Simon Bond (pictured) is to take the reins of the UK’s top ranked university business incubator Setsquared.
Simon, currently director of Setsquared’s innovation centre at the University of Bath, is building on a long history of working with the incubator, having been involved with Setsquared for 10 of its 11 years in existence. He replaces Graham Harrison, who is moving on to expand his roles at the National Composites Centre and the University of Bristol.
Simon’s appointment comes shortly after the news that the incubator, which represents the universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton, and Surrey, has now incubated over 1,000 businesses and helped raise over £1bn in external fundraising. The incubator is ranked top in the UK and fourth in the world by the University Business Incubator Index.
Sean Fielding, chairman of the Setsquared management board, said: “Simon Bond is a highly respected figure in the Setsquared family and we are delighted that he has accepted the challenge of taking Setsquared on to its next phase. He has unrivalled experience in every element of our work, which will be of huge benefit as he leads us forward.”
Simon added: “I’m passionate about Setsquared and in my experience the partnership has made a very real impact on the UK economy, fostering some of the most exciting high tech start-ups in the country. Businesses within the Setsquared incubator have a higher than average 90% survival rate and often go on to create hundreds of jobs.
“My key areas of focus going forward will be business acceleration, student enterprise, research commercialisation and ensuring that Setsquared builds on its reputation as the best university business incubator in Europe.”
