Tech transfer pioneer Jennings set to retire

Richard Jennings (pictured), a leading figure in UK tech transfer, is set to retire in March as he steps down from the position of deputy director of Cambridge Enterprise, the university’s tech transfer office.

Jennings, who holds a D. Phil in Chemistry from Sussex University, has a career that spans multiple decades at the University. He has had a massive impact on commercialisation at the university, having established numerous university-industry collaborations, spin-outs, licensing deals, and other initiatives linked to getting Cambridge research out into the wider world.

Jennings said: “Working with so many talented people at the interface between academic and industry has been a privilege and pleasure. Negotiating and closing mutually agreeable deals, and contributing to laying the foundations of so many exciting and important initiatives has been very satisfying. In the face of the increasing international significance of research impact, the role has become ever-more important and has a bright future. It has kept me endlessly absorbed.”

Jennings joined the university in 1988 as assistant director for industrial cooperation of the biomedical-focused Wolfson Cambridge Industrial Unit. In 1994, he would become director, and joined the board of the company which would become Cambridge Enterprise. During that period, Jennings was involved in establishing 36 spin-outs, and served as non-executive director on the boards of 12.

In 2000, Jennings was appointed as Cambridge’s director of research policy, before joining Cambridge Enterprise in 2004 when the company was spun-out from the university’s Research Services Division where he oversaw Enterprise’s consultancy division and, later, its tech transfer unit. In 2010, Jennings became Enterprise’s deputy director, and also served as interim director before the appointment of current CEO Tony Raven.

Commenting on Jennings’ career, Raven said: “Richard has been a key figure throughout the university’s journey, from its first tentative steps into knowledge transfer to its being a world leader today. I have particularly valued his knowledge, guidance and sage counsel since joining the Cambridge Enterprise family, and wish him a long and enjoyable retirement after an exceptional career for which we all owe him a huge debt.”