Technology Strategy Toolkit: The R&D Managers' Secret Weapon

About this Presentation:

Joint presentation:

Technology Strategy Toolkit: The R&D Managers’ Secret Weapon

Rob Munro – Associate Industrial Fellow – The Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge & Dr Philip Double – Technical and Commercial Director, John Hogg Technical Solutions

Companies are frequently looking for growth, innovation and productivity gains to enhance their prospects over the longer term.

Unfortunately, more 90% of strategy fails to some extent. For business and technology leaders, making sense of new technologies and effectively and at speed is crucial.

Creating well-aligned new product programmes that are rigorously underpinned makes the best use of a firm’s precious resources.

The technology strategy is the key link between the firm’s commercial objectives and its new product pipeline. Research by the IfM has developed a solution to more quickly and effectively develop or refresh the company technology strategy. A modular approach of decision-support methods and workshop facilitation combine to provide a scalable strategic thinking and planning toolkit.

The audience will learn, directly from the company, how IfM assisted John Hogg Technical Solutions to create alignment and coordination of their growth strategy and how the IfM’s strategic approaches were deployed and embedded in the firm to raise capability and make better decisions about technology to achieve growth.

Speaker Bio

Rob Munro is a technology and innovation management specialist and works with business and innovation leaders within the high-value manufacturing community and government.

Before becoming an innovation and technology-focussed specialist Rob spent twenty-four years within speciality chemical and material companies ICI and Johnson Matthey creating new technologies and building new businesses.

He held senior line management positions in manufacturing operations, commercial and R&D with strong track record in developing business and innovation strategies, improving business work processes and delivering complex high-value projects.

Today, Rob assists clients move their organizations forward in the following key areas, ‘ Developing effective technology and innovation strategies that align the organization. ‘ Enabling the transformation of organizations for Open Innovation. ‘ Creating more effective innovation systems in general and specifically front-end innovation.

As a research practitioner in innovation management, Rob is an active chemical engineer with a deep interest in using science and technology to respond to the challenges of climate change, population growth and resource depletion.

Rob holds a Masters’ degree in Chemical and Process Engineering and an MBA from Manchester Business School where innovation theory and management was a particular focus.