CEO Alan Aubrey and CIO Mike Townend are stepping down today, although both will remain employees for six months and consultants thereafter.
IP Group, the UK-based commercialisation firm, today announced the retirement of its chief executive Alan Aubrey and chief investment officer Mike Townend.
While they are stepping down effective immediately, both will remain employees until April 6, 2022, and as consultants for a minimum period of 12 months thereafter to guarantee a smooth transition.
Greg Smith, chief financial officer of IP Group, has been promoted to chief executive, while chief operating officer David Baynes will add finance to his remit and become chief financial and operating officer.
The departure of Aubrey and Townend follows the successful flotation of Oxford Nanopore last week. Shares in the spinout opened at £5.80 ($7.93) this morning, having consistently stayed significantly above the initial public offering price.
IP Group traces its roots back to 2000 when investment bank Beeson Gregory signed an agreement with University of Oxford’s chemistry department before setting up a subsidiary initially known as IP2IPO.
Among the key people helping to launch IP Group were David Norwood, who would later also be an instrumental player in the creation of Oxford Science Enterprises.
The firm listed on Aim in 2003, having added University of Southampton and King’s College London to its list of partners.
It continued to grow both through signing more partnerships and through acquiring peers such as Fusion IP, Parkwalk Advisors, Top Technology Ventures, Techtran and Touchstone Innovations.
Aubrey joined IP Group in 2005, followed by Townend in 2007. During their leadership, not only were they responsible for some of the biggest acquisitions – most notably, perhaps, the hostile takeover of Touchstone Innovations – but also for creating divisions in the US, Australia and China.
IP Group’s portfolio value increased more than 28-fold during Aubrey’s tenure to more than £1.2bn and it contains several unicorns.
Aubrey said: “Following the successful flotation of Oxford Nanopore Technologies on the London Stock Exchange, this felt a natural moment to step back. It has been a privilege and an honour to build and lead the team at IP Group and I am proud of all that has been achieved during this time.
“The group is in great shape with a strong balance sheet, a portfolio of exciting growth technology companies and opportunities and I am confident that it will go from strength to strength under Greg’s leadership.
“I look forward to continuing working with IP Group in a different capacity going forward and continuing to support the team in the future.”
Thierry Heles
Thierry Heles is the editor of Global University Venturing, host of the Beyond the Breakthrough interview podcast and responsible for the monthly GUV Gazette (sign up here for free).
