Liz's background has covered a number of diverse consumer markets in both marketing and product development, including beer, pharmaceuticals and dermoscosmetics.
Her current role within Alliance Boots is to lead a team of scientists and technologists to develop more than 5000 new products a year for the Alliance Boots group.

Boots has the highest proportion of 'own brand' sales of any Health and Beauty retailer worldwide and an enviable reputation for trusted products which has been built up over years of expert product development and sourcing.

Liz has led the creation and development of the Boots Centre for Innovation, to build new ideas from new sources into products which Alliance Boots can stock on its shelves.

As Director of Swansea University’s Institute of Life Science, Professor Clement has worked on the Boots Centre for Innovation concept from the beginning. He also worked with the former Welsh Development Agency to develop the flagship Technium business incubation project in Swansea.

Professor Clement is an innovator who is widely regarded as the father of the light-based therapy industry and is the founder of medical and aesthetic technology company CyDen, set up in 2002. He is also the University’s Chair of Innovation, Senior Executive within the Vice-Chancellor’s Office and now heads the new Department of Research and Innovation, which interacts with business, industry and government. Professor Clement has recently taken up the position of Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive (Designate) of the University of Wales.

Ron Petersen has been involved in the Boots Centre for Innovation since it’s inception. Ron has played an instrumental role in shaping the business model and has provided valuable advice on how to progress ideas received by the Centre.

In addition to his responsibilities with Boots Centre for Innovation, Ron is the CEO for CyDen and is also co-founder of Longbow Capital LLP, who are the venture capitalist partners of the Centre.

In his earlier career, Ron spent over 20 years with Armstrong World Industries, managing global businesses. In 1992, Ron began to specialise in turning underperforming, or early stage companies, into profitable and valued concerns. Ron has also been directly involved in the founding of a number of ‘high-tech’ companies, particularly in the nanotechnology field.