Our Team

Professor Dr Rahat Iqbal

Managing Director

Dr Rahat Iqbal is a Senior Academic, Director, Inventor, and Consultant with over 25 years of experience across academia and industry. He has supervised 21 PhD students to completion, examined 22 doctoral theses, and published over 200 papers. His work has led to prestigious innovation awards, major research grants, and five technology patents with significant industrial adoption. He has led projects funded by the Newton Fund, Conacyt, Innovate UK, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the European Commission and Harvard University in partnership with the Labour Ministry of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Dr Faiyaz Doctor

Chief Technology Officer 

Dr Faiyaz Doctor is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Interactive Coventry. For over 15 years, he has worked in industry and academia to develop novel Computational Intelligence solutions addressing real-world problems related to smart environments, energy optimisation, predictive analytics and collaborative decision support, resulting in high-profile innovation awards and an international patent. He has led and co-led projects funded through the Newton Fund, Conacyt, Innovate UK and Harvard University in collaboration with industry, governmental organisations and academic partners. Dr Doctor has published over 60 papers in peer-reviewed international journals, conferences and workshops.

Dr Charalampos Karyotis

Research Director

Dr Charalampos Karyotis is Research Director at Interactive Coventry with over a decade of industrial experience. Specializing in AI technologies, Dr Karyotis has successfully led the commercialization of innovative products, securing over 1 million in public funding. His role encompasses the development and implementation of intelligent solutions for real-world challenges. Holding a PhD in Affective Computing from Coventry University and an MSc in signal processing for the University of Athens, he has made significant contributions to the field, authoring over 15 scientific articles. His research interests extend to machine learning, smart cities, quantum computing and IoT with a focus on rapid prototype development. 

Dr Tomasz Maniak

Chief operating officer

Dr Tomasz Maniak is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Interactive Coventry, with over 20 years of experience delivering enterprise AI and industrial digitalisation solutions. He leads the successful delivery of AI, machine learning, computer vision, robotics and industrial automation projects, ensuring the effective transition of research into scalable commercial products. Dr Maniak has successfully delivered over 50 commercial projects across AI, IoT, big data analytics and embedded systems, and is an inventor on three machine learning patents. He holds a PhD in Deep Learning, Artificial Intelligence and Computer Software from Coventry University, combining advanced research with practical engineering to deliver innovative solutions for manufacturing and industrial applications.

Professor Dr Anne James

Director of Innovations

Professor Dr Anne James is Director of Innovations at Interactive Coventry. She is the Honorary Dean at Britannia College and Senior Academic QAHE. Previously, she was the professor of Data Systems Architecture at Coventry University and Head of School at Nottingham Trent University, UK. Professor James has been active in teaching in higher education and in participating in research projects as part of national and international teams.  Professor James has successfully supervised 30 research degrees and has published more than 150 papers in peer reviewed journals or conferences.

Dr Brian More

Director of intellectual property (ip)

Dr Brian More is Director for Intellectual Property with responsibility for policy, protection, valuation and commercialisation of all forms of IP. He has had 25 years experience working with Intellectual Property, is an inventor on 6 patents and jointly owns 3 trademarks. He manages a portfolio of 20 patent families, trademarks, designs and copyright. He is passionate about education and training in the IP area and developed accredited courses for academic and industry use.  He has published 20 peer reviewed papers on research, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Dr Shahid Mahmud

Director of business strategy

Dr Shahid Mahmud has over 31 years of experience in the ICT sector and is a recognised technology leader, entrepreneur and policy advisor. He has served on national ICT policy committees, founded several leading technology companies, and held board positions including Askari Bank. His contributions to advancing Pakistan’s ICT sector have been recognised with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 12th Teradata National IT Excellence Awards. He is also a Distinguished Eisenhower Fellow and actively supports a range of philanthropic and community initiatives.

Dr Elena Aloupogianni

lead engineer for computer vision and ai

Dr Eleni Aloupogianni is an experienced engineer for computer vision and AI at Interactive Coventry. She is leading projects in smart city, industrial automation and generative AI. She obtained a PhD when working with Obi laboratory, in Tokyo Institute of Technology. Her research revolves around multi-spectral images and their use in the macropathology medical field. She is proficient in Python, R, SQL, machine learning statistical modeling.  She has worked on financial analysis application using deep learning based approaches. At Interactive Coventry she has delivered projects in the area of anomaly detection using AI and industrial computer vision.