About the event

Leah Thompson, Senior Knowledge Exchange Officer in the Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team (KEIT) and the lead for Enterprising Oxford at the University of Oxford, will lead the third event in the Magdalen Means Business series of events at Magdalen College, Oxford. This event will be a discussion around the question “Is Oxford good for entrepreneurship?”

About the panel

Leah works in connecting, promoting and supporting entrepreneurship activities and opportunities across Oxfordshire. In addition, she works on strategic University projects including Women in Enterprise, Innovation Districts, and Social Enterprise. Her background includes a degree in Biology from University of British Columbia (Canada), and a portfolio career involving horticultural consulting, database and website development, and business management.

Phil Clare is the Deputy Director of Research Services (Knowledge Exchange and Engagement) at the University of Oxford. Phil’s responsibilities at Oxford include supporting Knowledge Exchange in all its forms. He works closely with Oxford University Innovation Ltd, the University’s wholly-owned technology transfer company and with the University’s Pro Vice Chancellors for Research and Innovation. He is determined to find more ways to contribute to the growth of Oxford’s Innovation Ecosystem. Within Research Services he is responsible for the Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team, the IP Rights Management Team and the Systems Team.

Emma Palmer Foster is the Strategic Communications Consultant at The Oxford Science Park. As EJ Palmer Consulting she works with pharma and biotech companies/ organisations on strategy, investor relations and communications.

Beth Plant is a third year student at Magdalen College (2017, Human Sciences). In the Long Vac of 2018, she took an internship to Kampala in Uganda where she spent three months consulting on Ugandan run social enterprises and learning about how to run a start-up. By the end of her internship, Beth had founded SAFEBANGLE, an affordable and innovative rape alarm which is also designed to be fashionable. A year on, SAFEBANGLE has been funded by UN Women and partnered with Save the Children.

Gemma Timmons is a 2nd year PPE student (Magdalen) and a co-founder of OX1 Incubator.

R.A. Williams helps entrepreneurs and entrepreneurially minded individuals, teams and organisations to do their best work in her capacity as a business coach and strategy consultant. She holds a First Class Degree in English Language and Literature from Oxford University and credits her three years of independent learning at Magdalen as an important time in the development of her entrepreneurial drive. As well as coaching entrepreneurs, teams and businesses, she has worked in Finance, Strategy Consulting and the non-profit world and co-founded a tech company.