Northern Gritstone, the life sciences and deeptech investment firm, has appointed Gordon McAlpine to the newly created role of growth director, NG Innovation Services (NGIS).
McAlpine brings over 30 years of entrepreneurial and leadership experience to the role, including 25 years of scaling tech businesses and multiple successful exits. He co-founded BigHand, a legal tech company and played a pivotal role in its global expansion. As a non-executive director, coach, and Amazon #1 bestselling author of Scale Up Millionaire, Gordon has advised numerous founders on achieving rapid growth and successful exits.
Launched in February 2024, NGIS is the “+++” that works alongside the intelligent capital invested by Northern Gritstone to ensure that early-stage companies have the best chance of success. McAlpine will lead the NG Growth function, one of the five functions within NGIS, where he will work closely with founders and leadership teams to help them build scalable business models, drive sustainable revenue growth, and prepare for further investment.
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Active since May 2022, Northern Gritstone has already invested in 32 early-stage science and deeptech companies, from university spinouts through to Pragmatic Semiconductor – a world leader in semiconductor innovation. Its mission is ‘profit with purpose’ combining strong returns for investors with wider positive, societal and economic impact, including regional growth.
Duncan Johnson, chief executive of Northern Gritstone, said: “Gordon’s appointment marks a significant step in strengthening our capability to support the growth of science and technology early-stage businesses in the North. His experience in scaling companies for growth and his passion for mentoring align with our mission to support ambitious founders on the path to success.”
McAlpine added: “Joining Northern Gritstone and NG Innovation Services is a fantastic opportunity to apply my experience in scaling early-stage businesses. On first meeting Duncan, I could see a shared philosophy on how to fast-track businesses to become customer-led and focused on rapid and sustained sales growth. I’m really looking forward to supporting these companies so that the amazing science and technology coming out of the North of England results in world-class global companies.”
NG Innovation Services’ five core functions are:
- NG Studios – a unique venture building program, delivered with industry-leading partners with domain expertise.
- NG Talent – connecting entrepreneurs, operators and c-suite with early-stage founders.
- NG Growth – accelerates the transition from technology- and product-led businesses to customer-led businesses in the pre-seed and seed funding rounds.
- NG Business Services – offering best-in-breed panels of service providers across critical functions including HR, IT, Finance and Insurance.
