In 1987 I took my MSc. in mechanical engineering and applied physics at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. A few years later I added a degree in marketing management. Since then I’ve worked in development, marketing and sales of new technology-based products. In the fields of printing equipment and medical diagnostic devices. For established multi-nationals, high-growth start-ups and an SME. Doing a range of things, from designing a meter-wide LED printhead to selling digital ECG-recorders and printing presses around the globe.
Before I set up Panchromos I was a director of Team Consulting, a medium-sized technology consultancy in the Cambridge area. Now colleagues and competitors. I can wholeheartedly recommend them if you are convinced that we’re not what you’re looking for (but talk to me first).
Apart from Panchromos I also run the UK office of Bax, an international open innovation consultancy headquartered in Barcelona and with other offices in Utrecht, Brussels and Düsseldorf. We help clients to create value from science and technology by setting up and managing (international, collaborative) innovation projects—e.g. through Horizon Europe and other EU funding instruments, technology road mapping, innovation marketplaces, etc. Practical innovation support in a different way.
I’m Dutch by birth, European by heart and since 2001 call the UK home. Happy to converse in German or French if you prefer—or make an attempt in العربيّة (still very much a work-in-progress). Or Dutch of course…
If I (very occasionally) want to take my mind off your products and opportunities you might find me tinkering in the workshop, ready-steady-cooking in the kitchen or shooting some arrows into a target.
Meet some of my associates
I strongly believe in the networked society and the power of project-based collaborations in ad-hoc teams. So do my associates—seasoned independent professionals with corporate experience. Diverse backgrounds. And entrepreneurial mindsets.
Lawrence Archard
Electronics
Lawrence is an electronics engineer and embedded software programmer. Over the course of over 10 years we’ve worked together on a wide range of projects – including medical devices, toys and consumer electronics. Prior to going freelance Lawrence worked at The Technology Partnership (TTP), one of the “big four” technology consultancies in Cambridge.
Mark Symonds
Embedded software
Mark develops embedded software on a number of 8- and 32-bit platforms. He trained as an electronics engineer and in 1993 co-founded AirSense Technology who design and manufacture specialist smoke detection systems. Following the acquisition of AirSense by UTC in 2007 Mark works as an independent firmware specialist for consumer, industrial and medical products.
Rachel Jones
Human factors
Rachel has a PhD in Computer Science and has been working in user experience for over 20 years. She has worked with Microsoft, Xerox and Sapient before setting up her own consulting business in 2001. Since then she’s worked with clients in a number of sectors including telecoms, healthcare, and sensor systems. Rachel is a design associate for the Design Council and a visiting professor of design at Nottingham Trent University.
Jed Place
Regulatory affairs
Jed has a PhD in the field of Surface Physics. He spend his early career in the development of sensors and systems for various applications before joining a medical device start-up company in 1997. He acted as Technical Director and Director of Regulatory Affairs, taking three generations of products to market in Europe and the US. Jed brings in regulatory and compliance expertise to medical device development projects.