Circular Economy 360 plus - Business Development & Innovation

At the Advanced Services Group, within Aston Business School, Iain leads on activities that bring new business models, manufacturers and academics together. Iain works with small & global businesses alike – those that are seeking to develop ‘X-as-a-Service’ where opportunities are identified that reduce effort, resources or cost (owning a product) and increase availability of the product/service and customer satisfaction (by moving to using the service).

Iain’s career began at the National Engineering Laboratory in Scotland as a professional engineer for twenty years, which included five years working with the UK Government on R&D funding strategies for manufacturing firms in the UK. Since joining the Advanced Services Group in 2012, he has worked with over 250 firms to help them change their business model to take advantage of the benefits that servitization (adding services to support a product in use) brings to both manufacturer and customer alike.

Iain is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, holds post-graduate qualifications in management and, in 2016, was awarded ‘Freeman Citizen of Glasgow’ status for his work in the engineering and manufacturing sectors.

Sarah is responsible for informing, enabling, and supporting SUEZ in its triple bottom line strategy, and ensuring it continually improves its social and environmental impact as a result. She also contributes her 15 years’ experience in the sector and expertise in service enhancement, innovation and behaviour change to SUEZ’s policy and circular economy activities.

She is a Level 1 Associate Practitioner with Social Value UK, the chair of the social working group for the Environmental Services Association, and in 2022 was named one of the Resource “Hot 100” for moving the social value and sustainability agenda forward across the industry.

Dr Adam Read joined SUEZ recycling and recovery UK as Director of External Affairs in September 2017. He has more than 20 years’ experience in the waste sector as an academic, researcher, local authority officer and consultant.

At SUEZ, Adam is currently responsible for government liaison and working with UK and international trade bodies in the sector, sitting on a number of technical working groups In his previous role as a consultant, Adam supported local authorities (and their service providers) in reviewing their services, procuring solutions, and considering alternative partnering models. Adam is a regular contributor to trade journals, and a well-known conference speaker and workshop facilitator.