# Jonathan Milner

> Jonathan Milner is a British scientist, entrepreneur, investor and philanthropic funder. He co-founded Abcam in Cambridge in 1998, led it as CEO until 2014, and helped develop its online research-tools business. He supports other founders, chairs Nuclera and the Evolution Education Trust, and founded the Gloucestershire conservation and farming project Sapperton Wilder.

- **Role:** CEO and Executive Director at Meltwind Advisory; Non-executive Chairman at Nuclera; Non-executive Chairman at Healx; Chair at the Evolution Education Trust; Founder at Sapperton Wilder
- **Organizations:** Abcam, Nuclera, Healx, Evolution Education Trust, Sapperton Wilder, University of Bath, University of Leicester, University of Cambridge, Meltwind Advisory
- **From:** Minchinhampton, United Kingdom
- **Nationality:** British
- **Education:** Applied Biology, University of Bath, PhD in Molecular Genetics, University of Leicester
- **Known for:** Built Abcam’s online research-tools business and led its 2005 AIM flotation., CEO of the Year at the European Mediscience Awards, 2010., Honorary Doctor of Business Administration from Anglia Ruskin University, 2011.

## Career timeline

- **1988** — Graduated from the University of Bath.
- **1992-1995** — Research fellow at Bath in Professor Tony Rees’s laboratory.
- **1995-1998** — Research fellow in Professor Tony Kouzarides’ laboratory at Cambridge.
- **1998** — Founded Abcam with David Cleevely and Tony Kouzarides; became CEO.
- **2005** — Led Abcam through its AIM flotation.
- **2010** — Founded the Evolution Education Trust.
- **2014** — Alan Hirzel succeeded him as Abcam CEO; Milner became deputy chairman.
- **2015** — Pledged £5 million towards Bath’s evolution centre.
- **2018** — Bath’s Milner Centre for Evolution building opened.
- **2023** — Opposed Danaher’s $24-per-share offer for Abcam; the acquisition completed in December.
- **2024** — Appointed non-executive chairman of Nuclera in January and Healx in December.
- **2026** — Bath renamed the Milner Centre for Evolution as the Centre for Evolution in line with his wishes.

## Achievements

- Built Abcam’s online research-tools business and led its 2005 AIM flotation.
- CEO of the Year at the European Mediscience Awards, 2010.
- Honorary Doctor of Business Administration from Anglia Ruskin University, 2011.
- Honorary doctorate from the University of Bath, 2013.
- CiteAb Lifetime Achievement Award, 2016.
- Investment, mentoring and support for more than 80 companies, according to Nuclera’s board biography.
- Helped three technology companies reach AIM listings, according to Nuclera.
- Pledged £5 million towards establishing Bath’s evolution centre.
- Founded Sapperton Wilder to explore nature recovery alongside farming and community benefit.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Sapperton Wilder reported spreading locally harvested wildflower seed over nearly ten hectares of northern-block fields.
- **2026-05** — Bath announced the evolution centre would become the Centre for Evolution on 31 May, in line with Milner’s wishes; existing EET Scholar support continued.
- **2026-03** — Sapperton Wilder published a baseline earthworm report describing surveys undertaken in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
- **2024-12** — Appointed non-executive chairman of Healx.

## Links

- Website: https://www.meltwind.co.uk/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-milner-309a095a/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jonathan-milner
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-14