Shaun Grady is responsible for representing AstraZeneca’s whole enterprise across the UK.

In this role, reporting to CEO Pascal Soriot, Shaun works closely with relevant senior leaders

across AstraZeneca to champion and support our science and R&D function, operations and

manufacturing, commercial business, and our corporate priorities across the life sciences

ecosystem in the UK. Shaun also manages critical relationships with senior Government

representatives, business leaders and industry associations, as well as leading on advocacy

for key policy priorities. As UK Chair he also represents AstraZeneca’s global enterprise,

where we support and leverage the UK's unique diplomatic and economic networks to

improve trade and international cooperation in life sciences. Additionally, Shaun chairs the

UK Leadership Team, the UK Employee Forum and the UK Inclusion and Diversity working

group.

Before becoming the Chair of AstraZeneca UK, Shaun led the company’s business

development function where he has worked for over 20 years, and before that was a

member of the legal team working on corporate transactions. Shaun has played a central

role in almost every major business development activity during his time with the company,

including the merger of Astra and Zeneca, the acquisition of Cambridge Antibody

Technology (CAT), and later MedImmune and Amylin, and the buy-out of Bristol-Myers’

Squibb’s interest in the AstraZeneca-BMS Diabetes Alliance. More recently, Shaun led the

transaction team for AstraZeneca’s global ADC collaborations with Daichi Sankyo, and the

acquisition of Gracell, Icosovax and Fusion, as well as the collaboration with Ecogene.

Shaun is a Board member at the BioIndustry Association (BIA) and CBI President’s

Committee, is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cambridge United Football Club, and a

Board member at Cambridge Arts Theatre, and at Prostate Cancer Research, as well as an

Honorary Fellow at The University of Cambridge Judge Business School and Lucy

Cavendish College Cambridge.

A molecular bioscientist, Kathryn’s career has spanned diverse leadership and strategic roles across the public and private sectors.

Following a research career at the University of Manchester, Harvard Medical School, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and GlaxoSmithKline, Kathryn has played a pivotal role in shaping innovation landscapes, building cross-disciplinary virtual and physical communities and creating novel models to remove barriers to success.

This includes a decade building and leading the innovation strategy for NC3Rs, a UKRI Research Council where Kathryn founded and directed a new challenge-led open innovation platform, CRACK IT which increases cross-discipline and cross-sector industry/academic partnerships in applied research. Kathryn also co-established the Milner Therapeutics Institute at the University of Cambridge, providing a physical hub for translational science and collaboration between industry and academia. The Institute is a centre of excellence for target validation through artificial intelligence, machine-learning, functional genomics and tool compound analyses. Most recently, prior to joining Innovate Cambridge, Kathryn directed the innovation strategy at the Babraham Research Campus, launching LiveLabs incubator space and leading the Campus accelerator, entrepreneurship and innovation activities.

Throughout these roles. Chapman’s focus has been on spearheading initiatives that propel startups, entrepreneurs and businesses towards success and driving meaningful change at a national and international level.

Colin is a Deputy Director of Research Infrastructure in the Office for Life Sciences in DHSC/DSIT. He leads the Government’s work ensuring that the UK’s health research landscape supports the life sciences sector, with particular emphasis on genomics, healthcare data, AI, preclinical trials and cancer. During his career he has worked in a variety of roles including strategy development, project management, operations management, communications and policy. Much of his work has been related to homeland security, including serious and organised crime, counter terrorism and border control, but he has also worked on animal testing regulation and digitisation of the UK’s passport system. 

Marika Amartey is the Head of the Science and Innovation Office for the Swedish Ministry of Climate and Enterprise at the Embassy of Sweden in London, building and managing strategic collaboration between Sweden and the UK in the areas of research, innovation and higher education. Marika was seconded national expert to the European Commission in Brussels at the Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, managing multi-national research and innovation collaboration projects, as well as projects for individual researchers and SMEs. Previously Marika worked as a management and technical consultant in the private sector in the Baltic and Benelux regions, covering areas of strategic business development, market expansion and global sales growth. Marika has a seat at the bilateral working group for the MoU for the Life Sciences between Sweden and UK, is an active evaluator and reviewer for the European Commission Expert Management Team, and is an executive board member for the Society of Swedish Engineers in the UK. She holds an M.Sc. in Economics and Public Administration and speaks Swedish, English and French.

I am a lifescience transactional lawyer advising on both corporate and IP deals. On the corporate side these including VC and PE investment, joint ventures, pharma asset divestment and cross-border structured M&A deals. In the transactional IP field I enjoy structured licensing, strategic partnering, co-operative research and development and drug supply. Transactions which involve both equity and IP monitorisation are of particular interest including asset centric group structuring projects.

I'm passionate about the life sciences sector and have an D.Phil. in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford.

I am a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, a fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and I sit on a number of advisory committees of the Bioindustry Association. My pro bono work includes chairing the Friends of the Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum and supporting a number of lifescience startups.

Prior to joining Fieldfisher, I spent 14 years at another international law firm, where I was head of the life science and healthcare group.

In my spare time I enjoy allotment gardening, the opera and turning my hand to gentle engineering projects.

Sue is a Real Estate Development Lawyer at Fieldfisher LLP, advising on some of the UK’s most significant regeneration and redevelopment schemes including the World Leading Cambridge Biomedical Campus. Sue works with a number of life sciences businesses in delivery of their premises and has detailed and specialist knowledge of delivery of mixed laboratory, manufacture, treatment and office facilities

Sue is noted in the Legal 500 “Technically Excellent”

Sue has long standing and strong connections with the British Swedish Business Community and is the Midlands Chapter Chair for the SCC.