Richard Jones is a commercial strategist and growth advisor with over 30 years of international experience spanning business transformation, capital raising, and strategic leadership. As co-founder of Sabzeh Partners, he has helped raise €58 million in investor funding, closed 25 strategic partnerships, and delivered over 60 growth and go-to-market strategies for clients across technology, agriculture, and public services.

Before Sabzeh, Richard held multiple CEO and board-level roles. As founding CEO of the National Bovine Data Centre, he secured €2.4 million in EIT funding for an AI-driven milk testing device and represented the UK on the European Cattle Breeders Confederation. At the National Library of Scotland, he served as Company Secretary, authoring a five-year strategy that unlocked a 7% uplift in government funding and leading a £20 million international fundraising campaign.

Earlier in his career, Richard led the turnaround of Cardiff Initiative, reversing a €35 million deficit into a €50 million profit over three years. He is known for his ability to bring focus and commercial discipline to complex organisations in transition, working at the intersection of strategic clarity, operational execution, and stakeholder alignment.

Sahar Sabetnia is a science commercialisation expert with over €236 million raised in venture capital and grants, and more than 80 licensing and strategic partnership deals closed. A Registered Technology Transfer Professional (RTTP), she has led five university spinouts and helped take Exscientia from concept to commercial success. Her sector reach includes therapeutics, diagnostics, deep tech, precision medicine, medical devices and global health.

Sahar began her career in pharma, leading target discovery and lead optimisation projects at Organon and Schering-Plough. She later held business development leadership roles at the Drug Discovery Unit in Dundee, MMV, and Paris-based omics startup Scipio Bioscience. Her university work spans both Dundee and Leicester, where she led commercialisation across life sciences, forensics, and precision medicine.

International in outlook and reach, Sahar has advised and supported companies across Europe, the US,  Canada, South Africa, and Australia, helping them shape strategy, secure funding, and scale impact. Her projects have attracted support from major funding institutions including Horizon Europe, BMGF, MRC, and NIH.