Cambridge-based research consultancy Oakland has expanded its team with three key appointments, strengthening its international expertise in chemical engineering, biotechnology and food technology.
Collectively, the three recruits – Kerstin Castle, Mimi Mo and Yu Wen Chen – have impressive credentials. The three women are all qualified to PhD level and have strong backgrounds in academic research, industry and the commercial application of chemistry-based technologies. They bring to Oakland an in-depth knowledge of international markets and between them speak many languages.
Commenting on the appointments, Oakland MD Michael Zeitlyn said, "We’re delighted to welcome Kerstin, Mimi and Yu Wen to Oakland – their expertise is of the highest calibre. As part of our team, they will strengthen the range of research services that we can offer to help our global customers bring new technologies and products to market."
Kerstin Castle started her career as a research chemist at Schering AG in Germany. She then spent several years in the UK as a synthetic organic chemist in the research department of Schering Agrochemicals. Following a career break in Dubai to raise her two sons, she gained an MSc and PhD in chemistry from the University of Reading.
Prior to joining Oakland, Kerstin was a product marketing manager with medical device manufacturer Astron Clinica. Here, Kerstin developed a specialist knowledge of the cosmetic industry. Her role involved liaison with key opinion leaders and customers from the developmental stages of new skin analysis products through to product training.
Mimi Mo obtained her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry at Imperial College London in 2003 and a PhD in pharmacology at Oxford University in 2006. Her research into Parkinson’s disease led to a post-doctoral research Fellowship from GlaxoSmithKline (Drug Discovery) and Oxford University (Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics). This pioneering work has given Mimi first-hand knowledge of intellectual property legislation, licensing and business development in biotechnology.
Since 2002, Mimi has been a regular columnist in leading newspapers in Hong Kong, Beijing and Taiwan. Her 2004 book about Oxford debuted on the bestseller list in her native Hong Kong.
With a strong academic background in chemical engineering and food technology, Yu Wen Chen graduated from Imperial College London with first class honours and she has an MEng in chemical engineering. In addtion, she has a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Cambridge where she studied chocolate extrusion.
Yu Wen grew up in a multicultural environment and speaks several languages fluently including Mandarin Chinese, French, Chinese dialect (Hokkien), African (Mauritian) Creole as well as some basic Japanese.
NESTA, BDI & Oakland to bridge gap between ‘ideas’ people and big business
Multinational giant, Proctor and Gamble (P&G), will pilot a new joint initiative from the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), British Design Innovation (BDI) and Oakland Innovation to help it identify and develop innovative ideas from outside its own research labs.
Launching this September and part of NESTA’s new Connect programme, the ‘Open Innovation Challenge’ will see NESTA and BDI mediate between P&G and small companies to open communication channels and draw in ideas, while avoiding concerns over intellectual property.
At an initial open workshop P&G will brief enterprising thinkers from outside the company on current industry trends and identify areas in which the brand giant is looking for breakthrough ideas. Participants will then be invited to submit new product proposals which will be reviewed by BDI and Oakland, without involvement from P&G.
From these entries, the ten most promising applicants will be selected and given access to mentoring, business support and up to £25,000 to further develop their ideas to a stage at which they can demonstrate commercial viability.
Only after a final short-listing will up to five of the strongest applicants have the chance to present their ideas to P&G. P&G will then have 45 days in which to decide if it wants to progress the idea and sign appropriate contracts, otherwise the designer will be free to take their idea elsewhere. In all instances designers will retain their IP.
The move follows P&G’s recent announcement that it expects to originate 50% of new products from outside the company in future.
NESTA CEO, Jonathan Kestenbaum said:
“Open innovation still makes a lot of people nervous. Large corporations fear being accused of “stealing” ideas while designers are often unsure when to hand over their concept. The result is a largely untapped innovation ecosystem. If we can encourage collaboration at the earliest stage of idea generation the benefits both to big business and the individual entrepreneur will be immense.”
NESTA and BDI are already investigating potential partnerships with other large organisations.
Commenting on their involvement, Mike Addison, Section Head at P&G said:
“Through our Connect & Develop strategy, P&G is seeking to connect with the world’s most inspired minds to bring superior products to the market faster and at better value. We are excited about this opportunity and believe that the Open Innovation Challenge could help us find the right talent and partnerships to help us do just that.”
P&G’s Connect & Develop strategy now produces 35 per cent of the company’s innovations and billions of dollars in revenue. Significantly, its own spend on formal R&D as a percentage of sales has declined from 5-6 per cent in 2000 to 2-3 per cent.
For further information, interested parties should go to www.nesta.org.uk/connect or email connect@nesta.org.uk
