Team Biographies
Abbie Griffin
- Named a Crawford Fellow in 2003—the highest individual award in NPD
- Groundbreaking researcher in improving the process of new product development
- Chair of marketing at the University of Utah’s Business School
Abbie Griffin is one of the most creative and original thinkers in new product development (NPD) and has produced groundbreaking work in many areas of NPD. She is the fourth person and first woman to be named a Crawford Fellow by the Product Management and Development Association (PDMA.) This is the highest individual award in New Product Development.
Griffin holds the Royal L. Garff Presidential Chair at the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah, where she teaches business-to-business marketing. In addition, Griffin is a member of the Board of Directors of Navistar International, a $13 billion manufacturing company.
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She was editor of the Journal of Product Innovation Management, the leading academic journal in NPD, from 1998 to 2003. Griffin also was the author and lead researcher for PDMA’s first study of product development: “Drivers of NPD Success: The 1997 PDMA Report.” In addition, Griffin has written and published many papers based on research for measuring and improving the process of new product development.She holds several degrees in NPD and related fields. Abbie holds a Ph.D. in management of technology and marketing from the MIT Sloan School of Management. She also earned an MBA from Harvard University, and a B.S. in chemical engineering from Purdue University. Professor Griffin also worked for Polaroid Corporation and Corning Glass Works and has consulted for Booz, Allen, and Hamilton.
Ken Kahn
- Professor and Senior Associate Dean, School of Business at Virginia Commonwealth University
- Expert in new product development analysis and market forecasting
Ken Kahn is a well-recognized expert and top scholar in innovation management and market forecasting. Now a marketing professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, he is also Director of the University’s da Vinci Center, which offers many programs in product innovation and venture enterprise creation.
Over the years, Kahn has specialized in new product development analysis and sales forecasting. His articles have been published widely in peer-reviewed journals ranging from The Journal of Business Forecasting to R&D Management.
Kahn built up his analytical expertise during his early years as an industrial engineer and project engineer for the Weyerhaeuser Company, and as a manufacturing engineer for Respironics Inc. More recently, he has applied his expertise to consulting and facilitating benchmarking sessions. His clients include Acco Brands, Coca-Cola, ConAgra, HAVI Global Solutions, Honeywell, Johnson & Johnson, John Deere, Lego, and Procter & Gamble.
Kahn served as editor of the 2nd and 3rd editions of the PDMA Handbook on New Product Development (Wiley & Sons, 2004 and 2012). He is also the author of New Product Forecasting: An Applied Approach (M.E. Sharpe, 2006) and Product Planning Essentials (Sage Publications, 2006 and 2nd edition, M.E. Sharpe 2011).
Kahn started his academic career as an associate professor at the University of Tennessee. He moved to Purdue University to become Director of the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship, and a professor of marketing. Kahn earned both his MSIE and his Ph.D. at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and his Bachelor of Engineering degree at Georgia Institute of Technology.
John Salladay
- Sr. Consultant, experienced in technology planning and roadmap execution
- Top technology and business development expert
John Salladay had a multi-decade career at Dow Chemical Company, which included many positions in Research & Development and Marketing. It resulted in becoming an Innovations Director where set up methods for identifying new business opportunities for both the Plastics and Ventures business units. As Business Development Director in Plastics, John and his teams pioneered many business analysis methods. They defined environmental performance needs and its impact on Dow Chemical’s business strategy. The innovative programs received national recognition and provided a basis for a revised industry positioning of plastics in the environment
John held positions in Specialty Plastics as Market Development Director for new products and markets and was Laboratory Director for the Films and Coated Metals Development organization. He led the Development group for the Styrofoam® (a trademark of The Dow Chemical Company) brand insulation business and headed the Styrofoam business team during the high growth years. John was deeply involved in developing the residential insulation systems business.
Mr. Salladay, and his colleague Mr. John Stevens, founded NBID Associates in the mid-1990’s. Using their own skills and abilities, and their network of hundreds of leading experts, NBID Associates successfully created new opportunities for clients for over eighteen years. NBID engaged in technology and business development activities for many clients . These included Hoechst AG, WL Gore, McKinsey & Co., Appleton, Cargill, Equistar Chemical, Dow Corning, Dow Chemical, Diageo (Guinness Beer), NewPage Paper, Valmet, DSM , Novamer, Kimberly-Clark and Elevance Renewable Sciences. In 2011, John joined The Adept Group to complement our skills in product line strategies and roadmapping.
Mr. Salladay leads The Adept Group’s services for detailed technology searches and development focused on technology acquisitions, licensing and joint ventures. John’s educational background includes a BS and MS in Chemical Engineering from The Ohio State University
John Stevens
- Sr. Consultant focused on identifying critical-to-roadmap technologies
- Chief integrator of technology-to-market thinking
John Stevens holds a broad background in plastics, chemicals, and materials product development. He often serves as a highly effective bridge between technical and marketing communities in the materials industry.
At The Dow Chemical Company, John was Senior Innovations Manager, responsible for leading many breakthrough research projects from ideation through market introduction. In that role, John assisted in the crafting of new products and businesses for the building and construction, automotive, packaging, agriculture, electronics, and aerospace industries. His combination of insightful technical understanding with state-of-the-art market and business development principles and practices provides John with a unique ability for finding and developing new business opportunities.
John has a broad technical education and experience. After receiving a Master of Science in Chemistry from the University of Arkansas, he worked in the chemical industry while studying chemical engineering through Texas A&M University and polymer science through Case Western Reserve University. John’s experiences include process development for a broad range of chemicals and plastics.
John also has extensive experience in technical and management training. He led the development of the management training curriculum for a major research organization and was a founding member of both Dow’s U.S. Quality Board and their U.S. Technical Training Committee. Each body gained widespread recognition for speeding cultural changes in the organization.
Mr. Stevens joined The Adept Group in 2011. His talents and experience add to our skills in innovation management, product development, and product line strategies. John leads The Adept Group’s services for technology identification and evaluations in product line and business strategies.
Hamsa Thota
- Sr. Consultant, experienced in R&D and product development
- Focused on innovation performance management
Hamsa Thota is a Past-President and Chairman of the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA). He is co-author of “Key Concepts in Innovation,” a fundamental reference book for innovation professionals. Dr. Thota has published many scholarly articles on setting up product development best practices. He is also a contributing author to Innova Food Market Trends.
Hamsa worked for Rich Products Corporation in R&D for over twenty years. His focus was in new product development, new manufacturing methods, and commercializing intellectual property. Hamsa has made many contributions to food product development. Along the way he received and commercialized 10 US patents.
Hamsa has over a decade experience of consulting and training product development and innovation management. He has conducted workshops and in-depth seminars on New Product Development, and the Front End of Innovation in Asia and North America. A frequent visitor to Asia, Dr. Thota has guided over 25 Chinese companies in Shenzhen, Wuhan, and Zhengzhou at the invitation of Chinese government. He was also a visiting professor at the Management School of the Zhejiang University in China where he taught technology innovation management.
Hamsa received a Ph.D. in Food Science and Dairy Manufacturing from the University of Georgia and is certified NPDP from PDMA.
