David is the Chair of the UK Knowledge Transfer Network Ltd and Agrimetrics Ltd. He is also Deputy Chair of the Science Advisory Board of the Nottingham Synthetic Biology Centre, a Director of the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund and Tropic Biosciences, and a Trustee of the John Innes Foundation. He is a member of both the UK Industrial Biotechnology Leadership Forum and the Nuffield Council for Bioethics. In addition, he consults for a number of early stage start-up companies.
David is a former Non-Executive Director at Syngenta. Prior to that, he was Syngenta’s Head of Research & Development from 2002 to 2009. During his time at Syngenta, he was a member of the investment panel for the joint venture fund established with Life Science Partners, and was instrumental in the creation of Syngenta Ventures. Before joining Syngenta, David held a variety of scientific and management roles in ICI and Zeneca.