How Organic Chemistry Sparks Entrepreneurship
Conversation between Dr Vladimir Gubala and Dr Lene Hviid
WEBINAR Friday, Nov 22 | 9:00 am EST or 2:00 pm GMT
If you are a scientist, building a company can be fun and rewarding process. However, as many scientists have already experienced, things rarely go exactly as expected – the road to successful company can be quite bumpy. For starters, some mistakes made early in this journey can be very hard to correct and they either lead to failure or success. In this webinar, two experienced materials scientists (organic chemists by training) will be discussing their own pathway when building or investing in a successful tech company. The easy flowing conversation will offer some insights into the early mistakes in decision making and how understanding the technology, customer needs and market knowledge provides the company foundation that ultimately determines whether all the invested effort and money will lead to success or a failure. The webinar will take 30 minutes + 10 minutes for questions. This is the 2nd Webinar in this series on Chemistry Entrepreneurship.
Biographies
Dr Vlad Gubala – CSO
Vlad is a co-founder and CSO of PocDoc, a UK-based health-tech company that developed new digital point-of-care lipid panel test with smartphone reader. He has a background in organic, synthetic chemistry with over 20 years of experience in the personalised diagnostics field. Prior to PocDoc, Vlad was a scientific advisor and a board member to diagnostics start-ups Kinostics and Andes Bio. He completed his PhD in 2006, he worked at the University of Florida, joined the world of point-of-care diagnostics at the Biomedical Diagnostics Institute, Dublin and established independent research focusing on nanomaterial in personalised medicine at the University of Kent. Throughout his career, Vlad has published 50 research articles, which have been cited more than 2500 times. He is also a president of Division VII: Chemistry and Human Health at the International Union of Pure and applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and chair of Interdivisional Subcommittee on Materials Chemistry (ISMC). Vlad enjoys playing football and he is the top scorer for PocDoc Supervets Woodcoombe football club.
Dr Lene Hviid, Global Key Account Manager Metals, Shell
Lene is an energetic and accomplished business leader with over 15 years of cross-cultural experience across various industries, including technology and business applications. She has a proven track record in managing large, diverse global teams and driving innovation in multi-jurisdictional roles.
Currently, Lene serves as the Global Key Account Manager – Metals at Shell, where she is the primary contact for multinational companies aiming to reduce their carbon footprint. She secures strategic deals for cleaner energy and low-carbon solutions, and develops decarbonization strategies with customers and suppliers.
Before this role, Lene was the Global Manager for Shell Research Alliance & GameChanger at Shell Global Solutions, leading globally distributed teams. She also served as the General Manager of Materials & Corrosion at Shell Global Solutions and is a board member of Norske Shell. Awarded fellow of Chemistry Europe in 2018-19.
Lene joined Shell in 2013 from Tata Steel, where she managed a global R&D team focused on steel surface technology for various business applications. Her passion for purposeful work and belief in the power of collaborations and partnerships drive her to create significant business value and impact.
Danish national and speaks several languages. She recharges her batteries by pilates, cross country skiing and yoga.
> SEE WEBINAR RECORDING
See originating project ‘Chemistry Entrepreneurship’ chaired by Bipul Saha and Hemda Garelick, and members of IUPAC Executive Board.