Jeff Skinner

Educator/Teacher, Parent, Performer, Technologist

Jeff is the Executive Director of the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at London Business School where he teaches others what he wishes someone had taught him 30 years ago and lives vicariously through his students’ manifold ventures. Once upon a time he was Commercial Director at UCL where over 18 years he worked with hundreds of top scientists to get their technologies used to the benefit of society and economy - generating some nice returns for the university in the process. He was one of the first in this field in the UK and Europe. Having learned how to do 'it' (tech-based spin-out companies and research alliances with businesses) he wanted to spread the word, founding and running the UK and European Technology Transfer Bodies and still deeply involved in their Professional Development arms. He does loads of training (probably more than anyone else, anywhere) and talks to both Tech Transfer Managers and entrepreneurially-minded researchers all over the world. He runs a few seed funds, offers KT policy advice to governments and does 'technology transfer' audits for TTOs when they sound interesting. A very long time ago he was an amateur thespian and secondary school teacher (which explains his love of the podium), spend years messing around in industry laboratories in the UK & US, did a PhD in optoelectronics; MBA and spent a year on a ship prospecting for oil.

Increasing the odds of success of gifted entrepreneurs and new technologies in search of markets. Giving those with great new venture ideas the confidence and impetus to get out and try make them happy.

Corporate innovation programmes fail because they try to (have to) be too big and deliver results too quickly - and that dash for growth results in huge technical, political and cultural dissonance that strangles the programme after - typically - three years. The irony is that this failure vaccinates the organisation against innovation for a generation - leaving it less innovative than when it started!

Entrepreneurship Education, University Technology Transfer

TEDx UCL back in 2013 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7I8yOLNzg). Champion of TEDx LBS since its inception (funding the event in its first year and writing off its losses the following year before it became self-sustaining...

Singing - I often wonder whether I could have made a competent principal or soloist with the right coaching. In the meantime I go 'can belto' rather than 'bel canto'.