We help aspiring PhD founders realise their potential and create long-term impact

The team

Dr Riam Kanso

Chief Executive Officer

Agata Zborowska

Chief Operations Officer

Carrie Baptist

Chief Strategy Officer

Dr Richard Anson

Deeptech Academic Lead

Olivia Ash

Programme & Portfolio Manager

Polly Groves

HQ & Programme Support Manager

Rodolfo Rosini

Entrepreneur in Residence

Aurora Percannella

Head of Content & Editorial

Artie Rice-Oxley

Operations & Events Assistant

Our Academic Advisory Board

Professor Michael Capaldi

Dean of Innovation and Business, Newcastle University

Professor David Chapman

Professor of Entrepreneurship Education, UCL School of Management

Pam Garside

Fellow of Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, and Angel Investor

Professor Thomas Hellmann

Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford

Professor Ramana Nanda

Professor of Entrepreneurial Finance, Imperial College London

Martin Stow

Pro-Vice Chancellor for Business Engagement and Enterprise, University of Leeds

Professor Chris Taylor

Associate Vice President, Digital Strategy and Innovation, University of Manchester

Dr Phil Clare

CEO, Queen Mary Innovation Ltd

Professor Wai Lok Woo

Head of Research for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, University of Northumbria

Professor Tyrone S. Pitsis

Professor of Strategy & Technology, Durham University Business School

The coaches

Ville Vesterinen

Angel investor & co-founder of Slush

Nick Slater

Partner, Twin Path Ventures

Pete Blake

Partner, Sapphire & Steel

Matt Wichrowski

General Partner, Fly Ventures

Aleksandra Pedraszewska

AI Safety, ElevenLabs &
co-founder, VividQ

Amrit Sami

Investor, Mercia Ventures

John Tang

AI Investor, Executive & Coach

Professor Wai Lok Woo

Head of Research for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, University of Northumbria

Professor Tyrone S. Pitsis

Professor of Strategy & Technology, Durham University Business School

Meet our Board of Directors

Conception X is leading the way...

on how the UK creates value from science, enabling and supporting the next generation of scientists to create companies from their research.

Dr Alastair Moore

Associate Professor at UCL School of Management & Partner at The Building Blocks

Conception X is one of the best...

ways we can support the creation of teams that will build high-tech businesses out of the incredible research carried out by PHD students in our universities.

Dr Steven Roberts

Barclays UK Head of Culture and Chief Scientific Adviser

Our Partners

Our three-year partnership with XTX Ventures supports outstanding founders from leading UK institutions focusing on transformative areas of deeptech – including AI, quantum computing, robotics and biotech – with a typical cheque size of £100,000. Full press release here

Our Northern Deeptech Hub supports the next generation of PhD founders in the North East in partnership with:

We are proud to collaborate with the following universities and academic institutions across the UK and Europe: