Paul J Cunningham
Managing Director and Founder
“I believe our success is a distillation of science, sales, people, service and quality”.
Paul brings more than 40 years of solid experience in fine chemical sourcing and sales to Discovery Fine Chemicals Ltd. Educated at Bradford University where he obtained a double honours degree in French and Spanish, he is first a talented linguist, having spent time at both the universities of Barcelona and Strasbourg.
In 1980 Paul began work at BDH Chemicals as Regional Sales Manager for France, Spain, North Africa and Latin America. He made regular visits to Latin America and Havana, Cuba for BDH and the E.Merck group. He left BDH in 1985 to join Fluka Feinchemie, Switzerland (subsidiary of Hoffman-la-Roche) where he became Sales Manager for France. In 1987 he moved to Mulhouse, Alsace to set up Fluka France. Shortly afterwards Fluka was purchased by Sigma-Aldrich and Paul moved to Lyon to take up the post of European Industrial Sales Manager for the Sigma-Aldrich bulk division. He stayed with Sigma-Aldrich until 1999 when he resigned to form the company Molekula Fine Chemicals. In 2006, Paul set up the new Life Sciences company called Discovery Fine Chemicals Ltd.
Paul is at the helm of this dynamic young company which is now one of the leaders in the field of Microbiology. Paul has built up a strong sales network in France accompanied by Daniel Cunningham and is committed to growing and strengthening commercial ties with French customers in the field of microbiology and life sciences.
The Discovery team attend multiple exhibitions yearly including MEDICA, MedLab, CPHI, ESCMID and Lab Innovations.
The company’s forward looking statement is “The future is Life Science, the future is Discovery”.
Letka Rexhallari
Director
Following four years of studying chemistry, Letka went on to University of Surrey in Twickenham where she obtained a double honours BA degree in International Business Management and Current Affairs.
As well as her extensive knowledge of chemistry, microbiology and IVD, Letka boasts a wealth of experience in freight forwarding and imports and exports having spent 6 years at one of Heathrow’s premier freight forwarders. Her responsibilities included managing the accounts of Middle East Airlines, AOG for British Airways, Jet Airways, Gulf Air, Qatar Airways and Air Mauritius. Her work involved filing Inward Processing Reliefs (IPR’s), requiring very close liaison and cooperation with high ranking HM Customs officers. She has an in depth knowledge of customs tariffs and protocols. She is an invaluable asset in this fast moving world of transport and customs clearance.
Letka is a highly skilled professional with broad expertise in operations, customer sourcing, accounting and quality management. As a director, Letka plays a pivotal role in overseeing company processes, ensuring efficiency and maintaining high standards across all departments. Her responsibilities also include heading important meetings with current key customers and presenting the company to potential new customers. Leveraging a strong sales network in the Balkan and Türkiye region, Letka has successfully driven business growth, built lasting client relationships and expanded the company’s market reach.
As the gatekeeper for Discovery’s Quality Management System, Letka ensured Discovery obtained UKAS ISO 9001:2015 certification from BSI, to satisfy the ever increasing quality demands of Discovery’s customer base.
She is a highly talented linguist speaking English, Albanian, Turkish, Macedonian and Serbo-Croat.
The Discovery team attend multiple exhibitions yearly including MEDICA, MedLab, CPHI, ESCMID and Lab Innovations.
Letka is driven by success and she shares the leitmotiv “The future is Life Science, the future is Discovery”.
Daniel Cunningham
Sales Executive
Born and educated in France, Daniel moved to the UK in search of new opportunities in the field of commerce and export.
He originally joined Binks (formerly known as Carlisle Fluid Technologies) in the Export team. His responsibilities included Client Relations and Account Management in EMEA, with a focus on the French & BeNeLux market with a portfolio comprising of Automotive and OEM accounts.
In May 2024, Daniel joined Discovery with the aim of using his skills and adapting them to the world of sales and Life Sciences. Daniel became a sales executive alongside his colleague Diellzë Shehi. He is responsible for sales to France and also Southern Europe (Spain, Italy and Portugal). Daniel handles new enquiries, projects, tenders and distributors in the world of Life Sciences and Microbiology.
Daniel is a talented linguist who speaks fluent French, English and conversational Spanish. Daniel is an invaluable team member and is committed to building a network of key customers in his area and contributing to the expansion of the Discovery franchise.
Daniel supports the company mission statement “The future is Life Science, the future is Discovery”.
Diellzë Shehi
Sales Executive
Diellzë completed her higher education successfully and began her early career as a Customer Sales Representative with LV car insurance. She progressed to a Senior Customer representative before moving to the Policy Crime Prevention team where she was responsible for protecting the company and customers from serious fraud. After 2 years, Diellzë moved on from insurance and began working for J.P.Morgan as Global Client List Screening Analyst where she performed screening and monitoring of profiles for clients around the world and ensuring compliance with global sanctions and anti-money laundering regulations.
In April of 2024, Diellzë decided to join Discovery and enter the world of Sales and Life Sciences. Diellzë’s skill set for detailed analysis, scrutiny and diligence would soon be honed and put to good use at Discovery. She took control of the regulatory area of MSDS safety data sheets, in-house specifications and product information sheets, supporting the sales team and keeping customers safe. In parallel to this Diellzë also became Sales Executive for the Balkan States, Türkiye and the Gulf States. She has effected numerous export sales trips to the area and garnered key new business. She is heavily involved in design and marketing, the organisation of exhibitions and pivotal in the production of in-house literature for customers.
She is a very talented young lady and a joy to work with. She speaks fluent English, Albanian and is currently learning Turkish to help Discovery expand this vital market.
She fully embraces the company statement “The future is Life Science, the future is Discovery”.
William Saenz
Administrative and After-Sales Executive
William comes from a background of after-sales support, where he developed expertise in managing customer inquiries, troubleshooting issues and ensuring client satisfaction. Overtime, he expanded his skill set to include administrative operations, streamlining processes to improve efficiency and service delivery. He has been able to bridge the gap between operational efficiency and exceptional customer service.
His strong organisational skills and attention to detail ensure efficient operations and excellent customer support. William is known for his proactive communication, problem-solving abilities and commitment to delivering high-quality after-sales care. His customer-focused approach ensures clients receive timely and efficient service, strengthening long-term business relationships.
William is fluent in English and German. He is also currently learning French to assist our French clientele.
William welcomes the company’s statement “The future is Life Science, the future is Discovery”.
Steen Johns
Quality Management Consultant
Steen has worked closely with Discovery Fine Chemicals since 2015 as a quality management consultant with a brief aimed at introducing Discovery to the benefits of working towards full ISO 9000 certification. He has been instrumental in conducting internal audits and has worked closely with both Letka Rexhallari and Martin Alford, to fast track Discovery to the stated target of ISO 9001-2008 accreditation with BSI-UKAS.
He is a consummate professional and is a specialist in ISO Development and Auditing having helped countless SME’S develop and introduce ISO 9001, 14001 and 18001. He has a keen interest too in applying standards and disciplines in the workplace via 5s and lean principals. Today Steen lives in South Wales with his wife and two children and is Managing Director of SJ Consulting Ltd.
Luke Smith
IT Consultant
Luke has worked closely with Discovery Fine Chemicals as IT and social media consultant since 2010. Having obtained a BSc in Computing at Bournemouth University, he is totally conversant with a varied battery of programming languages and technologies. His skill set ranges from full stack development to mobile application development. He is an invaluable member of the Discovery team and is committed to developing bespoke solutions to the Company and for its customers.