Richard Young - Managing Director
Prior to setting up MTF, Richard Young was Investment Director at 3i plc, a leading international venture capital business. In his 19 years as a venture capitalist he has invested in over 40 companies, which together have created shareholder value in excess of £600 million. Outside MTF, he chairs the investment committee of the Rising Stars Growth Fund, a £20 million venture capital fund. Richard is authorized by the FSA to carry out investment business

Jennifer Raffle
Jennifer Raffle qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG. Moving into industry, she spent 3 years at the head office of GEC plc, where she was responsible for business review and trouble-shooting. She returned to KPMG as a technology analyst before leaving to join MTF.

Peter Folkman - Chairman
Peter Folkman is a venture capitalist with 30 years' experience during which he set up his own fund management company which was amongst the top performers in its class. He was on the Council of the Victoria University of Manchester and chaired the Federal School of Business & Management. He was a council member of the British Venture Capital Association. Peter is authorized by the FSA to carry out investment business

Rod Coombs
Rod Coombs is Vice President for Innovation and Economic Development at the University of Manchester and is responsible for the University's commercialisation activities. His research field is technology development and he has consulted widely with international companies on R&D and technology management.

Barry Furr
Barry Furr is Chief Scientist and Head of Project Evaluation at AstraZeneca and on the Senior R&D Management Team. He has a successful track record both in bringing drugs to market and as an endocrinologist. He sits on committees for the MRC, BBSRC and Wellcome and advises two international venture capital funds.

Julian Jackson
Julian Jackson is CEO of Safeline, worldwide market leader in industrial metal detection. Safeline was a venture funded start-up in 1989, sold to Mettler-Toledo in 1997. With revenues of £50 million, the company invests heavily in R&D. Before joining Safeline, he was a partner in a management consultancy firm.

Steve Purdham
Steve Purdham is the former CEO of Surfcontrol, world leader in enterprise web and email filtering. Steve was co-founder of Surfcontrol, which came to the UK stock market in 1998 and is currently valued at £200 million. Steve has wide experience of the IT industry and is a regular conference speaker on the internet.

Robert Young
Robert Young is Professor of Polymer Science and Technology and Head of the School of Materials at the University of Manchester. His research field is the structure and mechanical properties of polymers and composites. He has a number of research programmes in collaboration with industrial companies in the UK, mainland Europe and Japan.