Simon Bond

Simon Bond is Innovation Centre Director for Bath Ventures, the University of Bath's commercialisation group. As part of the SETsquared partnership of the universities of Bath, Bristol, Southampton and Surrey, the Innovation Centre helps accelerate the development of technology-based start-up companies both from the University's research base and from the private sector. Simon is also the founder of Silicon South West, a network of 1,300 of the region's semiconductor designers and engineers; the Low Carbon South West network of over 1,000 environmental technologists; and the open Mobile Innovation Camp, a network for mobile device application developers. He has 18 years experience as a communications & public affairs professional with companies including AT&T, BT, Huawei, Marconi, NYNEX, Lucent Technologies & Telewest.

David Richards
Entrepreneur in Residence

David Richards is a Non-Executive Director and Mentor to high technology start-ups.

The ventures he has advised range from Netscape to NetStore. He has over 30 years experience of both the hardware and software markets, having firstly held senior technical roles at Marconi and then Racal, and subsequently senior commercial roles at Intergraph, Sun Microsystems, and Paul Allen's Asymetrix.

Dave has worked in the UK, Europe, California's Silicon Valley and the Pacific Rim. David's principal expertise is product marketing. He was previously a Mentor to the DTI's Software Business Network. He has been working with VC's and Business Angels since the late 1980's.

Heather Smith

Heather is a very experienced manager who has worked for a wide range of companies in the private sector before moving into the one of the new Training and Enterprise Councils in Greater Manchester where she developed their European Funding streams to cover the declining heavy industries in the North West.

She successfully project managed three large and two smaller projects before becoming Operations Manager of the TEC's Management Consultancy off-shoot with a view to separating this out from the TEC's main focus on Education and Training before the work became integrated into The Learning and Skills Council.

She continues to be focused on the special needs of start-up companies and the process required for them to be nurtured and show sustainable growth. To this end, the SETsquared concept fits central to her experence and focus.

Pinar Turgut-Onions

Pinar has been part of the Innovation Team working in the SETsquared Innovation Centre in Bath since April 2008.

Prior to this, she had considerable experience in customer service, having worked for:

-  a Government bank as a customer service officer;
-  high-end technology based company as a managing
   assistant;
-  five star hotel as a customer service representative; and
-  her family background is in retail.

Pinar has a Degree with Honours from the Department of Educational Communications and Planning from Anatolian University, which was chosen "University of the Year" in 2008 in Turkey.

She also holds a Certificate from the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) in 2007-2008 from Bristol College, Business and Management.

Cathy Whiley

Cathy has worked as a senior PA both in local government and business and industry.

For the past ten years Cathy has run a team of PAs and Secretaries at Wiltshire Council at the same time supporting the Corporate Director responsible for Environmental Services, covering many aspects of the local infrastructure which include: Economic Development, Highways Maintenance, Public Transport, Trading Standards, Highway and Transport Planning and Waste and Recycling, dealing with MPs, Councillors and local dignitaries as well as being the buffer between them and the general public. 

Cathy has supported the Director through many major projects, the latest of which was helping to ensure the smooth running of the merger and transition of four district councils and one county council to become a unitary authority.