Commercial Champions

Unlocking the potential of Midlands spinout companies through enhanced access to the C-suite talent they need to scale.

Forging Ahead is building a community of 'Commercial Champions' and C-suite domain experts on a dedicated online platform.

These ‘Commercial Champions’ can share expertise, provide mentor support, open networks, and strengthen the capabilities of Midlands spinouts.

These companies can then go on to attract investment and scale here in the region where they were founded.

For a fresh example of just how valuable bringing in that expertise is, see how the University of Birmingham team brought in a commercial champion for spinout, KVECTOR, which - in September 2026 - announced a £3.8 million investment, led by Midlands Mindforge.

"While our spinouts are founded on outstanding research, establishing a company that can attract investment and scale successfully usually requires additional commercial leadership and governance experience. Even where founding teams have previous commercialisation expertise, we have found significant value in bringing in experienced Chairs, CEOs and non-executive directors who have built and scaled businesses before. That blend of academic excellence and commercial experience is often what helps companies reach their full potential."

David Coleman, CEO of University of Birmingham Enterprise

Hosted on the new 'UNLOCKED' Platform

Pending approval to be a 'Commercial Champion', candidates will be granted access to our 'UNLOCKED' Platform which houses this new community.

The Platform is a unique, online tool where that enables users to:

  • See what live opportunities from our region's universities are available to join or engage with
  • Message spinout founders and commercialisation team members
  • Interact with one another and share your insights via 'Courses'

"Having a platform like UNLOCKED can help us build on this success by connecting our commercialisation teams and spin-out founders with a new network of commercial champions and business leaders, providing the expertise, experience and connections they need to help these businesses scale."

Dr Alice MacGowan, CEO, Nottingham Technology Ventures

Want to be part of it?

Join our growing community.

Apply to be a Commercial Champion