• Swindon & Wiltshire Appointments
• Tuesday June 10 2025

Bristol tech incubator appoints key new staff

University of Bristol tech incubator SETsquared Bristol has bolstered its team with the appointments of Caroline Thompson as centre manager, and Dr Becky Sage and Dr Kam Pooni as entrepreneurs in residence.

The three will join the incubator this month as part of Bristol Innovations, the University’s catalyst for innovation.

The new appointments will join the incumbent team to work alongside innovation manager Lauren Ellse and co-ordinator Sophie Connolly, as well as entrepreneurs in residence Stewart Noakes and Kevin Simmons.

Caroline Thompson has been programme manager at SETsquared Partnership since 2024 and prior to that was South West enterprise director for NatWest.

Caroline has over 10 years’ experience in building entrepreneurial ecosystems, developing strategic partnerships and leading programmes that drive innovation and growth.

In her role as SETsquared Bristol centre manager she will be responsible for all aspects of business support, member activities, and ecosystem engagement on a day-to-day basis.
“I am thrilled to join SETsquared Bristol and become part of its dynamic and impactful team,” said Caroline.

“Supporting high tech, high growth startups and scaleups to thrive is a passion of mine and I look forward to working with the talented founders and emerging ventures from the University of Bristol and regional innovation ecosystem.”

Becky Sage, a PhD graduate in Chemical Physics from the University of Bristol, is an experienced founder, leadership expert, and communication strategist with a background in science and innovation.

She returns to SETsquared Bristol – where her company Interactive Scientific was formerly a member – bringing a deep understanding of the founder journey and the challenges of building ventures in complex, high-impact sectors.

Kam Pooni is a life sciences entrepreneur with over 27 years’ experience translating academic research into scalable, regulated, and investable ventures across diagnostics, healthtech and pharma.

He has held senior commercial roles at Eli Lilly, Astellas Pharma, and Thomson Reuters, and has supported researchers across leading UK universities and NHS programmes, helping raise translational funding and launch multiple spinouts.

Kam brings deep expertise in commercial strategy, product development, regulatory navigation, market access, and investor readiness.

Innovation Lead at Bristol Innovations, Rosie Bennett, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Caroline, Becky and Kam to the SETsquared Bristol community. They each come with a wealth of experience and complementary skills to support our members and build innovation-rich ventures at scale. We’re looking forward to introducing them to our members.”

Pictured: Caroline Thompson (left), Dr Becky Sage (right top), Dr Kam Pooni (right bottom)