CEO

Professor Simon G Best OBE FRSE

Professor Simon Best has over 25 years' experience across the life science sector in pharmaceuticals, agbiotech, chemicals and industrial enzymes. Throughout this time, Simon has gained significant entrepreneurial and senior management experience in raising finance, deal formation and product commercialisation. He has founded two bio-pharmaceutical businesses; as CEO of Ardana he took the company public on the London Stock Exchange, and as Roslin Biomed's CEO he was responsible for the commercialisation of the technology used to create Dolly the Sheep, and for the merger of the business into the US-listed biotech company Geron Corp. Earlier in his career, Simon was CEO and Managing Director of Zeneca Plant Science, which successfully launched the first and only consumer-labelled GM food in Europe. Simon is also the Chairman of the BioQuarter Project that brings together Scottish Enterprise, NHS Lothian, Alexandria Real Estate, the University of Edinburgh and other Scottish Universities to promote effective commercialisation of Scottish Lifescience Intellectual Property, Chairman of the Advisory Board and non-exec Partner at PAR Equity (Edinburgh, UK) and a Trustee of the International Potato Centre (Lima, Peru).. Prior to joining Aquapharm, Simon was Entrepreneur-in-Residence and Partner at TVM Capital (Munich, Germany), and non-exec Director at Polytherics (London, UK), Targeted Growth (Seattle, USA) and Ohmedics (Glasgow, UK). He was formerly chairman of Neuro3D (Mulhouse, France) and ICRISAT (Hyderabad, India), and non-exec director of Avesthagen (Bangalore, India), and Direvo (Germany).

Chief Technology Officer & Founder

Dr Andrew Mearns Spragg FRSA FSB

Andrew gained a first class honours degree and PhD in marine microbiology from Heriot-Watt University and grew the business from a university "spin-out" to a company of 27 FTEs. Since founding the business, Andrew has successfully raised over £10m in equity and grant finance. He developed the company whilst holding a Royal Society of Edinburgh Enterprise Fellowship in biotechnology; was awarded a John Logie Baird Award in Medical and Academic Science; and was also the recipient of the 2007 Gannochy Innovation Medal, and prize, from the Royal Society of Edinburgh in recognition of his achievements in biotechnology and innovation. In 2008, Andrew's entrepreneurial achievements were further recognised when he won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the year 2008 in Health Care (Scotland) prize.

Chief Scientific Officer

Dr Tim Morley

Dr Morley is responsible for leading Aquapharm's in-house R&D programmes which address both pharmaceutical drug discovery and functional ingredient opportunities for the personal care and nutrition industries. Dr Morley gained his PhD in Mechanistic Toxicology at Aberdeen University and holds an MSc in Biopharmacy, BSc in Applied Biochemistry and BSc in Pharmacology, and is a Board Certified Toxicologist. He has over 20 years' experience in the pharmaceutical industry in drug discovery and development, both with Big Pharma and start-up companies, and was involved in the development of marketed products Lamotrigine and Mivacurium. Prior to joining Aquapharm in July 2010, Dr Morley spent thirteen years in a number of directorial positions at Vernalis, as Senior Director of Biological Sciences and Ardana Bioscience as Vice President of Preclinical Sciences. Dr Morley has directed the development of compounds for the treatment of prostate cancer, growth hormone deficiency, obesity, and Parkinson's disease, from discovery to clinical trials, and is named inventor on several patents.

VP Commercial, Oceanx

Mr Jon Williams

Jon has built a strong business development track record commercialising naturally-derived products within a range of markets, including the pharmaceutical, food and personal care industries. Jon joined Aquapharm in 2009 from Summit plc where, as Managing Director of Summit (Wales), he established and led a new business unit focused on the exploitation of botanically-derived bio-active ingredients. Prior to Summit plc, Jon successfully developed and led the European & Asian Business Development team at Avecia Biologics, a microbial-derived pharmaceutical business based in the UK. Jon holds a first class degree in Biological Sciences from Oxford University.

Senior Vice-President Pharma-Business

Bertrand Lehuu, Pharm D

Bertrand Lehuu has 28 years' experience in senior roles in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in Switzerland, UK, France and Italy. He recently joined Aquapharm as Senior Vice President (SVP) - Pharma Business. Bertrand is an internationally known bio-pharmaceutical deal-maker and now responsible for business development for Aquapharm. After gaining his Doctorate of Pharmacy from Paris University, Bertrand built his career as a Business Development specialist in the Pasteur Institute, Flamel Technologies, F.Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basilea, Neuro3d, BioXell and most recently PharmaSwiss. Bertrand will play a strategic role in the development and future growth of the company.