Meet The CBIT Team
Led by Professor Xiao Ma, the CBIT Venture Builder and Research Team boasts extensive experience in business transformation, industry research, and bespoke one-on-one iterative development. Born from WMG Accelerator, our STEM-based venture builder is well versed in co-developing, validating, and growth-hacking STEM outputs with researchers addressing specific needs.
Our team has been involved in over 70 start-ups and includes six different nationalities, six areas of study, six languages spoken, and a passion for entrepreneurship.
Xiao Ma
Director of CBIT
Xiao founded CBIT after co-creating the UK's No.1 ranked master's degree in entrepreneurship while leading the WMG Accelerator at the University of Warwick. Prior to joining academia, Xiao was either the founder, co-founder, or CEO of several successful start-ups. Currently, he's also an investment board member at Touchstone Capital. Xiao received his PhD in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Warwick and holds a bachelor's in Computer Science from the Beijing Institute of Technology. He is also fluent in Mandarin and conversational in Korean.
Georgi Ilieve
Head of Venture Builder
As a founding member of CBIT, Georgi has extensive experience nurturing start-ups and innovation. Before joining CBIT, he was a Tech Lead at Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) Accelerator, where he honed his product development and process improvement skills. Georgi holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Coventry University. He is also fluent in Bulgarian and conversational in Russian.
Connor Morrison
Head of Growth
Connor joined CBIT with a wealth of experience in leading growth teams from around the world. Before joining our team, Connor was the Head of Marketing at a funded SaaS start-up. Prior to that, he led sales and marketing efforts in law, sports, fashion, cannabis, and politics. Connor holds a master's degree in Project Management from Nottingham Business School as well as a bachelor's degree in Communications and Business Administration from Notre Dame de Namur. He is also conversational in French.
Mohamed Abbas
Business Engagement & Community Manager
Mohamed is one of the longest-standing members of the CBIT team, having worked alongside Xiao, Georgi, and Jay at WMG Accelerator. Mohamed has spent a significant portion of his career creating, analysing, and managing a wide variety of communities. Before joining CBIT, he was an Entrepreneurial Development Officer at the University of Birmingham and a Start-up Mentor at PIM. Prior to that, he was an Analyst and Co-ordinator for the United Nations. Mohammed holds a master's degree in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from the University of Warwick and a bachelor's degree in business and management from Damascus University. He also speaks Arabic fluently.
Dr. Fatima Gillani
Senior Research Fellow
Fatima is the lead researcher for CBIT and a module course leader for our master's programme. With over five years of consulting and teaching experience, she has proven to be a pioneering force in technology and innovation management. Her multidisciplinary research delves into digital transformation, sustainability, and electrification of transport, driving impactful change in academia and industry alike. With a PhD in Operations Management from Lahore University of Management Sciences, an MBA, and a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology in Lahore, Fatima's academic achievements speak volumes about her expertise. She is also fluent in Urdu.
Zeng Fan
Researcher
Zeng is our in-house signal processing, AI, machine learning, and big data optimization expert. As a former Research Fellow at Brunel University's Computer Science Department, he excelled in extensive big data analysis and optimization, focusing on feature and event detection, classification, and prediction within the "A human-centred Internet of Things platform for the sustainable digital mine of the future" Horizon 2020 funded project. Zeng holds a PhD. in Electrical Engineering and an MPhil. Electrical Engineering from Brunel University London. He received his bachelor's in Electrical Engineering from Dalian University of Technology. Zeng is also fluent in Mandarin.
Jay Bal
Professor and Business Modelling Expert
PhD. Artificial Intelligence, University of Warwick MSc. Integrated System Design, University of Manchester EITB Fellowship, Manufacturing Management, Cranfield School of Management
Muhammed Junaid
Postgraduate Researcher
Junaid is currently a PhD. candidate at Nottingham Trent University for science and engineering. He holds a masters degree in Management Science from Taiyuan University of Technology and bachelors degree in Economics from the University of Warsaw. Junaid is also fluent in Urdu and conversational in Mandarin.
Advisors
Phil Webster
Independent Advisor, Operations
Phil is an experienced Fractional COO and strategic advisor with a proven track record of working with Founders/CEOs to align operations to organisational strategy. He's passionate about driving innovation, productivity and growth in tech-focused businesses. Phil is adept at bridging the gap between vision and execution. He has experience in Fintech in AML and KYC due diligence as well as support service businesses in parking management and R&D tax advice. Phil was also an AI developer in the defence industry and is now an Expert in confidential computing in personal genomics. In the start-up world, Phil was involved in edtech; managing the problem of staff/parent communication in multiple languages. He also spent time in a design research agency specialising in technology and healthcare, a medical device start-up, and an AI-led start-up focused on the water industry.
Chunli Cao
Independent Advisor, CFD & MIcro climate technologies
Dr. Chunli Cao is an expert in air quality, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and energy efficiency in buildings, with a specialization in Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). A developer of the international energy calculator for BREEAM in Use, and a level 5 energy performance assessor, Dr. Cao's work spans across environmental science and technology. As a fellow of CIBSE, CEng, and MIMechE, committee member of Chinese green building council, her global perspective is influenced by extensive experience in China, the UK, and the Middle East. Fluent in English and Chinese, Dr. Cao is dedicated to advancing sustainable building practices and enhancing environmental conditions through academic and practical approaches.
Amin Al-habaibeh
Independent Advisor, Product Design & development
Professor Amin Al-Habaibeh is Professor of Intelligent Engineering System at Nottingham Trent University. He has over 25 years of experience in industrial research, development and innovation; with significant experience in the area of artificial intelligence, engineering, product design innovation, built environment, instrumentation, IoTs, mechatronics, and manufacturing. Currently acting as the Director of Product Innovation Centre (PIC) at Nottingham Trent University, developing state-of-the-art technologies to support businesses, communities and society towards a better future with new and enhanced products and services. He is a Chartered engineer and member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (the IET). His recent work has been funded by Innovate UK, AHRC, EPSRC, GCRF, H2020, the British Council, ERDF and the Royal Academy of Engineering. As a technologies, Amin’s work covers a wide range of industries and sectors to support innovation and enhanced productivity.
Rong Qu
Independent advisor, AI & Data Science
Professor Qu’s research interests include the modelling and optimisation for operations optimisation in logistics supply chain and resource optimisations in transport, healthcare, and energy efficient buildings, etc. using machine learning supported optimisation algorithms in operational research and artificial intelligence. These intelligent techniques are integrated with intelligent decision support systems for logistic fleet operations at SMEs, workforce scheduling at hospitals, policy making in education, and cyber security for connected and autonomous vehicles. Research fields: Automated Algorithm Design; Hyper-heuristics; Evolutionary Computation Machine Learning; Data Mining; Knowledge Discovery Constraint Programming; Mathematical Programming, Case Based Reasoning Collaborative industries: Transport Logistic Scheduling and Vehicle Routing Cyber Security for Connected Vehicles Personnel Scheduling, Timetabling Portfolio Optimization My approach focuses on deep user understanding through primary research, leveraging data for strategic decisions, agile iteration for continuous improvement, and collaborative teamwork to achieve shared goals. Industries: Health, Wellbeing, Sustainability, Digital Health, MedTech Fields of Expertise: GenAI, Go To Market, Early Stage Startup (Digital Product Development, MVP), Fractional C Suite (CTO, CPO), NED, Investor
Martin Sanhu
Independent advisor, Digital HealthCare
With 20 years of experience in product development and technology delivery, I specialise in advancing companies from concept to market in the UK, US and GCC. My expertise blends insights with design thinking to create impactful digital solutions that drive real results. My approach focuses on deep user understanding through primary research, leveraging data for strategic decisions, agile iteration for continuous improvement, and collaborative teamwork to achieve shared goals. Industries: Health, Wellbeing, Sustainability, Digital Health, MedTech Fields of Expertise: GenAI, Go To Market, Early Stage Startup (Digital Product Development, MVP), Fractional C Suite (CTO, CPO), NED, Investor