Access a range of research and materials that Sue makes freely available for anyone to view or download.
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Scaling Success In Wales: Ceryx Medical's Lean Approach to Medtech Innovation
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
In Conversation with Stuart Plant Dr Stuart Plant is the CEO of the exciting Welsh medtech startup Ceryx Medical. Based in Cardiff, the company has used cutting-edge biomimetic design principles ...
The Return to Office: The Mismatch between Employer Demands and Worker Preferences
By Sue Rees | Blog
The Covid pandemic led to a significant shift in the work landscape, with remote work becoming the most sought-after job perk. Employers offered remote work options to attract and retain ...
Seize Opportunity, Create Success – The Roadmap to VC
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
Sue Rees in Conversation with Alexander Leigh Alex Leigh is a specialist in “deep-tech” venture capital, currently particularly interested in seed funding start-ups in defence, fusion and cyber-security and seeking ...
Levelling up, or dumbing down? Rishi Sunak and the UK Investment Zones
By Sue Rees | Blog
On 23 September 2022, UK chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced a plan for growth and 'levelling up' in the UK, which was to become a cornerstone of financial policymaking in the ...
Unleash Your Potential: How Focusing on Well-Being is Driving Success in Business
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
Sue Rees in Conversation with Hilary Rowland – Next Chapter Retreats There’s been a lot of talk in my network recently about well-being and personal development. I think it’s excellent ...
Sorry, the bank is closing early – Does a recession mean the end of startup funding?
By Sue Rees | Blog
One of the first casualties of a recession is often the support start-ups need to get off the ground and fly. Certainly, there is going to be more resistance around ...
Revolutionize your metabolic health with advanced AI technology
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
Sue Rees In Conversation With David Haines & Dr Julian Shapley - Glucose Republic What do you get when you cross a successful serial entrepreneur and business developer with a ...
Young and Tired – Are Young Workers Just as Much at Risk of Burnout as Their Managers?
By Sue Rees | Blog
We are all aware of the risk of burnout and the often devastating consequences of allowing it to go unrecognised. C-Suite teams around the world have measures in place to ...
Can we have a steady hand, please? – How can Rishi Sunak be a positive force for British Pharma
By Sue Rees | Blog
The appointment of Rishi Sunak to Prime Minister was yet another turn in the melodrama that has been British politics for some months now. When the wheel finally turned to ...
Honing your skills when working in a business at the wrong end of an overdraft
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
Sue Rees In Conversation with Jag Grewal, CEO of Omega Diagnostics Group PLC Jag Grewal, BSc (Hons), MSc, MBA, has over 25 years of experience in the medical diagnostics industry, ...
More Human than Ever Before – The Changing Role of the CEO
By Sue Rees | Blog
From the moment that a Chief Executive Officer accepts the role, they are taking on the most visible position within the company. The CEO is often the public face of ...
“You Can't Have Too Big an Ego” – The Experience of a Very Successful NED and Chairman
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
In conversation with Nick Rodgers Nick Rodgers is a highly experienced non-executive director and chairman, valued for his strategic advice and common sense approach to business. With a background in ...
Bridging the Gap – Bringing Cutting Edge Pharma and Healthcare Delivery Closer Together
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
Sue Rees In conversation with Samir Khan Dr Samir Khan is a health innovation strategist and global market access professional with more than ten years of experience within and beyond ...
Good in Parts – Is Remote Working Doing more Harm than Good to our Wellbeing?
By Sue Rees | Blog
There is a lot of chatter around the benefits of remote working or a hybrid approach, but many leadership teams are beginning to question whether these apparent advantages are actually ...
Home is where the work is – Should you continue to invest in hybrid working?
By Sue Rees | Blog
Working from home (WFH) has probably been the cause of more discussion and policy decisions than any other change in the workplace in recent times. Some businesses are now backing ...
It's not failure, it's unfinished success! What a global pandemic, beating cancer, family responsibilities, and a business failure taught one woman about the role of a CEO
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
In Conversation with Alison Clayton Hailing from Glasgow, where she also studied for her PhD in Pharmacology, and with over 20 years of experience in senior roles within the biotech ...
Creating Success and being one of the “Best Workplaces” for Wellbeing, for Women and overall by “Great Place to Work”
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
In Conversation with Richard White Dr Richard White is the Chief Operating Officer of Oxford PharmaGenesis, the country’s largest independently owned Health Science communications consultancy. Founded in 1998, the business ...
Just Shake it off and Carry On – Impostor Syndrome and C-Suite Execs
By Sue Rees | Blog
There is a unique expectation of C-level management. Executives at board level are expected to not only make decisions but make them without the safety net afforded to others. Decisive ...
Wait and see – What is the possible impact of a potential recession on investment?
By Sue Rees | Blog
There seems to be an air of resigned acceptance permeating the board rooms when it comes the possibility of a recession. But what sort of recession are we looking at ...
Launch, Strengthen and Accelerate in 2022
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
Sue Rees in conversation with James Francis James Francis enjoyed a highly successful 20-year career in sales in the scientific instruments sector, rising to business unit VP for a multi-billion ...
The Passion in Building a Green and Sustainable Biological World
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
Sue Rees In Conversation with Joe Price Joe Price is the CEO, co-founder and commercialisation lead for early-stage biotech spinout Evolutor. The fledgling company has developed technology that streamlines and ...
Finding and Retaining Top Talent in 2022 – The C-Suite Executive Search War- Zone
By Sue Rees | Blog
If it was difficult to find a job in the last couple of years, there is now a huge flip side to this, being described by some as a “war ...
The business of visual communication for science
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
Sue Rees In conversation with Michal Barski of Reciprocal Space Dr Michal S Barski is the co-founder and director of Reciprocal Space, a visual science communications studio in London that ...
Toxic work cultures and how to fix them
By Sue Rees | Blog
As more people experience stress-related illness and burnout, a contributing factor can often be a toxic workplace. Toxic workplaces and work cultures are sadly on the rise, and employees don’t ...
Taking the Plunge!
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
Sue Rees in conversation with Mike Davies Dr Mike Davies MD, FRCRS, FRSPSG is the founder and CEO of Manchester-based Carocell Bio. This startup biotech firm is developing novel peptides ...
The route most logical – Responding to the anti-vaxxer problem
By Sue Rees | Blog
The anti-vaxxer phenomenon is possibly one of the most contentious issues surrounding the recent pandemic and the medical community in general. As we have all seen, it can cause a ...
What Does it Take to be One of the UK's Coolest HealthTech Start-Ups?
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
Sue Rees in conversation with Mike Karim Mike Karim is the CEO of Oxford Endovascular, an exciting spin-out company from the University of Oxford. They are pioneering work in the ...
What does a successful boardroom review process look like in 2022?
By Sue Rees | Blog
The boardroom culture is changing. I doubt anyone thinks the forbidding and remote director stereotype still exists in a modern business environment, but that does not mean that the boardroom ...
If You Can’t Measure it, You Can’t Improve it
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
Sue Rees in conversation with Peter Jenkins Peter Jenkins is the CEO of Infinitesima. Based near Oxford, it’s a privately owned company founded in 2001, as a spin-out of the ...
What is the Investment Barrier for Female-led Start-Ups?
By Sue Rees | Blog
As the number of female-led and female-founded start-ups grows year on year, why is it so difficult for them to find investment? It’s a question that I found myself thinking about a few weeks ago, so in ...
Fever Pitch – Advice on how to make your biotech business attract more investors than you need
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
Sue Rees in conversation with Tony de Fougerolles The global pandemic has thrown up challenges for businesses worldwide, and some sectors reported difficulties in attracting the right (or any) investment ...
When the going gets tough
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
Sue Rees in Conversation with Chris Busby ICE Oxford was founded in 2004 by Chris Busby and Paul Kelly to design and manufacture specialist Ultra-Low Temperature (ULT) and High Magnetic ...
When it comes to founding your startup, should you go it alone?
By Sue Rees | Blog
This is a conundrum faced by many startup founders. Is it best to forge your own path or find a co-founder who shares your dream and vision and can partner in your ...
Founding a Start-Up when the world went virtual
By Sue Rees | Blog
Like so many of us, I enjoy face to face Networking meetings as I have always liked to personally meet and engage with people – both to grow my own ...
Bringing Common Sense to Tech Company Boardrooms
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
Tips for start-ups and early growth companies from a hugely successful serial entrepreneur I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Kevin Smith, a fellow Swansea native and fascinating business ...
Starting a Company a Month Before Covid Hit
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
Sue Rees in conversation with Mark Preston Mark Preston is the CEO of Prismea, a biotech software development company that was founded in January 2020 - just a month before ...
When it comes to being a Start-up founder – Does age really matter?
By Sue Rees | Blog
There is a wide belief that in order to be an entrepreneur and a start-up founder that you also need youth on your side. When you think about recent entrepreneurs, ...
Commercialised Science is a Team Sport
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
Sue Rees in conversation with Sarah Haywood Sarah Haywood is the Managing Director of Advanced Oxford, a not-for-profit membership group for innovating and disruptive businesses with strong ties to Oxfordshire. ...
Leading in the Post-COVID19 workplace
By Sue Rees | Blog
It is almost 12 months ago that I wrote an article about post-pandemic leadership. At the time, we were thinking about how to come out of lockdown, rebuild and start ...
Oxfordshire Innovation and Investment
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
Sue Rees in conversation with Sebastian Johnson Sebastian is a stalwart of the Oxfordshire business and innovation scene. With over 35 years of experience running his own businesses and working ...
Investing in Startups – Part 2 – How can you find and secure your investment?
By Sue Rees | Blog
In part one of our blog last month, we explored the impact of the COVID pandemic on venture capitalists and other investments for startups over the last 12 months. In ...
Why small businesses and startups need to work together to boost their post-covid recovery
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
Sue Rees in conversation with professor Dylan Jones-Evans OBE I recently had the great pleasure of chatting with Professor Dylan Jones-Evans OBE about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ...
Investing in Startups – Part 1: Are investors Still Investing?
By Sue Rees | Blog
2020 has been a destabilising year for startup founders. The COVID pandemic locked the world down, bringing business to a standstill and the threat of a global recession loomed. Venture ...
When Good Business Makes Good Science
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
Glenn Crocker of BioCity talks to me about building a life sciences incubator from scratch, the impact of Covid-19 on the sector, and advice for new startups Sue Rees in ...
Looking forward to 2021
By Sue Rees | Blog
When the clock struck midnight on 31st December 2019, and we welcomed in the new decade, whoever thought 2020 would turn out the way that did? No matter where we ...
Keep Calm and Carry On
By Sue Rees | In conversation with Sue
How Oxford University Innovation and its portfolio businesses have risen to the challenge of Covid-19 Sue rees in conversation with Simon Gray, Head of Marketing at Oxford University Innovation Ltd ...
When your Boardroom is ready for a refresh
By Sue Rees | Blog
Over the last decade and into this one, startup businesses have come of age. Some will remain as small operators, but for many, the ultimate goal is to “scale up” ...
What does the future hold for University Spinouts?
By Sue Rees | Blog
Universities in the UK are some of the very best in the world when it comes to research. Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, to name but a few. Importantly, however, ...
Does Biotech Leadership have a glass ceiling?
By Sue Rees | Blog
A Growing Industry Sector The Biotech industry is one of the fasting growing sectors at almost 10% CAGR and is predicted to be worth over $750 billion by 2025. In ...
When will a COVID vaccine become widely available?
By Sue Rees | Blog
Fantastic news emerged on the afternoon of the 20th July that the vaccine being developed jointly between Oxford University and AstraZeneca had been confirmed to be safe and induces an ...
Post-Pandemic Leadership – Is this a time for the brave and the bold, or do leaders need a different skillset?
By Sue Rees | Blog
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed demands on leaders that are above and beyond anything that they may have expected. For many, it has been the ultimate leadership test. Leadership Challenges ...
Beating COVID-19 the Oxford Way
By Sue Rees | Blog
As early as 2018, The World Health Organisation added a “Disease X” to its list of disease threats that could cause a global pandemic. “Disease X” would sit alongside other ...
OUR CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
By Sue Rees | BioTrinity
I’ve been working with life science, pharma and biotech CEOs to build their board teams for over 20 years, and it’s at this level that most of the challenges and ...
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE LONGER-TERM IMPACTS ON THE SECTOR?
By Sue Rees | BioTrinity
Some companies are already seeing the enforced changes in working practices they have had to adopt having beneficial long-term impacts. “Social distancing and flexible working have actually had a positive ...
WHAT WAS THE IMPACT OF COVID19 ON THE BIOTECH, PHARMA AND LIFE SCIENCE INDUSTRIES?
By Sue Rees | BioTrinity
It’s fair to say that everyone has been impacted, but what was fascinating to me was that some I spoke to had been able to adapt and move quickly and ...
WERE WE PREPARED FOR COVID19?
By Sue Rees | BioTrinity
Needless to say, most people I spoke to were keen to avoid talking about political responses! However, it was clear that many felt that preparedness had two components - physical, ...
THE SCALE OF THE COVID-19 IMPACT
By Sue Rees | BioTrinity
When I asked people if they were surprised by how much of a worldwide impact COVID-19 had had I received a similar response from many. Clinically, the appearance of a ...
WHAT HAS THE IMPACT BEEN FROM COVID-19 FOR THE PHARMA, BIOTECH & LIFE SCIENCES INDUSTRY?
By Sue Rees | BioTrinity
In the 20 years I’ve been based in Oxfordshire I’ve seen the county turn into a major hub for science and technology in the UK. Not only has the research ...
Burnout in the C Suite
By Sue Rees | Blog
In 2019, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recognised burnout as a chronic medical condition, and with over 60% of board-level executives reporting feelings of high anxiety and stress on a ...