Edinburgh Innovations, the University of Edinburgh’s commercialisation service, announced the appointment of two new non-executive directors to its board — Gary McRae and John Cassidy.
McRae is former corporate director at Laird plc, who transformed startup Laird Technologies into an electronic component global business with annual revenues in excess of £1 billion, 17,000 employees and facilities across Europe, the Americas and Asia.
He currently holds non-executive director posts at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and SAS International and is Interim Senior Governor at the University of Aberdeen.
Cassidy is a founder turned investor, with 15 years’ experience in drug development. As a PhD student from the University of Cambridge, he founded a precision oncology spinout and later scaled it in Silicon Valley. He is currently a general partner at Kindred Capital, investing in seed-stage deep tech companies.
The pair join eight other board members, including Catherine Martin, Vice Principal of the Corporate Services Group at the University of Edinburgh and Liz Baggs, acting Vice Principal of Research and Innovation. Chair of the board is Frank Armstrong, who joined in June 2025, following a long career in the pharmaceutical industry.
New statistics revealed a strong year for Edinburgh Innovations during 2024-25, including:
- 64 company launches, including 55 student startups, five staff startups and four staff spinouts (where the University retains intellectual property)
- £113 million secured in funding from industry or for research with commercial potential
- £113 million invested into the university’s portfolio of associated companies, managed by in-house venture investment team Old College Capital
- 172 patents filed to protect new technologies
- 62 licences entered into for companies to use university technologies
Edinburgh Innovations CEO Andrea Taylor said: “We are delighted to have been able to attract such a wealth industry and ventures experience to our Board to provide robust corporate governance and help shape our ambitious strategy for the year ahead.
“Universities have huge potential to unlock research excellence to create social and economic benefits regionally and beyond, and we have seen this through our companies, technologies and partnerships this year. Examples include spinout Trogenix, which is targeting aggressive cancers; a collaborative research project to turn plastic waste into paracetamol, and student startup MiAlgae, which is creating new green jobs.
“Steered by an able and experienced Board, working in partnership with the University, EI looks forward to a powerful year of innovation and impact in 2026.”
Armstrong said: “I am convinced that innovation has the power to drive change in the world. The university has cutting-edge research and world class researchers. Edinburgh Innovations is the partner that can facilitate the impact of research and make ideas work for a better world.”