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27 April 2015 New hires at Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre will step up business engagement and innovation Jason Cleaversmith and James Deverill join SAIC team, bringing extensive commercial and research experience The Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) has appointed two new key staff members. Both will work with the Scottish aquaculture industry and research communities to prepare the industry for the future and boost its long-‐term value to the Scottish economy. Dr Jason Cleaversmith is to take on the role of Director of Business Development at SAIC. Jason will build strategic partnerships and relationships in the global aquaculture sector, and execute SAIC’s long-‐term plan for growing the revenues and reputation of the aquaculture industry in Scotland. Also joining the SAIC team is Dr James Deverill, as Director of Research and Innovation. James will steer the delivery of innovative research projects supported by SAIC, including the two major cleaner fish projects announced in late March. Working with him will be Dr Corinne Critchlow-‐Watton, SAIC’s Research and Knowledge Exchange Manager. Between them, Jason, James and Corinne will support the SAIC mission of driving industry success through research partnerships. They will also help Scottish research bodies and companies to access UK and EU grant funding programmes. Both Jason Cleaversmith and James Deverill have extensive experience of working in innovation and entrepreneurship, and operating at the industry-‐research interface. This experience will support SAIC’s role of developing closer connections between industry and academia, and supporting industry-‐relevant collaboration. Jason Cleaversmith was most recently Head of Aqua Health PEI at Novartis Animal Health in Canada. He has a PhD in marine geochemistry from the University of Edinburgh and an MBA from the University of Glasgow. James Deverill worked in the Scottish aquaculture industry before leading and growing an award-‐winning technical SME. He is a Fellow of the Society of Biology, and holds a PhD in aquaculture from the University of Stirling. Heather Jones, Chief Executive of the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre, stated: “We are delighted to welcome Jason Cleaversmith and James Deverill to SAIC. With their strong commercial and academic backgrounds, they will enrich SAIC’s work to accelerate the growth of a more sustainable and profitable aquaculture sector in Scotland.” Ends The Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre: The Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre brings together industry and research to provide innovative solutions to industry-‐defined problems within Scottish aquaculture. We aim to deliver transformational change in the relationship between the aquaculture industry and research community to support the growth, sustainability and profitability of the Scottish aquaculture industry and, in doing so, impact positively on the Scottish economy. SAIC is funded by the Scottish Funding Council in partnership with Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Launched in June 2014, it involves 26 aquaculture companies and 13 research organisations. For more information, please visit www.scottishaquaculture.com.