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Employment, learning and skillsDirector appointed to lead region's innovation agenda
23/08/2005
The East Midlands Development Agency (emda) has appointed a director to ensure innovation is at the heart of the regional business agenda.
Martin French
Martin French is the new Director of Innovation East Midlands – the regional Science and Industry Council which emda set up last December.
Its primary role will be to take the lead in developing the East Midlands’ Innovation Strategy and Business Plan.
emda Chief Executive Jeff Moore said: “Innovation East Midlands will give strategic leadership to emda’s innovation activities and establish priorities and activities that will ensure emda and partners are aligned to meet our goal of creating a sustainable, innovation led economy.”
Prior to joining Innovation East Midlands, Martin was Business Leader in Clinical Diagnostics at Cambridge Consultants.
He added: “Innovation East Midlands will have a central role to play in helping business, universities and other stakeholders work together to realise the full economic benefits of innovation exploitation. I am delighted to have the opportunity to work with the members of the Science Council and colleagues in emda to set out the strategy and plans that will enable us to meet this challenge.”
This announcement follows the appointment of Barry Stickings MBE as Chairman in November 2004. Innovation East Midlands, which is a business-led organisation, will work proactively with emda to commission projects that contribute to the delivery of the innovation plan.
-ENDS-
For media enquiries, please contact emda’s press office:
Matt Genever on 0115 988 8375.
Martin French biography
1. Martin is a bio-analytical chemist by training and has spent most of his career in the healthcare industry. His experience includes pharmaceutical R&D at the Wellcome Research Laboratories, founding a venture capital backed clinical diagnostics start up and prior to joining Innovation East Midlands, healthcare business development with Cambridge Consultants. Martin is 48 years old and lives in Quorn, Leicestershire. He holds a PhD and Executive MBA from Loughborough University.
2. The East Midlands Development Agency was set up in 1999 to bring more jobs and skills to the region and to make the East Midlands a better place to live and work. By 2010 emda wants the East Midlands to be one of the top 20 regions in Europe. The latest figures from Eurostat show the East Midlands is already well on its way, moving from 35th to 28th place out of the 71 European regions.