital where he helped build the business to £600 million assets under management and launch two accelerators: Start Codon for life sciences and Deeptech Labs for technology businesses. At the start of his entrepreneurial journey, Victor founded University of Oxford spin-out, Opsys, an organic electronics business focusing on OLEDs and was a member of the team that sold Opsys to Cambridge Display Technology (now owned by Sumitomo Chemicals).
Victor has a BSc and PhD in Chemistry from Imperial College, London and was a Sloan Fellow in the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. In the early stages of his career, Victor was at the University of California at Berkeley and then at the University of Oxford, where he was a Royal Society University Research Fellow and Junior Research Fellow at Balliol College. Victor was the Royal Society of Chemistry Entrepreneur of the Year in 2002.
Dr Daniel Marcu is the Co-Founder & Managing Director of Virilitas Labs. He is a multi-award-winning scientist using innovative technology to improve male fertility diagnostics and interventions. He holds a Masters in Prenatal Genetics and Fetal Medicine from University College London and a PhD in Sperm Biology and Genomics from UEA. His research involves the use of whole genome, transcriptome and proteome sequencing to inform sperm selection decisions for clinical andrology and embryology. He is the President at the Network for Young Researchers in Andrology and a member of the European Academy of Andrology and the Society for Reproduction and Fertility. He received numerous national and international awards including a Public Engagement Award, an Innovation and Impact Award and a Beverly Tucker Award for his scientific contribution to sperm biology, genetics, and advocacy around male fertility.
Dr Jason Mellad is Co-Founder and CEO of OtoImmune, a precision immunology company focused on revolutionising the early detection and management of autoimmune and other inflammatory diseases. Previously he was Co-Founder and CEO of Start Codon, a UK-based accelerator that supports innovative startups with funding, facilities and extensive coaching to help founders translate their innovations into successful ventures.
Jason formerly served as CEO of Cambridge Epigenetix (now Biomodal) and Business Development Manager for Horizon Discovery’s diagnostics division. He also served as an associate for Cambridge Enterprise, the technology transfer office of the University of Cambridge.
Originally from Louisiana, Jason was awarded a Marshall Scholarship to complete his PhD in Medicine at the University of Cambridge (Clare College) after graduating Summa Cum Laude from Tulane University with a BSc in Molecular Biology and Chemistry. He lives in Cambridge with his husband and two sons.
Michaela has an impressive track record as a Founder and Director, both in the not-for-profit and for-profit space.
As co-founder of Form the Future CIC, Michaela drove strategic direction and operations for this multi-award-winning organisation which connects young people with career opportunities. As Managing Director of Founders4Schools, Michaela led the operational, financial and cultural transformation of this ed-tech charity.
Michaela is known for her passion and dedication in successfully driving companies through growth and challenges.
She was winner of the Cambridge News ‘Cambridge’s Most Influential Businesspeople Award’ in 2017 and was included in the EU-Startups’ Top 100: Europe’s Most Influential Women in the Startup and Venture Capital Space in 2023.
Michaela says, "As CEO of Cambridge Wireless, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead this exceptional organisation through a period of dynamic change in the tech landscape. Together with our dedicated members, we will harness the power of innovation to not only adapt to the evolving industry but to also drive it forward, ensuring Cambridge Wireless remains the cornerstone of technological advancement and value creation."