Kevin Cullen

Dr. Kevin Cullen recently retired as Vice President for Innovation at King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia, where he worked from January 2018. Kevin was responsible for all aspects of Innovation Strategy and delivery, with a focus on Entrepreneurship and Economic Development. Kevin introduced Research Translation Funding of up to $25m per project to accelerate innovations from lab to market and established a $200m Deep Tech Investment fund to establish KAUST as a key player in the Middle East's Deep Tech ecosystem. He is particularly proud of the fact that over 50% of the start-up founders in his Saudi University of Science and Technology were female.

Before Saudi Arabia, Kevin worked in University Tech Transfer in the UK (Heriot-Watt and Glasgow) and Australia (UNSW) as Director and CEO. Dr. Cullen has over 30 years of experience in academic innovation and business development. Throughout his career he has helped elevate university-based innovation. Best known for introducing Easy Access IP and developing "that Bloody Diagram" which has been referenced globally as a model for Tech Transfer, Kevin likes to innovate innovation.

Kevin has been active in the global Tech Transfer community for many years and served on the Board of AUTM 3 times, the Board of PraxisUnico in the UK, the Board of ASTP in Europe and the Board of KCA in Australia. He played a key role in the formation of the Global Alliance of Technology Transfer Professionals (ATTP) and was the founding chair of the Alliance.