Creating connections West Midlands 2026

Dr Adrian Burden is the founder of the annual Malvern Festival of Innovation and was a Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Birmingham. He is currently the CEO of a digital certification software-as-a-service company called BlockMark Technologies. 

Adrian is also author of the book Start to Exit: How to maximize the value in your start-up. He has a degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and a D.Phil. in Materials Science from the University of Oxford. 

Dr Mingming Tan is a Lecturer in Optical Communications at Aston University and Royal Society Short Industry Fellow. His research focuses on optical communications and optical amplification. 

He has published over 140 papers, delivered over 20 invited talks, and secured over £3.7M research funding. He is an Associate Editor of IEEE Access and a TPC member for ECOC 2026.

Dr Stéphane Poigny has more than 25 years’ experience in cosmetics and dermocosmetics, specialising in partnerships, active ingredients and bio-inspired innovation within major French companies. Since 2020, he has been R&D Director France at Mibelle Biochemistry, supporting new business development, academic partnerships and global R&D projects.

He holds a PhD in organic chemistry from Sorbonne University and the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. An expert in biomimicry and nature-inspired innovation, he has co-authored more than 100 patents, publications and scientific posters.

Dr Poigny also serves on the board of the French Society of Cosmetology and is a member of the Swiss SCC and reviewer for the IFSCC.

Ceri Jones has built a 30-year career spanning entrepreneurship, commercialisation, skills development, and research & innovation leadership. He began by founding a recruitment business before leading commercial training and apprenticeships at Coleg Y Cymoedd. Ceri spent 23 years at Swansea University, helping deliver ten-fold growth in the portfolio of research and innovation activity, and in doing so led on over 100 collaborative projects valued at ~£35m.

Dedicated to driving regional growth, Ceri led on industry-focused leadership development programmes through ION Leadership/Lead Wales that up-skilled hundreds of organisations to support development and growth and led the all Wales AGOR IP Technology Transfer Programme. Passionate about building connections, Ceri has led university–business networks, championing engagement through events, digital platforms, and CRM-led outreach and communications to connect organisations, drive collaboration and support regional growth.

Charlie Hopkirk is a Cluster Manager at the West Midlands Growth Company, with nearly a decade of experience across the West Midlands economic development ecosystem. Following studies in Economics and Politics, he has worked across economic intelligence, policy and programme delivery, with a particular focus on the development of regional economic clusters.

Charlie previously spent two years at the West Midlands Combined Authority, where he supported the establishment of multiple cluster initiatives, connecting businesses, public bodies, universities and investors across the region. He played a key role in shaping and delivering the DRIVE35 regional pilot programme and has contributed to the region’s strategic approach to defence and industrial capability.

Ian McLaughlan is Head of Partnerships & Digital for Business Growth West Midlands, the regional business support service delivered by West Midlands Growth Company. He previously led the establishment and development of the programme at the West Midlands Combined Authority.

With more than 20 years’ experience supporting economic growth, Ian has led a wide range of initiatives focused on helping small businesses and entrepreneurs thrive. Prior to WMCA, he was Director for Business Growth at GBSLEP, where he led business support responses to COVID-19 and Brexit.

Ian is particularly passionate about inclusive economic growth and expanding access to business support across the diverse communities of the West Midlands. He holds a BA in Modern Languages from the University of Oxford and completed an MBA with distinction at Aston University in 2025.

Laura leads the Royal Academy of Engineering’s entrepreneurship programmes, supporting deep tech spinouts, startups and scaleups through initiatives including Enterprise Fellowships, Shott Scale Up Accelerator and Regional Talent Engines.

She has more than 12 years’ experience designing and delivering accelerator programmes for entrepreneurs and advising policymakers on entrepreneurial ecosystem development. Previously, Laura co-led an EU-funded ecosystem development project in South Yorkshire focused on co-designing regional accelerator programmes.

Laura holds a PhD from the University of Sheffield and is the author of Developing Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: Place, Processes, People.

David Coleman has more than 24 years’ experience commercialising university innovation, having held roles at Imperial Innovations, the University of Bath and, since 2010, the University of Birmingham. He became CEO of University of Birmingham Enterprise Ltd in 2021, following earlier roles leading the university’s spinout portfolio and enterprise acceleration activity.

His expertise spans technology transfer, licensing, spinout development, business incubation and investment. He is also an experienced non-executive director for spinout companies and has worked closely with a wide range of investors.

Regional Impact KTM, Innovate UK Business Connect

Bruce is a Regional Impact Specialist at Innovate UK Business Connect, focusing on Clean Growth and Resilient World programmes. His work is driven by key enabling technologies such as AI, 5G, and the optimisation of city and infrastructure systems. With a background in energy infrastructure risk and resilience, Bruce supports innovation-led business growth across the UK’s industrial and R&D landscape. He plays a central role in fostering collaborative relationships that accelerate regional economic development. As part of Innovate UK’s place-based support, he also leads opportunity profiling within the Launchpad Programme and contributes to the national Cluster Impact Strategy.

About Innovate UK Business Connect

Innovate UK Business Connect creates the diverse connections that enable positive change. Their knowledge and expertise enable innovators to transform bright ideas into real-world solutions. Their powerful industry and academic network can guide entrepreneurs, start-ups and companies through the complex challenges of bringing new products, processes and services to market.

Tracy is a Senior Manager for the UK Network covering the West Midlands. The UK Network seeks to enhance business finance ecosystems across the UK so smaller businesses, wherever they are, can grow and prosper. It also helps the Bank develop a deeper understanding of small business finance markets in all parts of the UK so that, ultimately, the Bank can improve its support to smaller businesses everywhere.

Tracy joined the British Business Bank from BCRS Business Loans, where she focused on supporting SME’s providing funding solutions as a business development manager as well as engaging with local authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships and other Key Business Introducers.

Prior to that, Tracy built her career in Personal and Business banking spending ten years with Barclays covering the West Midlands area.

Hemaxi Bhatt is a Credit and Investment Specialist at Innovate UK, with a focus on Innovation Loans and investor partnerships. Her work sits at the intersection of public finance, private capital and high‑risk innovation, supporting businesses to scale through structured loan funding alongside aligned investor engagement.

She works closely with innovative companies, sector teams, investors and delivery partners to assess financial risk, evaluate commercial readiness and structure funding pathways that combine public and private capital. Her role includes strengthening referral mechanisms, improving triage and due diligence processes, and supporting portfolio‑level approaches to managing risk and impact across growth‑stage innovative businesses.

Following a long industrial career in manufacturing, logistics and automotive technologies, Mark Joined Innovate UK in 2014 as the Automotive sector lead at The KTN as it was then known. 

Transferring to the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships team in 2017 he now works in the west midlands helping business find innovative solutions to challenging business problems and to exploit profitable opportunities. 

He has supported and managed over 120 projects during this time generating growth and business resilience in a wide variety of sectors.

Mira is an Investment Associate at DSW Ventures and is leading the firm’s activities in the Midlands. Mira moved to venture capital from academia following a postdoc and PhD in Chemistry and Life Sciences at the Francis Crick Institute and Imperial College London.