One of the pioneers of Manchester’s flourishing graphene industry will be leaving his role.
James Baker is the CEO of Graphene@Manchester and is responsible within the University of Manchester for commercialising graphene and 2D materials for products working with industry.
Baker turns 60 in January next year and plans to transition over the next 18 months to minimise disruption.
He’s also set up a consultancy business called Baker Graphene to continue supporting graphene startups.
Graphene was famously discovered in 2004 by Prof Andre Geim and Prof Kostya Novoselov at The University of Manchester.
Baker said: “After over 25 years working in industry, followed by the last 11 years working at the University of Manchester, I have decided to start planning my next phase of life before my 60th birthday in January next year.
“Whilst not looking (yet) to fully retire, I intend to stay close to the graphene commercialisation activities as I remain truly excited by working with the various new start-ups, now moving to scale-up, as well as developing the pipeline of the next wave of new businesses and exciting applications coming through the Manchester ecosystem.
“My current plan is to ‘transition’ my role over the next 18 months and continue to support Graphene – The University of Manchester business but I’ve have also launched my own consulting business as I remain truly excited by the opportunities and learning that has been achieved over the previous years.
“Thanks to all the great colleagues, teams and people I have managed to meet during my career to date and I remain truly excited by the opportunities of graphene and 2D materials products, applications and businesses over the next few years.”
Baker has worked closely with Dr Vivek Koncherry, CEO of Graphene Innovations Manchester, who has been described as ‘Manchester’s answer to Elon Musk’.
Baker told BusinessCloud: “It’s an exciting time for Manchester’s graphene industry with lots of companies that can really scale across several sectors.
“I’ve built up a lot of knowledge and will continue to help, albeit not on a full-time basis.”
The Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) was opened in 2019 to accelerate la-to-market development, seeding a fast-growing graphene economy.