Team members come from NHS and commercial backgrounds and, collectively, have over 150 year’s of industry and NHS experience.
Our collective expertise means we understand the drivers influencing your business aims and objectives.
And our close working links with colleagues from directorates and teams across our organisation, means we can develop bespoke, realistic proposals and targeted solutions to meet your needs.
Wayne Elliott, senior commercial business manager

With over 15 years’ in a commercial environment, Wayne can help with innovation ideas, supporting with the innovation pathway, product development, market analysis, forecasting and demand planning and pricing strategies. Wayne can link directly with key experts within the trust, to provide insights and feedback around your needs.
Wayne provides hands on commercial expertise to the Trust and SMEs. This involves working with project teams, developing business cases, assessing customer needs, providing up-to-date market analysis, and defining the route to commercialisation.
Talk to me about: Engaging and working with the NHS, product market placement, training course development, diagnostics.
Martin Crosby, senior commercial business manager

Martin joined the NHS in 2002 and has held a number of positions in directorate management in a range of specialties including musculo-skeletal, general surgery, trauma and orthopaedics, medicine, plastics and dermatology and Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT). Martin has developed a detailed understanding of the operational issues facing clinical teams and managers. He has first hand experience of the challenges teams are facing as they work to move beyond Covid and he can offer his experience to support services to develop their commercial opportunities.
Martin is responsible for working closely with teams across the Trust and with a range of NHS and private sector organisations to identify and develop potential commercial opportunities and maximise commercial value. Martin can support with product evaluations, real world data generation and collaborative partnerships.
Talk to me about: Developing partnership working, maximising commercial opportunities and value, and navigating NHS organisations.
Lynsay Tait, senior commercial finance manager

Lynsay has worked as a qualified accountant within the public sector for over 20 years, with experience in a variety of operational and strategic roles across a number of local authorities and NHS organisations, before joining Newcastle Hospitals in 2014 as corporate finance manager, providing strategic financial support to non-clinical directorates.
Lynsay joined our commercial enterprise team in April 2022 and is responsible for the financial accounting of commercial activity in the trust, financial due diligence, contract negotiation, income delivery, review of commercial pricing and costing, tracking opportunities and forecasting.
Talk to me about: Understanding the NHS financial regime, financial governance, cost saving initiatives, bids for funding, business case financials, pricing and cost-benefit analysis.
Julie Marsh, head of communications

Julie has worked in a number of NHS communications roles over the last 23 years, at regional, local and national levels. Prior to working in the NHS, she worked in communications in the criminal justice and local authority sectors.
Julie’s experience includes strategic communications, marketing communications, integrated campaign development, media relations, stakeholder engagement, corporate communications and crisis management.
Most recently, Julie led communications for the Integrated Covid Hub North East, working closely with partner communications leads and the NHS vaccination programme.
Charlotte Fox, business innovation manager

Over the past 14 years Charlotte has worked in various roles across the NHS. With an academic background in biomedical science and drug discovery and development, Charlotte’s particular areas of expertise are: clinical research, evidence generation, supporting a culture for innovation and the adoption of digital healthcare products.
Charlotte has worked across the innovation ecosystem in the north east and north Cumbria region for the past seven years and built up a large network of contacts across different sectors, universities and industry partners, to support innovation in health.
In her current role, Charlotte manages intellectual property across the trust and supports NHS innovators, clinical entrepreneurs and leads on developing and implementing our innovation strategy.
Talk to me about: Engaging and working with the NHS, leveraging funding, value proposition, product market placement, engaging with service users.
Melanie Shield, commercial business manager

Melanie has over 25 years’ experience in a variety of commercial roles in the private sector from start-ups to FTSE 250 companies. Having launched a wide portfolio of products, to market, she has a wealth of experience in product development, procurement, strategic planning and driving commercial activity.
Melanie provides a dedicated point of contact for customers and commercial partners looking to engage the services of the North East Innovation Lab. She works to identify customer requirements, establish good relationships, develop service agreements and to support clients’ needs.
Talk to me about: Engaging the North East Innovation Lab to support the development of your diagnostic technology.