Silicon Fen icon Gerald Avison moves upstairs at TTP Group
After 20 years as Chief Executive of TTP Group, Gerald Avison takes over as its Chairman. Dr Avison led the formation of TTP and has guided the company through some difficult times in its early days to the successful company it is today.
Through profits and spin-outs, TTP has generated outstanding returns for shareholders and staff, most of whom are shareholders. This year has seen profits grow by 20%. Dr Avison will be taking over from Keith Humphreys, who is retiring as chairman after nine years.
Dr Avison is well regarded in Cambridge as a key player in the development of the so-called Cambridge phenomenon - the development of a now self-sustaining cluster of high tech companies around the old market town that is home to the University of Cambridge, where world-leading research is undertaken.
Peter Taylor becomes Chief Executive. He is one of the founders of TTP and has been a TTP Group Director and Managing Director of The Technology Partnership, the technology product development business of TTP, for six years. Before that he led the growth of the scientific half of The Technology Partnership, took TTP into Japan and was particularly active in growing TTP’s digital printing business.
New additions to the TTP Group Board of Directors are two other founders, Philip Blenkinsop, MD of TTP LabTech, the company’s successful laboratory automation and instrumentation business and Chas Sims, Director of TTP, who built the awarding-winning engineering based half of TTP; and Gerry Fitzsimons, CEO of TTP Venture Managers, the early stage technology VC arm, who joined TTP after helping many of Cambridge’s top technology businesses, including TTP, as one of Cambridge’s leading commercial lawyers.
Dr Avison (pictured) said: “I am grateful to Keith for his support and guidance over the last nine years and I am pleased to be handing over the role of CEO to a very experienced and safe pair of hands. It is also a privilege to continue to work with a team of such talented, committed and thoroughly nice people, and to see the company develop in new and exciting ways through their energy and achievements.”
TTP Group is a technology and product development. Its main activity is creating new business based on advances in technology. TTP’s technology lies behind many products and processes in areas as diverse as digital printing, communications, instrumentation, consumer products, medical products, drug discovery, micro devices, optics and vision and software.
It also works in a traditional consultancy role to help companies manage their business and technology better. Its customers include some of the world’s largest and most successful as well as some of the smallest and most ambitious. It incubates new companies and manages a venture capital fund.
2nd July 2007
