About this speaker
Kevin Holland is an experienced global business leader with 25 years’ international expertise leading businesses in over 50 countries and advising businesses on innovation, investment and growth.
He was appointed CEO for Invest NI in 2019 and leads the region’s economic development agency with a team of 650 and a budget of £170m. Invest NI’s remit is to develop Northern Ireland’s economy and support businesses to recover after Covid-19, making a positive impact for the people of Northern Ireland. The agency drives innovation and entrepreneurship, attracts domestic and foreign investment, and helps companies build exports which create jobs and improve competitiveness.
From 2016-19, he was Minister-Counsellor Life Sciences, Health and Social Care at the British Embassy in Beijing, building extensive expertise on the Chinese healthcare system and business environment. As an accredited diplomat in China, he led a team to expand trade and market access for British companies in China, to increase investment into UK life sciences’ sector and to shape government policy on registration, reimbursement and healthcare.
Previously he gained 15 years’ extensive global commercial experience at Baxter, (a US headquartered $15bn life sciences company). He led Baxter’s $600m businesses in Russia, Turkey, Middle East and Africa, building a high growth, compliance focused business employing 1500 people with a portfolio of pharma, biotech and medical devices for chronic and severe diseases.
Kevin has served as Board Director in manufacturing, commercial and clinical Joint Ventures and as Vice President Market Access Europe in Switzerland, General Manager MEA in Dubai, Business Unit Director Nordic in Sweden and Director of Strategy and Business Development in Belgium.
After graduating from Oxford University as a chemist, Kevin first held European R&D management roles at Unilever for 10 years, leading innovation, industrialisation and commercialisation and later graduated in business with an MBA from IMD in Switzerland.
