Imogen Shipperlee
My role as Head of Innovation is to oversee all our innovation and business support activity, ensuring that we live up to our purpose to create economic growth in the regions that we operate. This means I’m responsible for defining the strategic direction of Hethel Innovation’s innovation activity, identifying new growth opportunities for the business (including new sites for us to operate), and working with our fantastic Innovation Team to develop the support packages we have on offer. I oversee the development of our business community, our marketing and branding functions, innovation consultancy, and delivery of any funded innovation projects.
I also work closely with public sector organisations who are looking to develop their own sites of innovation excellence, providing advice on business cases, building design and innovation & economic development strategies.
What I love about my role and working at Hethel Innovation is the direct impact we can have on businesses. Working in a position where I feel like I can make a positive difference to the people I work with and those we support is very rewarding!
My experience comes from working on a range of commercial and economic development projects. I’ve developed new revenue streams for businesses, established strategies for growth and sales, and developed new products and services to support SME business growth. At Hethel Innovation, I’ve held a range of roles, starting off as an Innovation Advisor working with clean tech businesses, before taking on project management roles and then the Head of Innovation role in 2023.
I’m an experienced project manager, having managed multiple £multimillion funded projects, delivering on all contracted outputs within project timeframes.
If you could be on any TV Show, what would it be and why?
Race across the world. I love the idea of being able to visit multiple countries in one trip!
You’re stranded on a deserted island and can only bring one meal with you to eat indefinitely, what would it be and why?
Sushi. I just love it.