AND Technology Research announces Dr. Nicola Thorn as new CEO
Dr Nicola Thorn of AND Technology Research
Purpose-led technology company, AND Technology Research, is today announcing the appointment of new CEO Dr Nicola Thorn. With a heightened focus on sustainability-focused tech, Dr Thorn has vowed to push the company into new areas of IoT development, data analytics including AI and ML, and continue to deliver the company’s forte: building disruptive digitally connected products.
Dr Thorn’s plan for the future is based on a renewed commitment to developing ‘tech for good’ and five key areas specifically:
-
- Sustainability
- IoT accessibility
- Responsible AI and ML
- Security & Governance
- Diversity
With a strong focus on placing AND at the heart of the digital revolution, Dr Thorn will be working closely with the company and client roster to ensure that the potential for a connected world for everyone, both businesses and individuals is realised, whilst striving for a sustainable industry.
In particular, AND will be investing further in initiatives to facilitate product development and IoT deployment for businesses at a cost that makes business models work. This will be complemented by a push on the use of AI and ML in regulated markets. In addition, AND will continue to give extra time and budget towards wider education and coding skills, as well as responsible and ethical practices across the industry.
AND’s mission and purpose is a cause close to the heart of the new CEO, having worked within the family business from the age of 16, where she started working as IT support. Since then, Dr Thorn has worked across many roles, including summer placements, app development, and data analytics. Dr Thorn officially became a full-time employee at AND as the executive engineer in June 2018, after the completing her Mathematics PhD from the University of Reading. After one year, she went on to assume her now previous role as executive director.
Former CEO, and Founder of AND, Dr Valerie Lynch, will undertake a new role as ‘Chairman of the board’, whilst still maintaining an active role within the company’s development, direction and approach to purpose-led innovation.
Commenting on her time as CEO and founder since 1980, Dr Lynch said: “40 years have flown past. It has been great fun, and a privilege to work in such a great industry. I founded AND at the start of the microcontroller revolution and I am now excited for the next phase; watching the next stage of AND as it progresses through the digital revolution. I have no doubt Dr Thorn will excel in her new role and take the company to new heights!”
Commenting on her new role, CEO, Dr Nicola Thorn said: “The success of AND is the accumulation of tremendous amounts of hard work over the decades from a lot of people, and no one more so than Dr Valerie Lynch. In my new role, I want to build on the many fantastic achievements of her and the staff, both past and present, striving to grow our customer reach, our technology services, and turn more pioneering ideas into reality.
“We will continue to expand our c2 IoT development platform which is already revolutionising the product development journey by providing rapid, scalable, bespoke and cost-effective solutions.
“We will also introduce our latest collaborative online tool, Tento, which helps companies of any size ease the regulatory pathway to product compliance.
“And most importantly, we will continue to tackle the key issues facing our industry such as sustainability, security, governance, diversity and inclusion. We will investigate new technology areas, such as self-powering battery-less devices, personalised medical technologies, uses for mixed and virtual realties, and much more.
AND will for companies, as it has for many already, be a safe-pair of hands, a trusted partner, committed to delivering innovative, commercially successful products. It’s far more than just a job to me; the family business has of course always been a part of my life – it is with enormous pride, passion, and excitement that I will build upon the legacy of Val, and lead AND into its next 40 years.”
Comment on this article below or via Twitter @IoTGN