LYVA Labs welcomes back talent to the region

As we ramp up our growth to support innovators in the city region, LYVA Labs has been busy attracting a range of talent into the team, utilising the extensive networks and wide range of high-value candidates the city region has to offer.  

Since launching, we have recruited a team of experts to support us to deliver our vision. Integral to this is LYVA Labs’ wider ambition of supporting the retention of graduates from the city and leading by example to encourage those we work with to do the same.  

Lorna Green, CEO at LYVA Labs explains: “Though many members of our team have studied elsewhere or gained experience far and wide, they have all noticed the immense, unique opportunities here in the city region. As we see great innovation begin to emerge and scale here, we believe it’s never been a more important time to attract talent back into our ecosystem and I’m proud that we’re working hard to do this at LYVA labs” 

Meet our recent starters:  

Dr Rachel Lawless, Innovation Funding Manager:  

A University of Liverpool graduate, Rachel studied at the city centre institution for seven years while gaining her bachelor’s degree in physiology, and her MRes and PHD in musculoskeletal ageing with 3 years of postdoc in molecular biology 

Since then, Rachel has worked in the life science industry working with  SMEs to help them obtain grants, through investment proposals.  

Through this work Rachel is able to bring her impressive knowledge from both a technical point of view and the funding arena, having worked to both raised funding and invest. In previous roles, Rachel has been involved in raising nearly £9million of funding, including £550,000 in 8 months in her last role.  

This is just an example of the great work that Rachel can achieve, and we are extremely excited to have her as part of the inner LYVA Labs team. The work she will be able to achieve with innovators is going to be incredibly impactful.  

Although Rachels roles have helped companies across the country, Rachel is proud to be back in Liverpool and using her expertise to support local innovators, establish grants and funding, changing the lives of people from her home region.  

Rachel said: “Working to overcome some of the world’s greatest health challenges, is a passion of mine, and being able to support upcoming innovators is very exciting. I’m proud of my Liverpool background and I’m looking forward to helping to propel Liverpudilian-born innovation onto the world stage.” 

Kate McDermott, Business Operations Manager:  

Liverpool John Moores University graduate, Kate, has three years of experience in attracting inward investment for the city region. Her roles have seen her provide a range of free professional advice to companies considering establishing a physical presence in Liverpool City Region.  

This included providing detailed markets, sectors and workforce demographics, identifying all available support and incentives to support the projects, providing a comprehensive review of all sites/premises available and making introductions to industry networks and partner organisations. 

Her expertise in how to achieve investment within the region is incredibly valuable and will help provide essential support to our innovators. Her inside knowledge of what the city region is interested in, and how to spark interest from key stakeholders, is unmatched.  

Kate said: “I am really excited to join the team at LYVA Labs, it’s a fantastic addition to the regional innovator support system and will provide a lot of support to local start-ups. Innovation is high on the region’s agenda and I look forward to working within an organisation that will play a key role in shaping this. 

Liverpool is becoming a hub for exciting innovators and I’m looking forward to being a part of that. With so many opportunities on offer, people might not be aware of what is on their doorstep. My aim is to help people utilise these support systems, to create an incredible sector of growth for our region.” 

Conor Rodgers, Media & Communications Support:  

Conor is a media, culture & communications graduate, with experience in content creation, social media management and digital marketing. Originally from Wolverhampton, Conor obtained his degree from Liverpool John Moores and remained adamant that he wanted to pursue his career within the city.  

His strong capability to communicate with a variety of partners, stakeholders, and external teams, will offer a huge benefit to those starting out and looking to gain external attraction. By creating variations of content across multiple internal and external marketing channels, including social media, Conor will be helping us deliver our promise of providing all our innovators with a platform.  

As part of LYVA Lab’s dedication to growing talent, we will also be offering mentoring to Conor to help him expand in his role with Caroline Kenyon, director of communications and engagement at The Innovation Agency. As well as working with Caroline, Conor will be offered the opportunity to shadow team members from organisations such as Sciontec Liverpool and Active Profile. 

Conor said: “This position is one that really interests me and after conducting my own research about LYVA Labs, I recognise that it is an exciting time to join. I believe that the culture of the company suits me, my way of working and my interests, which is something that is important to me and my career aspirations.”  

Conor will be responsible for managing LYVA Labs social media channels, creating content, event planning and management and delivering communications campaigns. 

Conor is a graduate from LJMU and has been hired through the LJMU graduate futures project. He is from Wolverhampton and will be returning to Liverpool to take up the role. He has 6 months of experience working for a sports club digital marketing agency.