Our board members

Duncan Tatton-Brown

Duncan has an extensive career on the board of many high growth international technology companies. Most recently he served as the CFO of Ocado Group plc for eight years, where he remains a senior adviser. Duncan currently sits on the board of New York Stock Exchange listed company, Cazoo Group and on the board of Trainline plc, where he serves as Chair of the Audit Committee. He also chairs the online travel agent, Loveholidays.

He has been CFO for other companies including Kingfisher plc, Fitness First plc and Virgin Entertainment Group. He earned a master's degree in Engineering from King's College, Cambridge in 1987. He currently serves as a trustee on the board of the Orange Tree Theatre.

John O'Higgins

John O’Higgins was previously CEO of Spectris, the international productivity-enhancing instrumentation and controls company, where he led rapid global growth and evolution of the company as it pursued multiple market applications from a broad technology platform.

John holds several non-executive roles including at the global science and chemicals company Johnson Matthey plc, whose solutions are designed to enable cleaner air, improved health and the more efficient use of natural resources. He also served as a non-executive Director of Exide Technologies, the US-based supplier of battery technology to automotive and industrial users.

John is also a Member of the Corporate Advisory Board of Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity in the UK.

Adrian Hennah

Adrian is a highly regarded business leader with nearly 20 years’ leadership experience at a number of FTSE 100 companies. His background encompasses a breadth of sectors including healthcare, technology, FMCG and engineering.

Adrian was Chief Financial Officer at Reckitt Benckiser for seven years and held the same role at both Smith & Nephew and Invensys. He spent 18 years at GlaxoSmithKline, holding a number of senior management and financial positions. Adrian began his career at PwC, working in both audit and consultancy, and Stadtsparkasse Koeln, the German regional bank. Adrian currently serves on the Board of Sainsbury’s, where he is a member of the Audit and Nomination Committees, and Oxford University Press.

Dr Gordon Sanghera, CBE

Dr Gordon Sanghera is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Oxford Nanopore Technologies, where he has led the development of pioneering nanopore-based sensing technology since 2005. Under his leadership, the company has grown significantly, culminating in a successful listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2021. Oxford Nanopore’s platform, including the MinION, Flongle, GridION, and PromethION sequencing devices, are now used in over 125 countries, enabling real-time, high-performance analysis of DNA and RNA, with potential to expand into proteomics and metabolomics.

Before co-founding Oxford Nanopore, Dr Sanghera held key positions at MediSense, an Oxford University spin-out, where he was instrumental in launching several generations of glucose monitoring systems. His roles included, Research and Development Director, VP of Worldwide Marketing, and Manufacturing Process Development Director, where he contributed to innovations that served both consumer and hospital medical markets.

Dr Sanghera holds a PhD in bioelectronics and a BSc in chemistry, both from Cardiff University. Throughout his career, he has been recognised for his contributions to biotechnology and innovation, including being named a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2023, for driving advancements that have had a global impact on medical and scientific research.

Nick Keher

Nick Keher is the Chief Financial Officer at Oxford Nanopore Technologies, where he oversees the Group’s finance function and investor relations. He brings significant experience in financial leadership within complex scientific businesses, contributing to the company's strategic financial planning and market positioning.

Before joining Oxford Nanopore, Nick served as CFO at both Clinigen Group and Benevolent AI, both listed businesses in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. His earlier career includes a role as Managing Director and Head of the European healthcare equity research team at Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). Prior to RBC, Nick held positions at Investec and GSK, following a transition from practising pharmacy to finance.

Nick’s academic background includes qualifications in pharmacy, which laid the foundation for his deep understanding of the life sciences sector. His extensive experience in capital markets and financial management equips him with the tools to navigate the complexities of the industry, ensuring robust financial health and investor confidence for Oxford Nanopore.

Kate Priestman

Kate Priestman has extensive experience as a biopharma executive, serving in leadership roles across commercial, operations, corporate strategy, communications and government affairs. She is currently Chief Corporate and External Affairs Officer on the management team of global biopharma CSL, and was previously Senior Vice President of R&D Strategy, Portfolio and Operations at GSK. Kate also served on GSK’s separation board, delivering the successful spin-out of Haleon plc in 2022.

In addition, Kate has held global and UK commercial leadership roles at Eli Lilly & Co and Zeneca, after an early career at the BBC, where she spent several years as a broadcaster. Kate also currently serves as a Trustee of RBG Kew, a science organisation working globally to understand plant biology and fight biodiversity loss.

Dr. Sarah Fortune

Dr. Sarah Fortune is a distinguished Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Sarah holds a Doctor of Medicine from Columbia University and extensive expertise in genomic diagnostics and multi-omics approaches to infectious disease, including at the intersection of human genetics.

Her world-leading research has focused on understanding how Tuberculosis (TB) mutates to become drug resistant using a combination of single cell, genetic, and genomic approaches, including nanopore sequencing. In 2019, she led one of three labs awarded funding by the US National Institutes of Health to establish a new centre for immunology research to accelerate progress in TB vaccine development – work that remains ongoing. Oxford Nanopore will draw on Sarah’s rich experience as the company seeks to develop more sequencing-based applications in the clinical space, including its first sequencing-based test for drug-resistant TB.

Dr. Sarah Fortune

Dr. Sarah Fortune is a distinguished Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Sarah holds a Doctor of Medicine from Columbia University and extensive expertise in genomic diagnostics and multi-omics approaches to infectious disease, including at the intersection of human genetics.

Her world-leading research has focused on understanding how Tuberculosis (TB) mutates to become drug resistant using a combination of single cell, genetic, and genomic approaches, including nanopore sequencing. In 2019, she led one of three labs awarded funding by the US National Institutes of Health to establish a new centre for immunology research to accelerate progress in TB vaccine development – work that remains ongoing. Oxford Nanopore will draw on Sarah’s rich experience as the company seeks to develop more sequencing-based applications in the clinical space, including its first sequencing-based test for drug-resistant TB.

Dr Daniel Mahony

Daniel joined Novo Holdings in 2024 as a Senior Partner in Growth Investments. Daniel has 25+ years of global healthcare investment experience covering biotechnology, medical technology and healthcare services. In 2007, he co-founded the healthcare business unit at Polar Capital in London, growing it to over $4 billion in assets under management. Daniel was formerly a Senior Research Analyst at Morgan Stanley in London, an Analyst at ING Barings Furman Selz in New York, and completed his postdoctoral work at DNAX Research Institute in Palo Alto. He currently chairs the UK BioIndustry Association and is a Non-Executive Director of the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge. Daniel received his PhD in Development Biology from the University of Cambridge and his BA in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford.