Delivery Team

Director - Space South Central Enterprise Network

Louise Butt leads the Space South Central Enterprise Network, the delivery arm of the regional space cluster, Space South Central. Over the last four years, Louise has been a champion and advocate for space and satellite technologies. During her tenure at the South Coast Centre of Excellence in Satellite Applications, her team worked tirelessly to unlock the region’s latent space potential, build a thriving regional space community, and explore relevant space opportunities to promote economic growth.

Passionate about the role of science and technology in solving some of the world’s greatest challenges, Louise trained and worked as a biochemist before transitioning into research and innovation facilitation. While working in the Higher Education sector, she applied her knowledge in project management, partnership building, bid development, event management, and funding support to develop interdisciplinary technology-focused projects for industry and academia.

ESA Regional Ambassador

I started my career as a scientific researcher, having completed a PhD in environmental sciences. I have spent over 10 years working across research institutions in the EU investigating how anthropogenic pollution impacts the environment. 

Before joining ESA I  worked in strategic research and innovation, helping to identify, nurture and deliver funding opportunities for the University of Portsmouth with a focus on Future and Emerging Technology including Space and Satellite Applications. I have recently completed an MBA in strategic leadership. 

International Partnership Manager

Tobias Marchant is the International Partnership Manager for Space South Central.

With 15 years recruitment experience and joining the Cluster from Serco Space Services Europe, he will be responsible for fostering strong relationships and international partnerships.

Aiming to form strategic collaboration to help grow the Space sector in the South Coast (Surrey & Hampshire), Toby will liaise within the region with local businesses (start-ups, SME’s and Primes) and government bodies. Toby will also work internationally with Universities, private companies, investment funds and national bodies to help promote international alliances, knowledge exchange, research and trade.

Toby's expertise lies in his comprehensive knowledge of the global space industry and his keen understanding of key growth areas for the UK, EMEA, Australia, and America. With a focus on addressing skills challenges face by companies that can limit potential growth, he has helped businesses with scale up strategy and long-term growth plans and how to take their business to the next phase. He is dedicated to advancing the industry's capabilities.

Business Development Manager

Dan Smith has recently joined the team within Space South Central. He is the Business Development Manager for the team and works hard to link businesses with Space South Central. He believes passionately in collaborative working, with a team-first ethos. Dan has worked for the University of Portsmouth for over 6 years, and knows how the HE sector operates. His forensic knowledge of university processes and procedures means he is well-placed to help businesses build links with the wider Space South Central academic community.

Business Engagement Manager for Space at the University of Southampton

Frances is part of Research and Innovation Services (RIS) at the University of Southampton and has been leading interactions with the space sector for four years. She was Southampton’s SPRINT Innovation Advisor 2019-2022 and is now Southampton’s key liaison for Space South Central, where she also serves on the Advisory Board and on the Innovation and Enterprise Committee.

As a Humanities graduate with an enduring interest in science, Frances had roles within Humanities until switching to a science focus, allowed her to lead the team developing strategic interdisciplinary research groups at Southampton, themed around grand challenges. This led to engagement with industry and the chance to develop collaborative funding bids.

Frances has developed a wide network of academic contacts, which provided scope to generate a significant upsurge of interest in space at the university, which allowed her to demonstrate and showcase the excellence of Southampton’s space capabilities, raising the profile of Southampton as a space university.

Communication Coordinator

Lee O'Driscoll works with Ebony Cox-Vint to manage marketing and communications for Space South Central, with a focus on strategy, media relations, content writing and producing the cluster's marketing materials, such as brochures and videos.

She has worked in marketing, PR and corporate communications for both private and public sector organisations for more than 20 years, with many years of experience in the technology and higher education sectors.

Communication Coordinator

Ebony works with Lee O’Driscoll as a communications coordinator. After working on VR projects Cube Sat and Sat-Vis for the South Coast Centre of Excellence during her Computer Games Technology undergraduate degree, Ebony joined the team building up her expertise in online communications. Ebony now uses her skills to manage Space South Central’s social media channels, and website and is responsible for developing compelling content using quality graphics and imagery.

Senior Administrator

Vicky is a great multi-tasker who joined the original team back in 2018. Having worked previously in various customer service roles, it has always been a goal for her to work in the space industry. Vicky oversees operations and events, and coordinates with our stakeholders and membership, engaging in planning activities as required.

Emeritus Professor - Space South Central Enterprise Network

Adrian Hopgood is Emeritus Professor of Intelligent Systems at the University of Portsmouth, where he was previously Executive Director of the Space South Central Enterprise Network.He is also a visiting professor at the Open University and at Sheffield Hallam University. He is a Chartered Engineer, Fellow of the BCS (the Chartered Institute for IT), and a committee member for the BCS Specialist Group on Artificial Intelligence. Professor Hopgood has worked at the level of Dean and Pro Vice-Chancellor in four universities in the UK and Belgium, and he has enjoyed scientific roles with Systems Designers PLC and the Telstra Research Laboratories in Australia. His main research interests are in artificial intelligence and its practical applications. He has supervised more than 20 PhD projects to completion and published more than 100 research articles. His textbook "Intelligent Systems for Engineers and Scientists: A Practical Guide to Artificial Intelligence" is ranked as a bestseller and its fourth edition was published in 2022.