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Sophie Walton has been a director on the NEPIC board for almost two years, understanding the needs of members and working alongside our leadership team to collectively steer the direction of our organisation.

A biotechnologist by background, she has worked in senior commercial roles for several global bioprocess and scientific distribution companies before joining CPI, and currently works as CPI’s director of strategic partnerships.

CPI is a social enterprise that supports businesses across the UK to scale up and prove and demonstrate new technological processes and products. The organisation is a close friend of NEPIC, having co-existed since NEPIC’s inception 20 years ago, originally sharing a headquarters in the Wilton Centre at Redcar, with both organisations working towards an objective to help the process industries in the Tees Valley and wider North East to grow, innovate and remain globally competitive.

CPI has grown from a start-up SME to become a founder member of the national Catapult network, and holds a substantial technical asset base with major facilities across Tees Valley and the North East at Darlington, the Wilton Centre and NETPark in County Durham.

Aligned in NEPIC’s goals to see regional businesses succeed, Sophie’s knowledge of industries across the nation enables her to bring that learning to the North East, making her a valuable asset to the NEPIC board.

Discussing her time on the board Sophie said:

“I’m extremely passionate about industry in the region, so becoming a board member really was a no brainer for me. I believe NEPIC’s role in bringing people together, keeping the community networked, influencing agenda and getting the North East voice into national conversations is absolutely critical, so it’s great to be a part of strengthening this for the future.”

Sophie is dedicated to making a difference to the local business community, also sitting on the Tees Valley Business Board, focusing on science, innovation and technology to help those areas within the Tees Valley thrive.

But when asked about the difference NEPIC is making to the region Sophie explained:

“In the old ICI days, you had one or two major players who networked together and drove forward key areas such as innovation, skills and regional investment, but now the industry is much more fragmented, there are hundreds of businesses growing across the Tees Valley and the wider North East, so it’s now, more than ever, imperative to get people talking to form new partnerships, develop new initiatives, and to convene business around common challenges and opportunities, which is exactly what NEPIC does best.”

Touching on the future, Sophie added:

“The network that NEPIC supports is powerful and I’m very much looking forward to the next phase of NEPIC and its collaborations; to witness the benefit it can bring to members.

“Ultimately I know we all want to see industry continue to succeed for future generations and ensure that there will be many opportunities long into the future, so I feel excited to play a small part in this journey by sitting on the board.”