Taylor takes over from Baxter at Edinburgh Innovations

Edinburgh Innovations, the commercialisation arm of the University of Edinburgh, has selected Andrea Taylor, currently the director of strategic partnerships, as interim chief executive effective at the end of this month.

Taylor will replace George Baxter, who has accepted a position as chief innovation and economic development officer at the University of California, Davis.

Taylor has been with Edinburgh Innovations since 2017 when she joined as a business development manager before a promotion to head of business development in 2018 and to director of strategic partnerships in 2021.

During her time with the office, she has been responsible for high-profile initiatives such as beLAB1407, a partnership with drug discovery company Evotec to accelerate early-stage drug development.

Earlier in her career, she worked for the national economic development agency Scottish Enterprise and was the head of inward investment at Edinburgh Bioquarter.

Taylor has appeared on the Beyond the Breakthrough podcast three times, leading discussions around celebrating innovation, building ecosystems and developing future tech transfer leaders.

She said: “I am delighted to take on the opportunity of interim CEO of Edinburgh Innovations. We have a fantastic team at EI that has already supported the university to achieve record levels of innovation and commercialisation under the leadership of George Baxter.

“Innovation and entrepreneurship have never been a more integrated part of the university, and the opportunities for multi-stakeholder engagement and partnership are greater than ever. Along with the support of the whole leadership team, I will be looking ahead to capitalise on significant opportunities across the innovation landscape.”