Board change at Imperial Innovations

Russ Cummings previously worked at Scottish Equity Partners where as director in the Information Technology Group he was responsible for investment in high growth technology companies. Previously, Russ worked at 3i Group for 16 years including being a director in their UK Technology Group and at Rolls-Royce Motors as a development engineer. Russ has a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College London.

Martin Knight, Chairman of the Group, said:

“On behalf of the Board and the Group as whole, I would like to thank Susan for her considerable contribution over the last nearly 20 years, 11 of which have been as Chief Executive Officer. She led our Admission to AIM in 2006 and two subsequent equity fund raisings.

“During her tenure, she transformed the Group from an operational division of Imperial College London, as its technology transfer office, to a major independent venture capital and technology licensing business.

“Thanks to her efforts, Innovations now has a stable platform from which it can deliver its long-term ventures and licensing business objectives. We all wish her well for the future.

“Russ has an excellent track record in early stage investing and high growth companies spanning both the healthcare and technology sectors. He was recruited in 2006 as CIO to build the investment team. He has played a significant role on the boards of two of our flagship investments, Nexeon and Circassia.

“Russ has been a key part of the management team and is ideally suited to lead Innovations in the next phase of its development.”

Susan Searle said:

“I feel privileged for over 11 years to have led the management team at Innovations in building such a great company that it is today. But I have decided that now is the right time for me to step down. The timing of this decision is both good for me and for the business and enables my successor to make a very smooth transition to his role.

“The business is currently in a strong position and has recently concluded an additional £30m of funding from the European Investment Bank, enabling the Group to grow its investments still further. Innovations has some very exciting companies in its portfolio which we have worked hard to support and are based on world class science, with high quality management and are backed by strong investment syndicates.

“The Innovations story is set to continue and thrive in the long term and I wish it and the team every success.

“I now plan to go plural and to join a number of both larger and smaller public and private companies across a range of sectors, including biotech, engineering and technology, and investment in the UK and internationally.”