Meet the Team
We are building Actuation Lab to be the place where the world’s foremost hardware innovators solve global problems through ground-breaking research and working with a network of world-leading industrial partners.
The Founders
Dr Simon Bates – CEO
Dr Simon Bates – CEO
Simon began his career developing 3D-printing machines, before running a manufacturing consultancy, becoming a TechX pioneer at the UK’s Net Zero Technology Centre, and then co-founding Actuation Lab.
Simon’s take – “I believe we can become one of the UK’s foremost innovators in mechanical hardware. To achieve this, we have formed partnerships with some of the UK’s best manufacturing centres, gained a group of extremely supportive investors, and are excited to be expanding our team of like-minded thinkers over the coming year.”
Dr Michael Dicker – CTO
Dr Michael Dicker – CTO
An Australian engineer, Michael moved to the UK in 2012 to undertake research into composite artificial muscle technology at the University of Bristol. This work led to the invention of the technology that set Actuation Lab into motion.
Michael’s thoughts – “With the advances in design methods, materials, and manufacturing over the last decade, it’s become possible to develop new hardware faster and cheaper than was previously imaginable. There are countless status quo technologies running our industries that remain unrevised despite these tools and I’m excited that we are changing that.”
Dr Tom Llewellyn-Jones – Head of R&D
Dr Tom Llewellyn-Jones – Head of R&D
A physicist turned engineer with a decade of advanced manufacturing experience, Tom’s expertise is in rapid prototyping using advanced composite materials. Tom leads the manufacturing and empirical analysis team at Actuation Lab.
Tom’s thoughts – “I believe our team have some extremely valuable and unique manufacturing capabilities and intellectual property surrounding them that could prove invaluable across a whole range of industries. It’s my job to be sure we grow these capabilities to deliver robust, reliable products to market quickly.”
The Everyday Innovators
Matt Hollis – R&D Engineer
Matt Hollis – R&D Engineer
Matt joined Actuation Lab after completing his Master’s in Aerospace Engineering at Sheffield Hallam University, where his work included optimising aerospace structures to be manufactured from sustainable composite materials.
In his role as R&D Engineer, Matt is developing Actuation Lab’s manufacturing practices for efficiency and sustainability, in line with our aim of creating products with a significantly lower carbon footprint than our competitors.
Gaëlle Henriet – Administrator
Gaëlle Henriet – Administrator
Gaëlle has had a varied career over the past 10 years, wearing various hats as a translator, a crochet tutor, and an admin assistant. She is now using her admin skills and her wealth of experience to help Actuation Lab run smoothly.
Always on the lookout for typos, Gaëlle is a reliable, highly organised & quality-focused problem solver, keen to learn about engineering and passionate about environmental issues.
Oli Parks – R&D Engineer
Oli Parks – R&D Engineer
Oli is an R&D engineer with an engineering doctorate in composites manufacturing. With a passion for innovation and long-term sustainability, Oli has developed novel engineering solutions in large-scale composite marine vessel manufacturing and tidal stream turbines. He is also a published author, having made key contributions to “Marine Composites: Design and Performance”.
Oli is now using his expertise in product design to aid Actuation Lab in the development of the Dragonfly Valve.
The Wise Counsel
Dr Steve Kitson – Chair
Dr Steve Kitson – Chair
Steve’s career spans academia, multinationals and start-ups. Steve co-founded and led the active camouflage company Folium Optics until a successful exit in 2019. Steve’s experience in developing hardware businesses, 3 previous Chair appointments and time spent building effective teams of tech innovators make him an extremely valuable addition to the team.
Jonathan White – Business Development Advisor
Jonathan White – Business Development Advisor
Jonathan is a senior executive with 30 years’ business development and marketing experience in the UK energy sector. He joined the team after mentoring the founders at the Net Zero Technology Centre TechX accelerator. Jonathan’s involvement at Actuation Lab continues to open doors into UK gas distribution and energy markets.
Jane Blennerhassett – Scale-up Advisor
Jane Blennerhassett – Scale-up Advisor
Jane has over 25 years’ experience in developing science and technology from IP to venture backed businesses. She developed her own business, Netcentric Systems, which she bootstrapped, raised equity funding for and eventually floated on London’s AIM. Jane will continue to work with the founding team to help them scale the company effectively over the next few years.
Andrew Tapson – CFO
Andrew Tapson – CFO
Andrew has a wide-ranging 35-year career across financial subsidiaries of global blue chips including ING, AT&T and Bank of America and is also highly experienced in fields of start-up growth and exits. Andrew began working with Actuation Lab as a part-time CFO in 2021 to support the team’s multifaceted growth plans.
Rob Boycott – Business Development Associate
Rob Boycott – Business Development Associate
Rob has spent over 35 years working in sales and commercial development in the oil and gas valve and actuator industry. He supports Actuation Lab with a relentless work ethic and true passion for the industry, gaining the team access to his following of thousands of industrial contacts and providing up-to-the-minute market insight.