Oxford: Gordon Sanghera wins disruptor category in Entrepreneur of the Year

Dr Gordon Sanghera, CEO of Oxford Nanopore Technologies, received an award in the Disruptor category at the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year UK 2017 final.

Oxford Nanopore Technologies has a track record of delivering disruptive technologies to the market. The company developed the world’s first and only nanopore DNA sequencer, the MinION, now a commercially available device that was designed to bring easy biological analyses to anyone. Their goal is to enable the analysis of any living thing, by any person, in any environment.

Sanghera was acknowledged by the independent judging panel as a ‘clear entrepreneur’ whose vision they described as a ‘phenomenal scientific achievement’ that is already having a huge impact on the world.

Founded in 2005, the private company is now a global business. Headquartered at the Oxford Science Park, it has satellite offices in Cambridge, New York and Boston, with personnel also based in Japan and France.

Richard Baker, managing partner at EY across the Thames Valley and South, said: “Dr Gordon Sanghera’s vision is truly inspiring; his technology is ahead of the market and is already creating a new way of thinking and working. Having commercialised the product and successfully raised over £300 million in funding, his technologies are now being sold in more than 50 countries.

“The technology is certainly impressive, with Science Magazine voting it the second most important discovery in the world last year. This is a fantastic achievement and this award rightly celebrates Dr Gordon Sanghera’s entrepreneurial success.”

Overall UK winner

Chris Hulatt and Simon Rogerson, co-founders of London-based Octopus Group, were named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year UK 2017 overall winner.

In the last few years Octopus has entered a number of new industries – most notably energy and healthcare. It has become the UK’s fastest-growing and highest-rated energy supplier, now with more than 100,000 customers. The company has invested more than £1 billion in building, and in some cases operating, care homes, GP surgeries, retirement villages, hospitals and special needs schools throughout the UK.

The judging panel also awarded the Octopus co-founders Master Entrepreneur of The Year, acknowledging their accomplishments over the last 17 years. The panel of prominent business figures, described Octopus as a “role model business of our time”.