Stephen Godber

Steve Godber is a long-time British healthcare and medical-device executive with more than 25 years of experience as a chairman and CEO, mainly in healthcare companies. His operating career includes serving as CEO of Vickers Medical and of Forum Bioscience, and as Chairman of The Magstim Company Ltd (a maker of transcranial magnetic stimulation systems) and of Lifelines Ltd (neurophysiology / EEG monitoring). He holds a degree from Lancaster University (studied 1970–1973) and currently operates through LS Consulting Services, of which he is a director.

Godber's most prominent recent role was with Fertility Focus Ltd, a University of Bristol spin-out founded in 2005 (based at Warwick Innovation Park) that developed OvuSense, a clinically validated core-body-temperature ovulation monitor. Godber was the company's lead angel investor and went on to become its non-executive Chairman, serving as Chairman of both Fertility Focus Ltd and its US subsidiary Fertility Focus Inc. He was a trusted, repeat lead investor: the British Business Bank's Angel CoFund backed Fertility Focus specifically because it knew and rated Godber as the deal's lead angel.

Fertility Focus rebranded to viO HealthTech in 2022, expanding beyond fertility into broader women's health, with Rob Milnes as CEO. In August 2025 the business — and its OvuSense technology, built on data from more than 260,000 menstrual cycles — was acquired by smart-ring maker Ultrahuman to power a new "Cycle & Ovulation Pro" feature, an outcome that capped Godber's years of chairmanship and early backing.

• Invests as a lead angel in UK healthcare and medical-device / femtech companies at seed and early growth stage, typically taking a hands-on board/chairman role rather than a passive stake.
• Focuses on clinically validated, IP-rich medical technology — OvuSense was described by co-investor Foresight as "an innovative, clinically supported and IP rich product."
• Backs companies where he can apply decades of medtech operating experience (CEO/Chairman of Vickers Medical, Forum Bioscience, Magstim, Lifelines), suggesting he says yes to teams building regulated devices with a credible commercialization path.
• Comfortable syndicating and de-risking rounds — he anchored Fertility Focus's angel rounds and attracted the Angel CoFund and later VCT growth capital (Foresight) into the same company.