Taking place ahead of the main exhibition, the breakfast offers a focused opportunity to make valuable connections, hear key updates and start the day with purpose. It sets the tone for CambsB2B South as a place for businesses to meet, share ideas and build relationships that support future growth.
Fireside Chat
Hosted by Faye Holland, Partnership Director, Cambridge x Manchester Partnership
Faye has spent more than three decades working at the intersection of technology, academia, industry, and government.
She is recognised as a contributor to the Cambridge innovation cluster, known for designing and scaling programmes that accelerate high-potential ventures and elevate the global reputation of regional research and innovation.
Faye is also the Partnership Director The Manchester x Cambridge Partnership which is a major focus for both cities, led by each university, Innovate Cambridge and Unit M, each cities respective combined authorities and city councils, and funded by UKRI Research England and both universities over the next three years.
In all my roles, she influences, inspires, and connects across multiple levels – convening researchers, investors, corporates, and policymakers to translate strategic ambition into practical delivery. My work is action-oriented and focused on overcoming the “discussion to action” gap that often slows complex organisations.
Faye has held board roles across the charity, public, and private sectors, and I currently serve as Chair of the Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce, contributing to regional economic growth and innovation strategy.
She is also a committed mentor to aspiring technology entrepreneurs and regularly emcee and speak at innovation events in the UK and internationally. Faye believes deeply in the importance of visibility – particularly in inspiring the next generation of women in technology.
Featuring Shaun Grady, Chair, AstraZeneca
As Chair of AstraZeneca UK, Shaun represents our entire enterprise across the country, working closely with senior leaders to champion our science, R&D, operations, commercial business, and corporate priorities within the UK life sciences ecosystem. He builds and maintains critical relationships with government officials, business leaders, and industry associations, advocating for key policy priorities and leveraging the UK’s global networks to foster international life sciences cooperation. Shaun also chairs the UK Leadership Team, the UK Employee Forum, and the UK Inclusion and Diversity working group.
His journey at AstraZeneca has spanned over two decades, having previously worked in business development, a field he often described as being the best job in the company. Throughout his time in AstraZeneca the work has been consistently motivating, interesting, and challenging, allowing him to collaborate with incredibly bright minds from both science and business, both internally and externally. Shaun has played a central role in nearly every significant business development initiative, including the merger of Astra and Zeneca, the acquisitions of CAT, MedImmune, and Amylin, and the buyout of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s interest in the AstraZeneca-BMS Diabetes Alliance. More recently, he recently led teams through global ADC collaborations with Daiichi Sankyo and the acquisitions of Gracell, Icosovax, and Fusion, as well as a collaboration with Ecogene.
Beyond AstraZeneca Shaun is a Board member at the BioIndustry Association (BIA) and CBI President’s Committee, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cambridge United Football Club, and a Board member at Cambridge Arts Theatre, and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus (CBC), as well as a member of the Innovate Cambridge Advisory Council, a member of the Beijing BioPark Advisory Committee and an Honorary Fellow at The University of Cambridge Judge Business School and Lucy Cavendish College Cambridge.
Keynote Speaker Peter Freeman, Chair, Greater Cambridge Development Corporation
Peter is the chair of the Greater Cambridge Development Corporation. A respected leader in urban regeneration and place-making, he is best known as co-founder of Argent and as a key figure behind the transformation of King’s Cross, widely recognised as one of the UK’s landmark regeneration projects. Over his career, Peter has consistently championed mixed-use, infrastructure-led development and collaborative, inclusive approaches to creating vibrant, economically resilient places. From 2020 to 2025, he served as Chair of Homes England, the Government’s housing and regeneration agency, where he encouraged a stronger focus on place and regeneration – an approach he now brings to Greater Cambridge.
Kindly supported by Greater Cambridge Development Corporation
