Leadership reshuffle at Oxford Nanopore Technologies brings new CFO

Oxford Nanopore Technologies has appointed Nick Keher as CFO and director.

He succeeds Tim Cowper, who now formally moves into the role of COO. Tim had previously fulfilled most of the responsibilities typically assigned to the role alongside his work as CFO.

Nick brings plenty of experience in life sciences, having been CFO of both Clinigen Group and Benevolent AI. Prior to that he served as MD of Royal Bank of Canada and headed up its European healthcare equity research team.

The new role will see him take responsibility for Oxford Nanopore’s finance function and investor relations under the leadership of CEO Gordon Sanghera.

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Nick said: “This is a great opportunity to join a global life sciences company with a unique, best-in-class technology platform and an ambitious vision for the future.

“I’m delighted to be joining Gordon and the team at such an exciting time in the company's growth journey and I look forward to working together to deliver the business strategy and to create long-term shareholder value.”

Meanwhile, Tim Cowper is set to lead the firm’s expanding international footprint, overseeing day-to-day operations such as manufacturing, tech transfer, IT, supply chain, global distribution, EHS and setup, and management of international facilities.

He said: “I’m excited to be moving into this new COO role, which is critical as we further develop our sophisticated operations to support expanding customer demand.

“Now is a good time to enhance our management team to build on the significant growth that we have achieved over the last five years.

“Nick’s diverse experience will help enable us to scale Oxford Nanopore to reach new heights and I look forward to working with him in this next stage of our development.”

Tim and Nick will work closely together throughout the upcoming transition period, ensuring a smooth handover ahead of the company’s full year financial results for 2023.

CEO Gordon Sanghera added: “We’re delighted to welcome Nick as CFO.

“His experience and expertise of public company financial leadership in an innovative business environment will support our sustainable growth towards profitability.

“With his scientific background, he also understands the specific opportunities for life science companies. These combine with a passion to deliver impact for all of our stakeholders.

“I’m excited to be working with Nick to drive value creation in the coming years.

“I’d also like to thank Tim for his leadership as CFO – for not only building and managing our financial function through our IPO process and driving our transition to a public company, but also leading many aspects of our operations in recent years.

“As we continue to scale the business and enhance our supply chain to meet growing demand for our products, Tim’s expertise will continue to be a significant asset to the business.

“I look forward to continuing to work with him in his new role as COO.”

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