September 2002
News

Sir Christopher Benson appointed Chairperson of AGT

The high-profile and vastly experienced businessman Sir Christopher Benson has been appointed Chairman of University of Bradford spin-out company Advanced Gel Technology (AGT).

Sir Christopher was previously Chairman of the highly successful University spin-out company Bradford Particle Design Ltd (bpd), which was sold to the American giant Inhale for $200 million in January 2001. His appointment as Chairman of AGT will be in a non-executive capacity and will help consolidate the skills and expertise of the existing board.

In December 2001, Sir Christopher received a Doctorate at the University of Bradford in recognition of his contributions to UK Plc which promotes University-Industry links. As Chairman of Bradford Particle Design Ltd, he played a key role in extracting full value from the talents within the Bradford School of Pharmacy in conjunction with the spin-out company's development.

Outgoing Chairman Gordon Feather who has been in post from AGT's outset, has been appointed Chief Executive. This new and full-time role will enable him to concentrate on managing the business and setting and implementing strategies which maximise the potential of the company's wide and innovative range of developments. Currently AGT is focusing its efforts on a range of applications in the oil industry.

Gordon said: "We welcome Sir Christopher's appointment, which we feel will bring significant experience and expertise to AGT's management. Sir Christopher's appointment will help us to take the business to the next level of growth and enable us to be better placed in developing our financial strategies."

Advanced Gel Technology was spun-out of the University two years ago with the support of the start-up specialists Acceleris Corporate Ventures. The business was based on a revolutionary patented hydrogel technology discovered by University researchers Dr Donald Eagland and Dr Nicholas Crowther, both of whom are AGT Board members.

next

top of page