Innovative and award-winning medical research charity RAFT today announces the appointment of its new Chairman: Dr. Niccolo Caderni who will take over the role from Francis Gugen.
An astrophysicist by training, Niccolo graduated from the University of Florence, his native city and came to the UK as a European Space Agency Fellow at the University of Cambridge. He has held a number of research and academic positions before a change of career in the mid 1980’s to the world of finance, technological innovation and fine art.
Niccolo has been a Vice- President, Mergers and Acquisitions at Bankers Trust International, Managing Director at Phillips, the third largest auction house in the world, and the Chairman of Webiz, the private Equity fund of the Italian utility giant, ENEL. He has served on the Board of the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels, and he is currently Chairman of ETT, a company that creates multi-media interpretations for Museums.
RAFT CEO Leonor Stjepic said: “I am delighted that Niccolo has been appointed as the next Chairman of RAFT. As well as his impressive personal qualities, Niccolo brings to the job a wealth of relevant experience in the fields of technology transfer. I’d also like to thank Francis Gugen for his consistently strong and professional leadership as Chairman of RAFT since 2010.”
Niccolo Caderni said: “It is an immense honour to be asked to be the Chairman of RAFT, an organisation which is so central in medical research, and whose work has touched the lives of so many people. I have great respect for the integrity, commitment, and professionalism of the charity’s staff and for what they have achieved under the outstanding leadership of Francis Gugen. Together with this amazing team, we are all looking forward to meeting the challenges of the coming years.”
After seven years as the Chairman for RAFT, Francis Gugen will be retiring from the post to take up a new role as Executive Chairman of Smart Matrix Ltd (a for-profit company spun out of RAFT to take one of its products to patients) on 2 October 2017.
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For more information, go to https://raft.ac.uk/ or http://smartmatrix.co.uk/.
About RAFT
Restoration of Appearance and Function Trust (RAFT) is an innovative medical research charity working in the field of tissue and bone regeneration. The charity is a world-leader in creating pioneering new treatments for patients across the globe affected by wounds, burns and disease or birth abnormalities. The award-winning charity undertakes ground-breaking medical research to help patients regain their health, independence and self-esteem as quickly as possible after a trauma. RAFT’s vision is to bring forward the day when every patient who suffers a wound or severe tissue trauma fully regains their quality of life.
For nearly three decades RAFT has been undertaking pioneering scientific research that has changed the face of healthcare the world over. RAFT’s work has saved lives, improved treatments and recovery times, influenced healthcare policies around the world and changed laws. Today more than 100 of RAFT’s projects are in use in hospitals and clinics around the world.
RAFT was founded in 1988 by four plastic surgeons: Roy Sanders, Brian Morgan, Douglas Harrison and Paul Smith. Its founders set up the institute because they wanted to improve the speed at which scientific innovations could filter through to patients. RAFT has a long history of innovation and has played a major role in key medical advancements in the field over the past 30 years.
RAFT receives no Government funding and relies on donations and grants from individuals, grant-making trusts and companies. The team is working to raise more than £3 million over the next two years to allow the organisation to reach even more patients, even more quickly. RAFT aims to push back the boundaries of research, using the very latest technology and developing pioneering new techniques and treatments. The charity prides itself on being commercially forward-thinking and encourages social investment so that its research can be brought to patients more quickly.
For more information visit: https://raft.ac.uk/.
About Smart Matrix
Smart Matrix® was developed by RAFT in direct response to a significant and un-met clinical need. In order to carry out extensive clinical trials Smart Matrix Limited was formed and private equity was raised to pay for the trials.
Smart Matrix® is a UK-registered trademark (No: 2650438) in the classes of ‘surgical, medical, dental and veterinary apparatus and instruments’ and ‘scientific and technological services and research and design relating thereto’.
For more information visit: http://smartmatrix.co.uk/.
