Professor Mark Ferguson

Chairman of the European Innovation (EIC) Board; former Director General, Science Foundation Ireland; former Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of Ireland; former founder and CEO of Renovo Ltd and Renovo Group plc

Mark is Chairman of the European Innovation Council (EIC) Board. He was Director General of the Science Foundation of Ireland and Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of Ireland. He has written and spoken extensively on the complexities of migrating to renewable energy, and he remains optimistic and driven in the pursuit of Net Zero.

He was co-founder and CEO of the Biotechnology company Renovo developing novel pharmaceuticals to prevent scarring and accelerate healing, based on patented discoveries from his University research laboratory.

He built the company from 2 to 200 employees, raised £32M in private equity, and floated on the London Stock Exchange. Previously Professor and Dean of Biological Sciences at The University of Manchester, Mark is the recipient of numerous international research prizes and awards including the 2002 European Science Prize.

He has served on numerous international committees on research and innovation including Chair of the EIC pilot Advisory Board.