Established in 2014 to advance Industrial Biotechnology (IB) in Scotland, IBioIC is a key driver of Scotland’s National Plan for IB, facilitating collaboration, providing scale-up capabilities, creating networks, and developing skills and training provisions.

Annelie joins IBioIC from Ethicon — the Johnson & Johnson subsidiary focusing on surgical technologies — where she was responsible for business development and managing sales.

She also has a background in biochemistry and microbiology, bringing experience from previous roles with Medtronic UK and Nikon. In these positions, she focused on biological imaging systems for biotech companies, universities, and the NHS.

In her new senior business engagement manager role at IBioIC, Annelie will help businesses in the Highlands and Islands to develop and adopt biotechnology processes and products across the food and drink, textiles, and marine sectors.

She will work closely with Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) — the region’s development agency — to support businesses with research and development, and raise awareness of the funding opportunities available to them.

The Highlands and Islands region is a core focus for IBioIC, with its unique landscape providing an abundance of natural resources, such as seaweed and timber. Recently, the Innovation Centre secured a £99,000 grant from the Marine Scotland Fund to boost its seaweed processing capabilities.

On the appointment, Annelie said: “I’m excited to join IBioIC and bring the benefits of industrial biotechnology to more businesses in the Highlands and Islands.

“The innovation centre’s network presents lots of opportunities to build a greener Scotland and connecting relevant research teams with industry partners can help take that one step further.

“The timing is also ideal as we look ahead to our annual conference in March, which will be a valuable opportunity to connect with our members in-person and collaborate towards net zero targets.”

Recommended

• Why are Ransomware Profits Falling?
• FDM Joins Microsoft Learn Career Connected Programme
• Research: Gen-Z Women Lack Tech Role Models, Support

CEO of IBioIC, Mark Bustard, also commented: “Annelie is an excellent addition to the business engagement team.

“Having managed a number of projects within the medtech industry, her experience lends itself well to some of the key sectors in the Highlands and Islands, including life sciences and marine biotech.

“We look forward to working with her as we continue to grow the bioeconomy in Scotland, helping companies to embrace new technologies and processes.”

Annelie’s appointment comes five months after Andrew Bowen, who’s ex-Oxford University Innovation, also joined IBioIC as a senior business engagement manager, and is responsible for setting up and leading the Biotech Innovators Accelerator programmes.

It was also announced last month that the total investment of IBioIC and its partners in green skills — supporting both biotech research initiatives and Scotland’s transition to net zero — had reached £25m.