Midlands Mindforge has welcomed Dr Lisa Smith and Mike Rees as the company's inaugural Chief Executive and Chair respectively.
Together, they will focus on leveraging the existing skills base in the Midlands to build a financial and technology ecosystem which will support the creation and growth of early-stage university spinouts and IP-rich companies in the region.
By working with university and local partners to identify and commercialise world-class science, Midlands Mindforge will contribute to regional growth and advance the UK ambition of becoming a global scientific superpower.
Lisa is an award-winning investor, consultant for the Cambridge Institute for Sustainable Leadership and a Harvard MBA graduate. Over the course of her career, she has been passionate about promoting sustainable business development, championing start-ups into growing and successful businesses while embedding inclusive and diverse leadership cultures across the organisations she has worked in.
She has an established track record of success across these missions, having led teams at BTV, McKinsey and Unilever to enable effective business building and support inspiring entrepreneurs to fulfil the potential of their ideas.
I strongly believe that innovators come in all shapes and sizes, and it is only by tapping into 100% of the Midlands' talent pool that we can turn the UK into a global scientific superpower. Through Midlands Mindforge, we want to leverage the incredible work already taking place in the region to create the conditions where local university spinout and start-up businesses can genuinely flourish.
Dr Lisa Smith — Chief Executive, Midlands MindforgeAs the organisation's new Chair, Mike Rees will support Lisa in developing and implementing Midlands Mindforge's vision of knitting together investors, researchers and spinouts into a network which will enable sustained business scaling, building on the excellence which already exists at a local level and unleashing the potential of the region.
Mike is the Deputy Chair of the Supervisory Board, and Chair of the Board Risk Committee at ING Bank, Chair of the board of Travelex and Chair of the Board of the Mauritius Africa Fintech Association. Until 2016, he was the Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank.
In 2019, Mike authored the UKRI report investigating how to strengthen university access to finance in a way that supports spinout company formation and university-investor relationships. He is also the Senior Independent Council Member at Research England.
Four years ago, I authored a report for UKRI on the reasons why we should be investing in the growth of university start-ups and spinouts and the incredible economic and academic opportunities which scaling these types of businesses can bring to regions and the country writ large.
Building strength in places, through collaboration and innovation, has the potential to unlock economic growth and make reality the promise of equality of opportunity across the UK. With such a fantastic research pedigree, industrial base and skills pipeline in the Midlands, I am excited to get to work with Lisa and our partners to make the most of the fantastic opportunities in the region.
Mike Rees — Chairman, Midlands MindforgeMidlands Mindforge aims to build upon the existing skills and talent base in the Midlands. An essential aspect of the company's work will be focused on creating the conditions within which start-up and spinout businesses can scale and grow in the region.
This includes addressing the funding deficit — with the Midlands currently receiving only 5% of SME Equity Finance Deals despite being home to 15% of high-growth SME businesses — and creating a virtuous circle of more spinouts attracting more talent and more growth and employment opportunities in the Midlands.
Midlands Mindforge will have at the heart of its Investment Strategy a focus on promoting environmental and social goods; its portfolio companies will need to meet at least one of the Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring it invests with impact and supports technology for good.
On behalf of the eight Midlands Innovation universities, and founding partners of Midlands Mindforge, I am delighted to welcome Chief Executive Dr Lisa Smith and Chair Mike Rees into post. I am confident with the breadth of experience, appetite for success and shared vision for the independent investment company, Midlands Mindforge will generate investment into the region's research and innovation ecosystem.
Professor Karen Holford — Chair of Midlands Innovation Board & Vice-Chancellor, Cranfield University