Qualifications
- BSc: Food Science
- PgDip: Marketing
About
John joined Campden BRI in 2026. Prior to this, John was Head of Research and Development for Devo plc for five years, during which he led business transformation to create a global R&D function and delivered a pipeline of new products. In March 2022, John set up his own consultancy business, Piper Kennett Ltd, to bridge the gap between technical, commercial and leadership teams in R&D and innovation projects.
Earlier in his career, John gained extensive experience in R&D and innovation with PepsiCo, ABF and AAK and in technical with Whitworths and Chaucer.
John possesses a unique blend of change management experience coupled with senior leadership experience, commercial capability and a track record of successful implementation of R&D innovation strategies.
John is passionate about innovation strategy development. He is innovative in choosing tools and techniques and he looks to ensure his solutions always meet both the needs of our members/clients and their customers/consumers. A combination of large corporate and smaller company experience gives him a versatility of approach and adaptability that enables him to make an instant impact.
Areas of interest
- Innovation
- Strategy development
- Idea generation facilitation
- Building a prioritised project and/or product portfolio
- Stage Gate process design and implementation
- Product design, scale up and validation
- Product development
- Product and process design
- Project management and delivery
- Building focused cross-functional alignment
- Problem solving and decision making
- Scientific principles and best practice
- Team building and transformation
- R&D leadership and capability development
- Building focused cross-functional alignment
- Working with senior and leadership teams to ensure sponsorship