SHEFFIELD, UK, 12THNOVEMBER, 2013: Phase Focus Ltd (Phasefocus), the company that is revolutionising microscopy and imaging with the lens-free Phasefocus Virtual Lens® technology, today announced the changes to its board of directors:
- Paul Atherton and Charles Holroyd appointed as Chairman and Non-Executive Director
- Martin Humphry appointed director and Chief Technology Officer
Phase Focus Ltd (Phasefocus), the company that is revolutionising microscopy and imaging with the lens-free Phasefocus Virtual Lens® technology, today announced the following changes to its board of directors:
Paul Atherton, a successful serial technology entrepreneur, has been appointed Chairman of the Board. Paul co-founded Queensgate Instruments and was Managing Director from 1988 until its sale for more than £200 million in March 2000. Paul is also Chairman of Infinitesima, NanoVentures and Nexeon, and was Chairman of C2V and Midaz Lasers until their respective acquisitions by Thermo-Fisher in 2009 and Coherent in 2012. Paul is a board member of Imperial Innovations Group plc and was involved in its £200 million AIM flotation. He earned a PhD in Physics from Imperial College and an MBA from the London Business School (of which he was a Governor for six years) and has extensive expertise in photonics, electronics, mechanics and nanotechnology.
Paul said, “I am delighted to be taking on this role. Phasefocus has already made some excellent progress and I am very much looking forward to working with the team to build on these achievements.”
Charles Holroyd has also been appointed as non-executive director. For the last three years Charles has been Group Business Development Director of Oxford Instruments, a £350 million-turnover, London Stock Exchange-listed manufacturer of high technology instrumentation, with responsibility for (among other things) acquisitions, divestments and joint ventures. Previously, Charles was Managing Director of the Oxford Instruments Analytical business unit, as well as being responsible for Oxford Instruments’ commercial activities and brand development in Brazil, Russia, India and China.
Martin Humphry has been appointed director and Chief Technology Officer. An inventor on a number of Phasefocus’ patent applications, Martin has assumed successively higher levels of responsibility since he joined the Company in 2009, including oversight of all of its product development and R&D activities.
After five years of service with the Company, Neil Loxley will be resigning as non-executive director, due to his recent appointment as CEO of Ibex Innovations, a developer of advanced X-ray detectors.
David Baynes, CEO of Fusion IP plc and Phasefocus’ outgoing Chairman, will remain a non-executive director. Commenting on the appointments, David said, “I am delighted to welcome Paul, Charles and Martin to the board. Together, these new directors will bring a wealth of technical, marketing, operational and strategic experience to our board, which will be most welcome and valuable at this important juncture in the Company’s history.”
Ian Pykett, CEO of Phasefocus, said, “Paul and Charles bring tremendous experience in highly relevant markets, and in growing and realising value from venture capital-backed high-technology businesses. That we have been successful in attracting their world-class skills and experiences is testament not only to the success that we have achieved to date, but also to the vision that they share with us of a potentially very bright future for Phasefocus.
“I am equally pleased that we will continue to benefit not only from Martin’s considerable technical knowledge, but also from the strategic insights and business development instincts that he brings to the board.
“We will very much miss Neil, who has for four years provided expert guidance and advice gained from his extensive prior experience in the high-technology instrumentation market. We wish him well at Ibex.”
To find out about the company and to learn more about using Phasefocus’ unique lens-less solutions for electron microscopy, label-free live cell cycle analysis and metrology, visit http://www.phasefocus.com/.
ABOUT PHASEFOCUS:
Phasefocus is a venture capital-backed spin-out company from the University of Sheffield founded in 2006. Its principal equity investors are Ombu Group and Fusion IP plc. In February 2013, the Company announced that it had entered into a Licencing Agreement with Gatan Inc., the world’s leading manufacturer of instrumentation and software used to enhance and extend the operation and performance of electron microscopes. A prototype “add-on” product for existing electron microscopes has already demonstrated an improvement in resolution of a factor of five over that available using the host instrument’s conventional electron optics. Its products also include an optical microscope used for label-free time-lapse imaging of biological cells, and an Ophthalmic Lens Profiler that can measure soft contact lenses with unprecedented levels of resolution and accuracy.
For further information:
Please contact Phasefocus direct or their marketing agency, Talking Science:
Phase Focus Limited
Electric Works
Sheffield Digital Campus
Sheffield, S1 2BJ, UK
T +44(0)114 286 6377
M +44(0)7985 042392
http://www.phasefocus.com/
ianpykett@phasefocus.com
Talking Science Limited
39 de Bohun Court
Saffron Walden
Essex CB10 2BA UK
T +44(0)1799 521881
M +44(0)7843 012997
www.talking-science.com
jezz@talking-science.com
Help employers find you! Check out all the jobs and post your resume.
