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Cambridge Enterprise, the University’s commercialisation group, has announced the appointment of Dr Anne Dobrée as Head of Seed Funds, effective 31 March 2011.
Anne joined the Seed Funds team as Access to Capital and Investment Manager at the start of 2008, focusing on the development of the Discovery Fund and biotechnology investments. She had previously worked for Cambridge Enterprise in a variety of roles including Interim Director and Head of Technology Transfer. Anne was a founding member of Praxis, the UK Technology Transfer Training Programme.
Away from Cambridge Enterprise, Anne has worked in technology transfer at Imperial Innovations, in pharmaceutical development at Evans Medical and in pharmaceutical product training at Information Transfer. She holds a BSc in Medical Microbiology and a PhD in Immunology.
Anne has been a vital member of the Cambridge Enterprise team for many years. Her keen eye for quality investment opportunities, and her support for our young and established portfolio companies, will help ensure the continued success of companies based on University research.
Teri Willey
Cambridge Enterprise invests intellectual property and cash to create successful new ventures and currently holds equity in 72 companies across a wide range of sectors.
The Seed Funds team manages three early stage ‘evergreen’ seed funds on the University’s behalf: The University Venture Fund, founded in 1995, the University Challenge Fund, founded in 2000, and the University of Cambridge Discovery Fund, founded in 2008 as part of the Cambridge 800th Anniversary Campaign.
Since 1995, the three funds have made 55 investments, of which 52 were in new technology companies and three in other early stage funds. Companies from all three University evergreen funds have raised over £600 million in grants and follow-on funding to date, leveraging the original investment 75x. In 2010, these companies had a turnover of £175 million and employed over 1,700 people. More than half of the companies now have products on the market.
Companies from all three University evergreen funds have raised over £600 million in grants and follow-on funding to date
“Anne has been a vital member of the Cambridge Enterprise team for many years,” said Teri Willey, Chief Executive of Cambridge Enterprise. “Her keen eye for quality investment opportunities, and her support for our young and established portfolio companies, will help ensure the continued success of companies based on University research.”
Anne takes over from Dr Geraldine Rodgers, who is retiring after close to 20 years at the University of Cambridge.
Photo credit: Green organic sprouts growth by Pawel Pacholec via Flickr
Image: Green organic sprouts growth by Pawel Pacholec via Flickr