Debra Leeves
MPharm Pharmacy 1985
Since graduating from the University of Sunderland, Debra has gone on to become a successful entrepreneur and is now CEO of Vertual Ltd, a global supplier of virtual reality (VR) software systems.
Debra has worked in medical technology and pharmaceuticals for the past 35 years managing companies across the globe in the US, Middle East and Europe.
Debra was born in Hull and lived in the area until the early 80s before embarking upon a Pharmacy degree at The University of Sunderland (or Sunderland Polytechnic as it was then known).
In advance of her studies, Debra thought that her degree might enable her to open up a community pharmacy store but as her course progressed, and by talking to her academics, she realised that there was a whole world of opportunity within pharmacy she hadn’t previously considered.
After graduating in 1985, she began a career within the Pharmaceutical industry at P&G, Merck, GSK and finally Pfizer gaining a wider range experience in sales, marketing, regulatory, business and mergers and acquisitions.
In 2008, Debra undertook an MBA at Warwick University and diversified her career into medical devices and diagnostics at GE Healthcare. In 2010 she further added to her qualifications with a Chartered Institute of Management Accountants qualification.
Her next chapter marked the start of Debra becoming a serial entrepreneur, building and investing in startup companies. The first of these startups was at Avita Medical followed by Rex Bionics in New Zealand, Physeon in Switzerland before returning back to the UK with DML solutions.
In 2018, Debra joined Vertual Ltd as CEO where she continues to work today. She also holds public and listed company board roles and is currently Executive Chair of Atelerix, (Newcastle upon Tyne), Chair of the Institute of Directors (East Yorkshire), Non-Executive Director of Cambridge Cognition and Non-Executive Director of SpectrumX , and she is the commercial champion and business strategists for several university spinouts as well as the David Goldman Professor of Innovation and Enterprise 2023 at University of Newcastle Business School.
Debra has a stellar career that takes her across the globe and her passion for developing the next generation of business leaders and supporting start founders to raise funds to accelerate growth is both evident and admirable.
In recognition for her outstanding career Debra was presented with the Alumni Achiever of the Year Award 2023 at the summer graduations in July 2023.