press releasesToumaz Technology – Executive Directors
Professor Chris Toumazou, Chairman and Chief Technology Officer
Professor Toumazou has made outstanding contributions to the fields of low power analogue circuit design and current mode circuits and systems for radio frequency and biomedical applications. Through his extensive record of research he has invented innovative electronic devices ranging dual mode cellular phones to ultra-low power devices for both medical diagnosis and therapy. Toumazou was made a Professor at Imperial College at 33, one of the youngest ever, in recognition of his outstanding research.
Professor Toumazou is an advisor to many healthcare panels, including the Singapore Government in the field of medical devices. He is a senior Advisor to the Board of Grace Semiconductor in Taiwan, one of the largest Semiconductor Foundries in the World and Senior Advisor to Advanced Nanotech Inc. He is a member of the UK foresight committee on a report for infectious diseases as well as a member of the UK MOD Defence Strategic Advisory Committee on critical technologies. In order to realize the enormous potential of this technology, Toumazou led a campaign to raise £26 million in order to create an Institute of Biomedical Engineering at Imperial College London focusing on Personalised Medicine and Bionanotechnology. This was achieved in 2003 and he became the founding Director of the new Institute.
As a result of this work, Toumazou was invited to deliver the 2003 Royal Society Clifford Patterson prize Lecture, entitled "The Bionic Man", for which he was awarded The Royal Society Clifford Patterson bronze medal. He was recently awarded the IEEE CAS Society Education Award for pioneering contributions to telecommunications and biomedical circuits and systems.
Keith Errey, Chief Executive Officer
Keith Errey is the co-founder of Toumaz Technology Limited and an authority in the early stage commercial development of new technologies, particularly in the context of university spin-outs. Before Toumaz, he founded the technology transfer and management consultancy group, Oxford Synergetics Limited which since 1998 has been working with clients including Oxford Brookes University, Central London Business Link, several start-up companies and Oxtek Limited, the progenitor of Toumaz. Previously he was part of the founding team of Oxford Lasers Limited, an early spin-out from Oxford University having board responsibility initially for Engineering and subsequently for Sales and Marketing. He has worked in engineering positions at Telecom Australia (now Telstra) and the NSW Department of Mines. He holds a BSc from the University of NSW, an MSc in physics from Oxford University and for several years ran the Management for Engineers course at Oxford Brookes University.
Toumaz Technology – Non-executive directors
Serge Grisard
After a short spell in engineering with NASA (Houston, Texas) and Pechiney, Serge Grisard worked in international R&D and business line management for Siemens Medical and Pfizer Hospital Products. From 1992, as a director of strategy for Europe and global product manager at Pfizer Hospital Products International HQ in London, he managed product ranges and the teams behind these from blue print to commercial success. In 1998 he moved to KPMG Strategy Consulting and then Corporate Finance where he eventually took over the Medical Technology leadership in KPMG’s European Life-Sciences Group. Since 2003, Serge has held managing director positions in Swiss-based private equity investment companies with international presence. He often contributes his deep sector knowledge to early stage technology companies in his investment portfolios, and occasionally outside of it. Serge holds a degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Liège (Belgium) and an MBA from the IMD Business School in Lausanne.
Patrick Stephansen
Patrick Stephansen started his career as a merchant banker with Hambros Bank and Scandinavian Bank in the City of London during the 1980s. More recently he has managed private equity and venture investments and was managing director of Mega Pacific Group, an investment holding company, and Glastad Invest Group, a major private Norwegian investment company with offices in London, Oslo and Hong Kong. Patrick has extensive technology investment experience in the Northern European, US and UK markets and has established relationships within the scientific and investment community. Patrick holds an Economics and Business Degree from the University of Brussels.
Ian McWalter
Dr McWalter was most recently President and CEO of Canadian semiconductor manufacturer Gennum Corporation, and brings to his new role over 30 years of experience in the semiconductor and electronics industry – 20 of those gained in senior management positions at Gennum and Nortel. Dr McWalter gained his Ph.D in Electrical Engineering from Imperial College in 1976 and has held board positions with a number of electronics companies and key industry bodies.
Nanoscience Directors
Richard Rose (Non-Executive Chairman)
Richard Rose is currently Executive Chairman of Whittard of Chelsea plc (“Whittard”), the fully listed tea and coffee retailer. Richard joined Whittard, as Chief Executive Officer, in August 2001 from Hagemeyer (UK) Limited, where he was a director, a distributor of professional products and services, with a UK turnover approaching £1 billion through 360 outlets. Between 1993 and 2000 Richard was Chief Executive Officer of WF Electrical Plc, a company quoted on the Official List. WF Electrical Plc was purchased by Hagemeyer (UK) Limited in July 2000. In 2004 Richard received the PLC Award for “Entrepreneur of the Year”.
Professor Christofer Toumazou (Non-Executive Director)
see bio above.
Serge Grisard (Executive Director)
see bio above.
Patrick Stephansen (Executive Director)
see bio above.
Guy Spelman (Executive Director)
Mr. Spelman has held numerous senior positions at several global companies including Managing Director of the Reuters account for BT Global Services and Vice President of IBM Global Services. Mr. Spelman chairs the Group's investment committee and is the principal point of liaison between the Group and its shareholders.
Graham Porter (Non-Executive Director)
Graham Porter has over 26 years of experience in the metal exchange markets. Graham worked as a metal broker in the City of London for 13 years, spending eight of these years with Billiton Enthoven Metal Brokers, before leaving the City in 1991 and moving overseas where he has been based ever since. Graham continues to trade in futures on the metal exchange markets and has made a career in investments. Graham is a director of Global Gaming Technologies plc and non-executive chairman of Corvus Capital Inc., both of which are listed on AIM.
