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Get Inspired at "Bridges to Consulting"

Please don’t forget to register to attend NBI’s Northern Biotech Consulting Case Competition launch event titled, “Bridges to Consulting.” This event is the official preamble to the summer competition and will provide a gentle introduction to what consulting as a career may look like, the types of challenges consultants are faced with, and some strategies on how to solve real-world case studies. NBI has invited a series of consultants with a diverse range of experience to speak about their professional trajectories, as well as share their expertise in solving real world strategic challenges.


Full details about how to enter the Northern Biotech Consulting Case Competition will be revealed at this preamble event. So, please attend to learn more. Current graduate students from northern UK institutions beyond Manchester (Durham, Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield and York) are highly encouraged to enquire about competition details.


When: Friday, 6th May 2016 at 4:00PM

Where: University Place (Room 2.220), The University of Manchester (M13 9PL)

Refreshments and nibbles will be provided during the networking reception following the event.



NBI has invited the following series of experienced consultants to share their stories:

Dr Alastair Selby

SciMed Consultancy Ltd, Managing Director

Alastair has been working as a Regulatory Affairs Consultant in the Medical Device, Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology industries since leaving academia in 2012. He began his career at an international public safety consulting and training organisation where he specialised in medical device regulatory and scientific work, going on to act as a consultant, trainer, conference speaker and technical and expert opinion writer.


Since starting his own consultancy practice in July 2015, he has utilised his knowledge of academic research and medical device regulatory expectations to work with research spin-outs and small to medium enterprises to develop their regulatory processes and documentation both locally in the North-West and internationally.

Dr Mark Powell

Mark Powell is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) with over twenty-five years’ experience as an analytical chemist. He is currently Honorary Treasurer of the RSC’s Analytical Division and leads a working group on continuing professional development. After completing a PhD in analytical chemistry, he worked at a senior level in a number of industrial laboratories with responsibility for the development of analytical methods capable of quantifying very low levels of organic compounds in a wide range of different sample types. These included pharmaceutical raw materials, drinking water, industrial effluent and marine biota.


Mark joined Liverpool John Moores University’s School of Pharmacy and Chemistry in 1997 as a Senior Lecturer, teaching chromatography, mass spectrometry and sample preparation. He was Programme Leader for the University’s MSc in Instrumental Chemical Analysis and was also active in research and consultancy. In 2003, he joined the newly-formed Quay Pharmaceuticals, a contract research and manufacturing organisation specialising in early-stage drug development, where he set up the analytical facility and managed the analytical development programme. The majority of projects involved novel small drug molecules presented in solid oral dosage forms, although nasal and transdermal products were also formulated.


In 2010 Mark was appointed Quay’s Scientific Manager, becoming involved more generally with drug development programmes and establishing collaborations with a number of UK universities and instrument manufacturers. Mark left Quay Pharmaceuticals in September 2013 to set up Mark Powell Scientific and has since worked with companies of all sizes around the world on a variety of training, consultancy and expert witness assignments.

Mr Adam Levy

Consultants Eye Partnership Manchester, Managing Partner

Adam Levy is an experienced biotechnology executive. Initially a transplantation scientist within a VC-funded start-up, he led post-merger integration upon sale to Novartis, where he worked for a further 2 years before completing his MBA at Insead, Paris. Subsequently responsible for licensing within a VC-funded UK start-up in the medical device field, Adam executed licensing transactions with a value in excess of $400m, and was part of the IPO team completing the largest biotech listing on the London Stock Exchange.


After leaving Weston Medical, Adam led an expedition to the Geographic North Pole, and upon his return has specialised in the growth of small independent technology companies, founding companies in the UK and Switzerland. Mid-stage trials are underway in Alzheimer’s Disease and in immuno-therapy.


Adam describes himself as ‘not a consultant’.

Mr Mario Castro

Google Digital Garage Manchester, Digital Marketing Consultant

From Portugal to Brazil, US and UK markets, Mario has been working with companies from small business to multinational corporations. Digital Marketing is his expertise but he’s been working in multiple areas of different projects, products and services.


Mr. Castro is passionate about business challenges and people. His quest is to make a difference for everyone he works with. He believes in getting to know not just the industries and topics he covers, but also the unique personalities that populate them.

Dr Mike Arundale

Manchester Business School, Lecturer in Strategy

Mike is an alumnus of Alliance Manchester Business School and joined the academic staff in December 2013 as a lecturer in Management (Strategy).


Prior to joining Alliance MBS Mike worked for nearly 20 years in management, project management and consultancy in the public, private and charitable sectors. In 1995 he joined United Utilities plc, initially as a graduate trainee and then as a marketing manager. Over a period of 5 years, he gained direct management experience of operations, customer services, marketing, human resources and asset management across the water, power and telecoms businesses. In 2001, Mike changed career to work as a senior consultant/project manager for SQW Ltd economic development consultants. He then set up his own consultancy business, providing independent consultancy, project management and interim management services primarily to the regeneration and charitable sectors, in line with his general interests in social and environmental change.


Mike has maintained links with MBS over the years and prior to joining the staff worked as an external supervisor for consultancy projects on the MBA. He also provides management and organisational design consultancy to UK charities. He is chair of the Boaz Trust, a Manchester-based charity serving destitute asylum-seekers, and a trustee of ‘Home', an independent cafe and community hub in Didsbury.



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