Nigel Harris will join the West of England AHSN as our new Director of Innovation and Growth on Tuesday 19 March 2019. Nigel will be joining us from his current role as Chief Executive of Designability. He has led that organisation since 2009 during which time it has established itself as a regional South West lead for the development of assistive and enabling technology.
Nigel will work alongside current Director of Innovation and Growth, Lars Sundstrom for a few weeks before Lars retires, after being with the AHSN since its inception.
In welcoming Nigel, Lars commented: “I am delighted that Nigel has been appointed to the role and that the AHSN will benefit from all the experience he brings. Nigel is no stranger to Innovation and Growth in the West of England and has been deeply involved in many local growth initiatives.
“I have always been a huge fan of Designability, which in my eyes is one of the jewels in the crown as far as the West of England’s involvement with citizen engagement and innovation is concerned.
“Nigel has done an outstanding job in growing Designability and raising it to the level of a national asset. It’s great that he has accepted the challenge and brings his experience to develop the AHSN further in the next license period. He will have the privilege, as I did, to lead an outstanding team to continue the excellent work they have done to date.”
Nigel also brings more than 25 years of NHS experience in medical research and managerial roles. He is a registered Clinical Scientist and carries out academic research work at the University of Bath and the University of the West of England.
With partners including the West of England AHSN he founded the Assisted Living Action Network (ALAN) in 2010. The objectives of the network are to build up and facilitate new collaborations, to promote knowledge transfer and the uptake of research and create commercial opportunities for products or services.
Posted on January 16, 2019
