As you may know at the 135th SCI AGM seven Members were elected to join the Board of Trustees, of which two are new. The new members are Dr Jan Ramakers and Dr David Witty. They are also joined by Mr Maarten Heybroek who has recently been invited to join as a co-opted trustee.
Dr Ramakers joins the Board of Trustees with a wealth of experience in R&D, marketing, business development and strategy. Having worked for a variety of companies around the world – ranging from start-ups and university spin-offs to Multinationals, Jan has gained extensive knowledge of the chemical industry, the drivers of science and innovation, and about avoiding hurdles on route to success. He currently runs Jan Ramakers Fine Chemical Consulting Group, in 1999, focusing on the global fine chemicals market.
Jan also serves on the Chemical Sciences Scotland Leadership Group, the CPhI Advisory Board and as a Non-Executive Director of CelluComp. He is a GlobalScot and an associate of a number of leading consulting and M&A companies.
Dr Ramakers has been a member for the last eleven years.
Dr Witty worked as a chemist in pharmaceutical research for some thirty years, leading teams investigating infective, metabolic and neurological diseases, creating graduate training courses and pioneering the introduction of new technologies. David is an entrepreneur and in 2010 he helped raise $35M to co-found Convergence Pharmaceuticals, where he led successful pain discovery research, manufacturing and operation activities, culminating in its acquisition by Biogen in 2015.
A member of SCI since the 1990s, Dr Witty has served in all elected offices of the Fine Chemicals Group, including chair from 2013-2015. He has also worked on the MAC finance task group and, with secretariat support, created widely adopted event planning guidelines.
Mr Heybroek joins the Board of Trustee with extensive experience in the Global Chemical Sector, having worked for companies such as Akzo, Unilever and most recently Croda. Maarten is a Members of the Group’s Executive and is the President Global Performance Technologies with responsibility for six of Croda’s business units. Maarten has previously held senior position in sales, marketing, R&D and business management.
Mr Heybroek has also served as President of APAG – European Oleochemical Industry Association
I look forward to working with all our Trustees and Committee Members as we continue to build on our unique position of working at the interface between science and industry, conducting a range of activities that focus on supporting innovation and the commercialisation of science.
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