The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has appointed ten new members from a range of sectors to the Liverpool City Region Innovation Board in order to enhance its role and impact.
Chaired by Dr Jon Hague, Vice President Science & Technology for Unilever Homecare, and facilitated by the LCR Combined Authority, the Innovation Board was the first sub-regional board of its kind in the UK.
The Board’s purpose is to drive the commercialisation of specialist knowledge, maximise innovation-led investment, and accelerate growth and international competitiveness across all sectors of the LCR economy.
The Innovation Board’s primary objective is to realise the city region’s headline ambition to secure R&D investment equal to 5% of LCR GVA by 2030 – almost double the national target.
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority is playing the leading role in driving these innovation ambitions, building on the region’s existing strengths and working with Government on a deal to unlock significant private sector investment and the opportunities which the Innovation Board will help identify and support.
The new board members are:
- Dr Peter Gallagher, R&D Consultant, Former Unilever Executive Vice President – Strategic Sciences/Open Innovation/Digital for R&D
- Philippa Glover, Managing Director, CNC Robotics Ltd.
- Dr Arun Harish, Strategy Director, Centre for Process Innovation (CPI)
- Richard Katz, Chief Executive, Glass Futures
- Damian Kelly, Vice President Innovation & Technology Development, Croda
- Dr Gillian Murray, Deputy Principal of Business & Enterprise, Heriot-Watt University
- Professor Rasmita Raval, Co-Director of National Biofilm Innovation Centre, University of Liverpool
- Bernard Ross, CEO, Sky Medical Technology
- Rachel Shorney, Stakeholder & Community Engagement Manager, Scottish Power Energy Networks
- Dr Elliot Street, CEO, Inovus Medical
Speaking about the new appointments, Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:
“Our region has a long history of innovation, a wealth of world-class research assets, and world-leading capabilities in infectious diseases, materials chemistry, AI and green technology. It is a truly enviable position – but I’m not content with resting on our laurels.
“Innovation is the key to driving both local and national economic growth and will help us to attract investment that brings highly skilled, well-paid jobs for local people.
“We have an abundance of talented, energetic and passionate people who care about doing things differently and making our region the best place in the world to live and work. I’m looking forward to working with them to help shape the future of our region’s economy and help make the Liverpool City Region an internationally recognised innovation superpower!”
Dr Jon Hague, Vice President Science & Technology for Unilever Homecare, who chairs the LCR Innovation Board, said:
“I am delighted and excited to welcome the new members to the Innovation Board. I am sure that they will all play an important part in realising the City Region’s north star ambition to invest 5% of our GVA in R&D by 2030, attracting and generating new industries, and maximise our potential to be one of the UK’s leading lights in place-based innovation.
“This is a vital time to join our long-established Board, to help us build on the exciting work we have already done, maximise our distinctive assets and capabilities, drive growth and turbocharge the future economy of the Liverpool City Region and the UK. We had a fantastic response to our call for people to come forward and I couldn’t be happy with the calibre of our new board members.”
The refresh of the LCR Innovation Board is against the backdrop of recent major successes, including the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine-led iiCON infection innovation and commercialisation programme; £210M investment in the ongoing development of STFC’s Hartree Centre in collaboration with IBM Research; the Glass Futures global innovation hub and industrial decarbonisation campus; LCR Ventures – the region’s first dedicated commercialisation vehicle; plus a forward project pipeline of more than £3billion. It is also in the context of an explicit government focus on maximising the innovation capabilities of places outside the Greater Southeast as part of its levelling up agenda.
For further information about the LCR Innovation Board and wider agenda, please see
LCR Innovation | Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk)