The University of Cambridge has announced the appointment of Dr Tony Raven as the new Chief Executive of Cambridge Enterprise, effective 1 December.
Cambridge Enterprise was established by the University in 2006 to support members of the University in licensing their inventions, providing consultancy services to industry, and creating new companies based on University research. In the four complete financial years since its incorporation, Cambridge Enterprise has completed 1,253 technology transfer transactions, seen an 84% rise in consultancy activity, and made 28 investments in companies based upon University research.
Edward Benthall, Chairman of Cambridge Enterprise, said, “Tony’s university background, coupled with his extensive international experience in consultancy, technology transfer and spin-out creation, make him the ideal candidate to lead Cambridge Enterprise in the years ahead.”
Dr Raven was most recently Director of Research & Innovation Services at the University of Southampton, where he helped establish Southampton’s international reputation as a leading entrepreneurial university, creating a portfolio of 11 spin-out companies with four listings on the London Stock Exchange.
After graduating with a First in physics from Manchester University, he obtained his MSc and DPhil from the University of Oxford. He worked at Rutherford Appleton Laboratories and Osaka University before joining Cambridge-based PA Consulting in 1983.
In 1985 he was a founder of Summit Technology, the market leader in laser refractive surgery, which was acquired by Nestle Alcon in 2000 for $893 million. In 1987 he co-founded Cambridge-based Sagentia Group plc, a technical and management consultancy which is listed on the London Stock Exchange. In 1991 he founded Diomed Inc, a pioneer and world leader in therapeutic medical diode lasers, and served as CEO and Deputy Chairman until 2000.
Dr Raven is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and a Member of the Institute of Directors. “The University of Cambridge is one of the world’s top research universities with a global reputation for the impact its discoveries have had on society and the economy,” said Dr Raven. “It is a great privilege to support Cambridge academics in applying their research to new and existing industries in these challenging times for the national and global economy.”
Dr Raven succeeds Teri Willey, the first CEO of Cambridge Enterprise.
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