Avacta Therapeutics (AIM: AVCT) has announced a boardroom transition, with Richard Hughes to be appointed non-executive chairman following the company’s Annual General Meeting on 22 June 2026.
Hughes, who joined the board as a non-executive director in May 2025, succeeds Shaun Chilton, who has decided not to seek re-election after serving as chairman since 2024. Chilton will continue to support the business in an advisory capacity to the chief executive and board.
A veteran of UK capital markets with more than 30 years of corporate finance experience, Hughes was a founder shareholder and director of boohoo.com, a majority shareholder in Crawford Healthcare and is currently a director of Zeus Group.
The leadership change comes as Avacta continues to advance its proprietary pre|CISION® tumour-activated oncology platform, with two therapeutic programmes currently in clinical development.
The company also confirmed it is recruiting a non-executive deputy chairman who will serve as senior independent director, with a focus on adding international biotechnology expertise to support pipeline development and strategic pharmaceutical partnerships.
Chief executive Christina Coughlin thanked Chilton for his contribution during a transformative period for the company and said Hughes’ capital markets experience would be valuable as Avacta progresses its oncology pipeline and seeks to maximise the commercial potential of its increasingly validated pre|CISION® platform.
