Judging line-up revealed for East of England Investment Catalyst
Four business experts will be casting their eye over the best of the Eastern region's tech sector as judges on the new East of England Investment Catalyst programme.
Launched last month, the Investment Catalyst will see a cohort of the region’s most exciting tech companies given the chance to pitch their ideas to some of the country’s leading business investors at an exclusive event to be held at Barclays’ Rise London venue in November. The application process is open now.
A team of expert judges will be tasked with assessing the shortlisted applicants and selecting the best companies for this final stage, and the first four names to join the panel have been revealed.
The judges (clockwise from top): Chand Chudasama, Sally Goodsell, Dr Michael Anstey and Danielle Rubin
Dr Michael Anstey is a partner at investment fund Cambridge Innovation Capital, specialising in life science investments.
He has experience in advising multinational healthcare businesses across North America, Europe, India, and Japan on a broad range of topics, including corporate strategy, sales and marketing, market access, R&D strategy, and M&A.
Michael was also co-founder and COO of an early stage biotechnology company focused on developing small molecule drugs that target protein-protein interactions implicated in disease.
He has previously worked in venture capital, where he focused on investing in early stage healthcare and life science businesses.
Chand Chudasama is a partner in the strategic corporate finance team at Price Bailey.
He and his team engineer how to grow the value and performance of ambitious corporates, funds and disrupters. They achieve this by raising, re-allocating and deploying capital into M&A, global growth and performance improvement in order to drive the shareholder returns in client businesses. He and his team operate as strategic advisors, analysts and lead advisors on transactions.
Chand has experience of working in over 40 countries, owns his own manufacturing and eCommerce business based in Norwich and has invested in several startups.
Sally Goodsell is a director of Anglia Capital Group. She was CEO of the FSE Group for ten years, where she oversaw £100m of investment into early-stage businesses, before spending four years as a director of a leading international business angel crowdfunding platform. In 2008, she founded the UK’s first business angel network that specialised in investments in female-led businesses. She continues to mentor and coach businesses, and is an angel investor.
Danielle Rubin is head of region for Barclays Eagle Labs in London and the South. Barclays network of Eagle Labs supports individuals, businesses and corporates to innovate and grow, across a broad range of different sectors and with varied capabilities. By leveraging local specialisms and introducing structured programming, Eagle Labs are helping drive innovation and transformation across industry sectors, through collaborations with industry-leading corporates, universities and start ups.
How to apply
The Tech Corridor has organised the Investment Catalyst, working with partners Anglia Capital Group, Barclays Eagle Labs, Invest East, New Anglia LEP and Price Bailey.
It is specifically targeting established high-growth companies looking for post-seed/Series-A investments. Companies from sectors such as life sciences, med-tech, digital/ICT, agri-tech, engineering/manufacturing and logistics from across the region are encouraged to apply.
Successful applicants will need to demonstrate a track record of previous fund raising, proof of market and a growth strategy. The companies will receive help and advice on preparing their investment documents and honing their pitches, before presenting to the judging panel, who will select the best business to progress to the final on November 26.
To apply, or for more details on the programme, visit www.investmentcatalyst.co.uk.
