Meet the team

Saffron Myhill

Innovation Funding Team Manager

Saffron Myhill is Innovation Funding Manager at University of East Anglia overseeing business support programmes such as Creative Unlimited, Invest East Investment Readiness Programme and Low Carbon Innovation Funds 1 & 2. Since 2012 she has worked with many early and growth stage businesses supporting them to develop and raise equity investment – closing more than 100 investment deals. Saffron started her career in the advertising, design and print industry and worked for more than 10 years in London agencies large and small. After this she moved into sustainability, working for National Energy Foundation, and founding both a not-for-profit training organisation and a solar design and installation business. Her experience of scaling businesses in both the creative industries and clean growth sector have been extremely valuable in understanding the needs of ambitious businesses in the region.

Sam Burton

Senior Investment Advisor

Sam started her career in factual television production, working on programmes for ITV and Sky before moving into film where she was the Production Executive at Screen East. There she worked on script development, executive produced over 50 short films for the UK Film Council, was executive producer on several feature films and invested in sustainability in Film, Computer Games and TV through a Low Carbon Content Fund. For over 10 years, Sam has been working with businesses in both the creative industries, and other sectors, making investments through the Low Carbon Innovation Fund at the University of East Anglia. During this time, she has also worked as an advisor for the Invest East Investment Readiness Programme, as well as the Creative Unlimited Investment Readiness Programme for the Creative Industries. Sam is on the advisory board of Norfolk Screen, a film office for Norfolk.

Alice Whitney

Investment Funding Advisor

Alice is an executive creative producer and manager with over twenty-five years of experience across a broad portfolio spanning commercial, broadcast, events, education, skills development, creative, cultural, public, and not for profit sectors. She is Co Founder and Director of Creative Nation, an independent production agency. This cross-sector experience has provided her with a broad perspective which enables Alice to bridge the gap between sectors and disciplines. Passionate about the creative industries, sector, regional and talent development and place making, Alice is committed to both her industries and to developing the next generation. She also devotes her time to a number of voluntary mentoring roles as well as initiatives and organisations committed to developing the creative industries and its workforce, here in the East of England and farther afield. Alice is Vice Chair of Suffolk Artlink and a founding member of the steering group that developed Suffolk’s film office Screen Suffolk.

Alex Jeffery

Investment Funding Advisor

Alex has over 25 years of experience in the Creative Industries and in business development. An industry professional known for his diverse breadth of work and respected in both creative and commercial fields, with a proven track record of driving success in both. He founded his first production business aged 23, creating music videos for iconic music artists from Sinead O’connor to Coldplay, as well as working with leading broadcasters on TV shows including CH4’s ‘100 greatest TV series’. He’s worked as a creative for Advertising Agencies including M&C Saatchi and in business development for some of London’s leading commercial post production companies. He co-founded Creative Nation, a production agency delivering projects across a wide range of clients from global brands and advertising agencies to world renowned artists. He was also programme director for the BFI Film Academy in Norfolk and Suffolk for the past 6 years. Most recently he has worked as Head of Content for a tech start up with backers that include US basketball star Shaquille O’Neal, Seedcamp and Apple executive Rory Sexton. A specialist in supporting creative development and the marketing of new services in creative fields.

Liam Bailey

Investment Funding Advisor

Liam initially trained and worked in science teaching, but since his mid-twenties has worked in the creative sector with a range of careers, starting out in Broadcast TV and post-production for the BBC, before moving into photography. Here he built a 20-year career in commercial and project work. After a Masters in Photography which included many business elements due to a collaboration with the London Business School, Liam found he had a desire to work in a creative enterprise, and after cutting his teeth in the Picture Library business went on to co-found the successful online platform for photography, Photocrowd.com. He has had roles as a NED for creative enterprises and worked as a business advisor, most recently for UK Innovate Edge in the East of England. He is a regular panellist and moderator at annual conferences for the DMLA (Digital Media Licensing Association) US and CEPIC (DMLA’s European equivalent). Liam recently completed a Master’s in Creativity and Entrepreneurship at Novia University in Finland. Liam continues to be an active part of the creative industries and his Book Glastonbury, the festival and its people is launched summer 2024

Josh Allton-Jones

Programme Communications Coordinator

With over a decade of experience in marketing and business development, Josh has a track record of fostering strategic and creative partnerships. Having spent most of his career working agency side, Josh moved back to the UEA (where he got his degree) to work first at Norwich Business School, and then as Programme Communications Coordinator for Creative East. As a member of Creative East, Josh collaborates closely with the UEA Innovation Funding Team to deliver the Create Growth Programme. His role entails establishing and nurturing relationships with external partners and stakeholders, ensuring seamless communication with cohort participants, event speakers, attendees, venues, and other suppliers. Josh takes a hands-on approach in devising and coordinating arrangements for cohort participants attending programme events, and manages and facilitates the logistics. Additionally, he is responsible for capturing and sharing the positive impacts of the programme, effectively showcasing its value and contributions to stakeholders and the wider community.

Faizan Aamir

GHG Reduction Analyst

Faizan merges environmental expertise with business thinking. He holds a bachelor's in Environmental Engineering and is pursuing a master's in Globalisation, Business and Sustainable Development at the University of East Anglia. Faizan has over 3 years of experience as a Sustainability Analyst, where he excelled in crafting sustainability strategies, measuring and reporting environmental impact and designing engaging sustainability campaigns. Faizan calculates the environmental impact of businesses within Creative East's Low Carbon Innovation Fund. He translates this data into impactful reports, showcasing the Fund's collective efforts in reducing climate burden and promoting green investments.