Lily Cullen Coates is the Business Development Manager for the Decarbonisation and Resource Management area of BGS, connecting world-leading geoscience expertise with government, industry, and international funding opportunities. Working closely with scientists, clients, and stakeholders, she leads the development of funding proposals, commercial bids, and strategic partnerships that maximise the impact of BGS research and innovation. Lily builds and maintains key client relationships, identifies new market opportunities, and undertakes market analysis to help shape future services and strengthen BGS’s position across priority sectors. She also promotes BGS capabilities through stakeholder engagement, professional networks, presentations, and collaborative communications activities, supporting the growth of external income and long-term partnerships.
Lily’s portfolio focuses on supporting the energy transition, net zero ambitions, and sustainable resource management, with particular interests in mineral resource security and flows, critical minerals and raw materials, carbon capture and storage (CCS), subsurface energy storage, geothermal energy and heat, and the geological disposal of nuclear waste. Acting as a key link between technical experts and operational teams, she helps translate complex geoscience into strategic opportunities that deliver economic, environmental, and societal benefits.
Lilian Cullen Coates’s biography
- 2026 to present: Business Development Manager – Decarbonisation and Resource Management
- 2025 to 2026: Business & Research Development Officer
- 2016 to 2025: Business development and administration roles at BGS
- 2022 to 2025: Business System Coordinator (part-time), The Feelings People CIC
- 2012 to 2016: Assistant Manager, Lucozade Powerleague
- Mineral resource security and flows
- Critical minerals
- Critical raw materials
- Carbon capture and storage (CCS)
- Sub-surface energy storage
- Geothermal energy and heat
- Nuclear waste storage in the sub-surface
Qualifications
- 2024: BA (Hons First Class) in Business Management and Leadership, University of Derby
- 2016 to 2019: Level 2 and 3 Diplomas in Business Administration, Access Training Ltd
Skills
- Commercial income generation in a public sector environment
- Principles of leadership and management; management within a workplace
- Business analysis
- Strategic partnerships
- Professional bid delivery
- Research and Innovation grant development
- Project management
Associations
- Association of Proposal Management Professionals – (Credential link: https://www.credly.com/badges/b3e972a4-95a6-4110-9869-c31c436403a9/public_url)
- Chartered Manager, Chartered Management Institute (Credential link: https://www.managers.org.uk/digital-badge-verification/?bg=50763&eid=74283&user=lLbvwej30W8BFFtOUr1esph3B2fZDjKlBpDBcH7cUoE)