Rowena Burns

Rowena has held the position of Chief Executive at Manchester Science Partnerships (MSP) since 2012, and in 2017 she became Chairman. She describes the MSP role as perfect, a public/private sector partnership focused on driving growth and opportunity in the most vibrant and innovative sectors of the economy.

Rowena has deep roots in the Great Manchester economy, and previous roles as a Group Director of the Manchester Airports Group, and latterly, as Chief Operating Officer of MSP’s parent company, Bruntwood Estates, have all been focused on working in partnership – reflecting her deeply held belief that successful cities are those whose leaders make common cause across functional and organisational boundaries, and together deliver more than the sum of their parts. She remains a director of Bruntwood, whose deep development and place-making skills play a key role in the City’s growth strategy.

Rowena has had the good fortune to be at the helm of MSP during a period of exceptional growth. The Partnership has over 2m sq feet of workspace, incubation, and lab facilities at its two main campuses, catering for businesses at every stage of life cycle. Its main Manchester campus sits at the heart of Manchester’s knowledge quarter, and is home to a wide range of science and technology companies. The Alderley Park campus includes a million sq ft of state of the art bioscience facilities, the best such campus in the UK.

Rowena’s approach to driving growth involves extensive joint working with the City’s universities, major hospitals, and industry partners. Current projects include Chairmanship of a multi-partner national Internet of Things Demonstrator funded by Innovate UK, and Board membership of the Corridor Partnership, a unique collaboration which is driving the continued growth of Manchester’s knowledge quarter and innovation ecosystem.

In 2015 Rowena became a founder member and now is Chairman of Health Innovation Manchester, a ground-breaking collaboration designed to leverage the strengths of Manchester’s academic, clinical, and industry partners to develop and deliver innovations which will improve the health of the region’s 3m population. Rowena chairs this partnership, which works alongside the only devolved health system in Europe to provide a unique opportunity for citizens and patients to benefit from early adoption of research and industry-led diagnostics, treatments, and services.

Rowena's professional feet are very firmly planted in city life, but away from work, she has a passion for all things rural, and is rarely found indoors other than round a dining table with family or friends.

Rowena joined the Board of Governors on 1 September 2019 and is a member of the Audit Committee and Remuneration Committee.