12 September 2018

• Michelle Gale joins as Head of Customer Services, Dr Ben Cliff as Vice President of Operations, and Lorraine Bater as Regional Director of the South, UK 
• Appointments support provision of routine testing, monitoring and specialist analysis services to life sciences, food & consumer services, and industrial and environmental services industries

Manchester, UK, 12 September 2018: Concept Life Sciences (Concept), the integrated drug discovery, development and analytical services company, today announced it has made three senior appointments to its Analytical Services Division. Michelle Gale joins as Head of Customer Services, Dr Ben Cliff as VP of Operations, and Lorraine Bater as Regional Director of the South, UK. The appointments support the expansion of the analytical services side of the business, which serves the life sciences, food & consumer services, and industrial and environmental services industries. 

Michelle has over 30 years’ experience in customer-facing roles, including in a contract research organisation (CRO) environment, managing projects from initial enquiry to delivery of results. In her new role at Concept she will draw on this expertise to lead customer services and sales operations teams across multiple sites. Michelle joins Concept from Exova, where she was Global Sales Operations & Development Manager. Prior to this, she was Sales Operations Manager at ANS Group, and held various customer-focused positions at Hitachi Data Systems.

As VP of Operations, Ben will provide strategic leadership for the Analytical and Development Services (ADS) laboratories, to position the Company for future growth. He has extensive experience within the contract scientific services and research industry, with detailed knowledge in the biopharmaceutical, pharmaceutical and material science sectors where he has successfully developed and implemented strategies to grow revenue and business opportunities. Ben joins Concept from Intertek, where he held various roles including Business Development Manager and most recently Laboratory Director for Intertek’s key sites. 

Lorraine will be working with senior leaders on strategic development as Regional Director of the South, UK. She joins Concept from International Laboratory Services (acquired by Eurofins in 2016), where she was Operations Director/General Manager, overseeing the safety and quality testing of pharmaceuticals and foodstuffs. She has a strong background in IT and Operational Management from her time at Unilever, and was also Head of IT and Infrastructure Services at Zeneca’s, Central Toxicology Laboratory (CTL), where she led site operations and infrastructure. Following the merger and creation of Syngenta in 2006, Lorraine became Syngenta’s CTL Site Director. 

John Handley, Chief Operating Officer, Concept Life Sciences, said: “Our Analytical Services Division provides flexible support to life sciences, food & consumer services, and industrial and environmental services customers, who require an extensive range of integrated services, including routine testing, monitoring and specialist analysis. Ben, Lorraine and Michelle’s experience and expertise will be a great asset to the business, supporting its continued expansion and development.”