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Steve Bates OBE

Chief Executive Officer

What does your role at BIA involve?

Steve Bates is the CEO of the UK Bioindustry Association, the UK’s Trade Association for innovative life science companies with over 550 members. Steve is the visible face of the vibrant UK life sciences industry to government and media. He serves on the UK Government’s Life Sciences Council and the UK Biosecurity Leadership Council. Steve was a founder member of the UK Government’s Vaccine Taskforce in the Covid crisis, sitting on its steering Board alongside Kate Bingham. He is active member and former chair the International Council of Biotech Associations and has been a board member of EuropaBio since 2015.

Previous experience & achievements

Steve has championed, with government, effective industrial incentives like the Biomedical Catalyst, which have crowded in private sector investment into UK SMEs. He is a driving force behind the scale up agenda, spearheading policy agenda to unlock UK pension fund capital into productive UK growth in life sciences. He has forged several links for the sector across the USA, Europe and in China. In his time at the BIA, Steve has developed new member groups focused on cell and gene therapy, genomics and engineered biology. A strong advocate of partnership working, Steve champions sector collaboration with research charities and academia. Proud to lead an organisation with a diverse Board with over 40% female representation, Steve is committed to next generation talent and developing the skills needed for the sector to flourish. Before joining the BIA in 2012, Steve worked for Genzyme and was advisor to the UK Government of Tony Blair working on NHS reform and the Northern Ireland peace process. He was made OBE for services to innovation in 2017 and became a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Science in 2020.

Sam Williams

CEO and Chairman, Istesso Ltd

Sam has over 30 years' experience in the Life Sciences sector as a scientist, company CEO and investment manager. He is currently Managing Partner at IP Group plc., the FTSE 250 investor, where he oversees the group's £400m Life Sciences portfolio. He is founding CEO and Chairman of Istesso Ltd, a Phase 2 drug-discovery company, and has served as founding investor, director and/or chairman of several leading UK private and public biotech businesses, including Diurnal Group plc, Pulmocide Ltd, Genomics plc and Psioxus Ltd. Before founding Istesso, Sam was a top-ranked equity analyst in the City of London covering the biotechnology sector. Sam conducted his PhD and post-doctoral research in the Cambridge laboratory of Nobel Prize winner, Sir Gregory Winter, and he has a degree in biology from Oxford.

Lin Bateson

Co-founder and Chief Executive, BioPartner

Lin Bateson is Co-founder and Chief Executive at BioPartner UK, an independent trade organisation accredited by UK government, that supports UK international trade. It is a source of advice and practical support for UK based life science organisations, providing information about trading overseas, and access to discounts and practical assistance to attend key partnering conferences. Lin has diverse experience in cell biology research, patient centricity, cluster development, B2B partnerships; and has extensive contacts in the bioscience sector. She is the Finance Director at Meeting Mojo, the global SaaS 1:1 online booking system, and at The Event Nest, a technical support and consultancy to the events industry. BioPartner organises the annual Anglonordic Life Science Conference and has worked collaboratively with fellow stakeholders for almost 20 years, to promote and support UK expertise in the life science sector.

Chris Mayo

Head of Primary Markets, Americas, London Stock Exchange

Chris helps companies and investment managers from the Americas access capital through corporate equity and fund listings on London’s public markets. He has 25 years of corporate finance experience in New York and London for Barclays, Salomon Smith Barney, Citi and Schroders and has executed IPOs, financings and M&A transactions in the US and Europe worth tens of billions of dollars. Previously, Chris was the Primary Markets specialist on the technology and life science sectors and was also an investor and Head of Strategy for an early-stage cloud managed services company, which exited to a UK technology company. He holds a First Class Honours Bachelors Degree in International Business and German from Aston University, a Masters Degree in International Affairs from Columbia University and is a CFA Charterholder.

Hannah Williams

Deputy Head of Life Sciences, Biopharmaceuticals, Department for International Trade

Hannah has worked in international trade and investment for the past six years. She was Head of Investment at the British Embassy in Brussels for four years and has been part of the Department for International Trade’s (DIT) Life Sciences team for the past year, where she leads DIT’s work with the biopharmaceutical sector. The team supports inward investment from global pharmaceutical and biotech companies into the UK and supports companies in the UK to access international opportunities, working closely across government on the key policy issues which impact the sector as well as on maximising UK Government visibility at major overseas events.