Paul Thorning,

Professor of IEP

Biography

Paul is a Professor of Innovationand Entrepreneurship Practice and Director of Open Innovation in the Universityof Bradford School of Management. Paul leads the University of BradfordAccelerated Entrepreneurship Programme, which provides opportunities forstudents, researchers, staff and community members to establish and growsuccessful business and social enterprises. Paul also directs the UK-ChinaHealthtech Open Innovation programme, which has secured over £11m forcollaborative research and innovation between UK/EU and Chinese academics,clinicians and companies.

Paul is also a co-founder and CEO of CrystecPharma, a Universityof Bradford technology spin-out company focused on improving the performance ofmedicines, working with industry clients world-wide as well as developing itsown portfolio of differentiated pharmaceutical products. The company hasoperations, joint ventures and strategic partnerships spanning the UK, Europe,Switzerland, China and the US.

Paul has broadtechnical and business experience from the chemical and pharmaceuticalindustry, where he held engineering, research, product development andcommercial roles to executive level. He also has experience of establishing andrunning NGOs and spent three years as a Director of a UN refugee healthprogramme in Tanzania. He has been involved in establishing, growing andexiting several business, has run his own dynamic strategy consulting company,has held executive advisory and board roles in companies, trade associationsand NGOs, and was appointed by the UK government as the National Focal Pointfor Health and Innovation with China.

Paul speaks four languages (and islearning Chinese), holds an MBA, professional membership of the Institute of Marketing,is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of MechanicalEngineers.