PhD Peter Quantick
Director and Co Founder
With over 30 years’ experience in developing successful project proposals, Peter embodies RedKnight’s experience and knowledge. With a BSc (Joint Hons) in Botany and Zoology and a PhD in Plant Pathology at the Imperial College, he became Head of Research Office at Lincoln University, obtaining a distinguished Honorary Fellowship in 2008. Peter later joined Cardiff Met as European Projects Director and the University of Wales Trinity St David as Professor of European Research and Innovation.
Peter has been an evaluator and reviewer for European Commission for over 25 years and Chaired the expert group which evaluated Framework Programme 7. He was also appointed member of HEFCW and WEFOs Working Group on the new Structural Funds Programmes.
- +44 (0) 2920 190 281
Dayne Hodgson
Director and Co Founder
Dayne is an expert in start-up and small business funding programmes, including Horizon Europe, Innovate UK, and European Structural and Investment Funding (ESIF). In 2009, he obtained a First-Class Honours Degree in Management Studies from Cardiff Metropolitan University, after which he joined the university’s Research and Enterprise Services (RES) department and started to develop his knowledge of National and International funding streams. He joined University of Wales Trinity St David (UWTSD) as a European Strategy Development Officer in 2014, where he supported the development of successful ESIF and Erasmus+ projects.
Dayne co-founded RedKnight in 2015 and leads on bid-writing and proposal development. In this time, he has supported over 200 funding applications, helping clients source over £10m of grant funding. In 2019, Dayne was shortlisted for the NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Award in the Service Industry category and was named on the Wales Online 35 under 35 businessmen of the year.
- +44 (0) 2920 190 281
Ann Waters
Associate Bid Writer
With a Masters (MSocSc) in Economic Development and Policy at the University of Birmingham, Ann has over 20 years of experience in bid development, project delivery and research and evaluation. With detailed knowledge of European Structural Funds, particularly ERDF, Ann has raised over £10 million for economic development projects. She also has experience with Erasmus+ and Horizon 2020. Ann also develops supporting material for bids including research reports detailing the need and demand for projects and economic impact assessments highlighting the economic and social benefits of proposed developments. Ann has also provided interim management, compliance and audit advice until project teams are in place, as well as post-project evaluation.
- +44 (0) 2920 190 281
Dr. Diana Branzea
Associate Bid Writer
Diana is a highly trained multilingual scientist with broad expertise in different areas of chemistry (Coordination and organic chemistry – PhD and post-doctoral studies; material chemistry – MSc; and inorganic chemistry – BSc). While working as a researcher in France, she has conducted research on the development of novel compounds for various applications. Thanks to the successful involvement as manager and/or team member on eighteen different cross-disciplinary projects, Diana gained extensive experience in research proposal writing as well as in European programmes (e.g. FP6, INTAS), French and Romanian national programmes (e.g. ANR; Brancusi – French-Romanian bilateral collaboration projects; CEEX; CERES; Young Researchers; Young PhD ). Her main concerns are for the clients’ wellbeing and doing everything efficiently.
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Dr. Tom Wantock
Associate Bid Writer
Tom has direct experience in matching deep technologies to unmet needs, and he understands the challenges faced by clients on long innovation journeys. His technical grounding in Physics (MSci, University of Birmingham) and space propulsion (PhD, University of Surrey + industry partners) led to a desire for entrepreneurial impact, further inspired and supported by SETsquared (global #1 university business incubator). Over >7 years as employee #1 at a deeptech/medtech start-up, he developed >15 early-stage collaborative R&D grant applications (TRL 2-6) to a multitude of funders, growing a network and leveraging hundreds of thousands of pounds to provide support up to initial commercial milestones. Tom is driven to help highly innovative, mission-oriented clients effectively tell their stories and secure the funding they deserve.
- +44 (0) 2920 190 281
Dr. Oliver Buckley
Associate Bid Writer
Oli holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Wales, Bangor, where he focused on soft tissue modelling for surgery simulation. He is an academic with more than a decade’s worth of experience in cutting-edge research, primarily focused on cyber security, digital healthcare and data-driven technologies. He has a strong portfolio of successful funding including UKRI, Innovate UK, and other government/industry funding. Prior to working in academia, Oli gained experience developing innovative technology solutions as a software engineer across a range of industries (including biosciences, technology, cloud computing and scientific software). Oli is highly motivated to help clients develop their stories and bring exciting new technologies that are capable of delivering real-world impact to fruition.
- +44 (0) 2920 190 281
Kaleigh Waine
Associate Claims Manager
Kaleigh has over 20 years of experience in the financial world and holds a diploma in Accounting and Finance from the Association of Accounting Technicians. Kaleigh has developed a thorough knowledge of Innovate UK programmes throughout her career; to date, she has secured funding for more than 40 projects, totalling over £10m. She also has vast experience working with Horizon 2020 and Catapult funding. This has given her in-depth experience of working to strict audit requirements and developing supporting material to ensure funding is released. Kaleigh is driven to ensure all clients receive their funding to continue developing their innovative ideas.
- +44 (0) 2920 190 281