Discovery Decade Advisory Board

Kim has 30 years’ experience in the Media industry, running commercial companies for EndemolShine, as Controller of BBC2 and BBC4, and as Head of Commissioning for Science and Natural History. Alongside creating multi-award winning content from Blue Planet II to Horrible Histories, Kim was the architect of the BBC’s Year of Science and Make it Digital campaigns. A long-standing champion for research and innovation, Kim has been a trustee at NESTA and EngineeringUK, sits on the board of the Raspberry Pi foundation, and is a Non-Exec Director at Natural Environment Research Council and Natural England.

Luke joined More in Common from policy and research agency Public First, where he had a particular focus on public opinion research in the Midlands and North of England. Prior to that he worked in the Education sector as Director of the New Schools Network, Director of Strategy at Ofsted, and Special Adviser to the Education Secretary. He also worked as Head of Education at the charity Stonewall, leading their ground-breaking campaign to tackle homophobic bullying in schools.

Stephen has been the Chief Executive Officer of the Glasgow Science Centre since 2012. Stephen’s background is in engineering and he holds a BEng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Electrical Engineering, both from the University of Strathclyde.

Dr Beth Thompson is Wellcome’s interim Chief Strategy Officer, responsible for the work of the strategy and programme office, government relations and strategic partnerships, policy, and transition and legacy teams.

Beth has stepped into this role from leading Wellcome’s global policy work across discovery research, mental health, infectious disease and climate. Prior to this she led UK & EU policy and advocacy activities, covering issues including Brexit and research culture.

In 2017 Beth was awarded an MBE for services to science for successfully advocating against amendments to the EU General Data Protection Regulation that would have been severely damaging for research.

Beth holds a PhD from the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge and a degree in Natural Sciences (Biochemistry) from the University of Cambridge.

Kerry has held increasingly senior roles in the UK, EU, US for pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare brands, most notably in the complex behaviour change sectors of smoking and weight control. For the past 8 years, she was GSK’s Vice President of Corporate Reputation and Brand, with responsibility for driving corporate reputation and employee engagement. She led hugely successful partnerships including drug testing at the London 2012 Olympics, GSK McLaren Formula 1, Global Charitable Partnerships with Save the Children and Comic Relief and GSK’s STEM strategy to encourage young people into science. In 2021, Kerry founded Corporate Brand Consulting Ltd, supporting companies who want to transform their corporate brand, from the inside out, to drive sustainable growth.

Dan leads marketing and communications at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus. His team focuses on promoting the work of the campus to a wide range of audiences and supporting the Harwellian community to connect and grow. Dan joined from the Wellcome Trust where he led their global campaigns, and has held a range of senior communications, behavioural science, marketing and external affairs roles at organisations including the Department of Health and Social Care, the Cabinet Office and Cancer Research UK.

Alok is a science correspondent for The Economist where he covers everything from climate change to particle physics and coronavirus to AI. He presents the weekly “Babbage” podcast, and writes The Economist’s “Simply Science” newsletter. Before that, he worked as a science correspondent for ITN and the Guardian, covering daily news and current affairs for more than a decade. He has also written and presented multiple TV and radio series for the BBC and podcasts for the Guardian and others. In 2018, he spent a year as a Wellcome fellow, researching storytelling formats for complex topics. He is also the author of three popular science books, including The Water Book.

Alistair’s role includes leadership of governance, communications, development, marketing, legal, inclusion, regulatory compliance and supporting partnerships with federation members. He was Chief Executive of Universities UK (UUK) from 2017 to 2022. Leading the representative body for the UK’s 140 universities – a registered charity and six subsidiary entities – his role included influencing policy, political engagement, strategy and member engagement. Before this, he was UUK’s Deputy Chief Executive and Director of External Relations since 2013. Previously, he was a Director at the University of Birmingham and has also held external engagement roles for national organisations in the public and private sectors. Alistair received a CBE in 2022 for services to Higher Education and Supporting the Higher Education Sector in its response to the Covid-19 crisis. He was educated at the Universities of Kent, Leicester and the Institute of Education, UCL​.

Liz Hutchinson is Director of Communications and Marketing for the British Academy, the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences. She was previously Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Goldsmiths, University of London and has held communications roles in organisations including the Electoral Commission, the General Social Care Council and The Learning Trust. She is a trustee of charities Music for Youth and Bridging Arts and a member of the British Library Advisory Board.

Ravi is the Chief Executive of Nesta, the UK’s innovation agency for social good. Before joining in December 2019, Ravi previously co-founded the Airbel Impact Lab at the International Rescue Committee where he was responsible for designing, testing and scaling products and services for people affected by crisis in over 40 countries. Ravi has held several roles in central and local government, including Director of Strategy at the Department of Energy and Climate Change and strategic advisor to the Foreign Secretary. Ravi is also a Governor of the Health Foundation, and on the board of the Environmental Defense Fund, Europe.

Michelle works with governments, multi-lateral governmental bodies and international development organisations in all aspects of public policy, political advisory and public affairs. She is recognised as an innovator in the use of evidence to inform decision making, and in approaches to programme evaluation. She is an expert in applied behavioural approaches and public communications and is the founder of the WPP Executive Education Programmes in Public Communications and Behaviour Change at the University of Oxford and the National University of Singapore.

Tabitha is an advisor to government, academia and business on all things AI. She’s the Exec Director of Innovate Cambridge, starting a conversation about an ambitious and inclusive innovation vision for The Greater Cambridge Region. Tabitha is also Chair of the UK government’s AI Council and a member of the DCMS Digitial Economy Council. Most recently she co-founded CogX, an app, festival and leadership summit for emerging technology, now a friend supporting the company’s event in the autumn. Tabitha was also the co-founder of video distribution company Rightster (IPO 2011.) Tabitha is the author of How To Talk To Robots – A Girlsguide to a World Dominated by AI.

Tim directs Ulster’s research strategy, governance and administration, and guides its commercial output through knowledge transfer and intellectual property commercialisation. He also holds the position of CEO of Innovation Ulster Ltd, Ulster University’s award-winning venturing and investment company. He is an experienced and skilled member of the Board of both young companies and mature public Institutions, including serving as a Director of many of Ulster’s spin out companies, Invest NI and the Knowledge Transfer Network, and is currently Chair of Young Enterprise NI and trustee of Blick Shared Studios.