Fear previously worked as a Diplomat with the British Foreign Office for 21 years serving in over 17 countries around the globe. Half her career was spent in the commercial field, latterly heading UK Trade & Investments’ national life sciences trade team for over 5 years. During her varied Foreign Office career she was Deputy Ambassador three times, Private Secretary to the Minister for Europe, led an evacuation of Brits out of the Congo and worked in Khymer Rouge territory with Scotland Yard on a hostage crisis.

Fear took over as Chief Executive at One Nucleus, an international membership organisation for life science and healthcare companies, in 2009 and was responsible for merging the former organisation ERBI with the London Biotechnology Network.