Contact Dr Paul Quinlan
- Email: Paul.Quinlan@cranfield.ac.uk
Background
Dr Paul Quinlan is a creative business leader with 38 years’ experience in Innovation and business development within the Food & Beverage, Agribusiness and Life Science sectors. After joining Unilever R&D with a PhD in Biochemistry from Bristol, Paul went on to hold many leadership positions in Unilever - directing innovation programmes, new business development, partnership/ecosystem development, strategy and operations. Most recently Paul was part of the leadership team that successfully navigated the complex transition of Unilever’s tea business to a standalone business, now owned by a private equity fund.
Paul is experienced in product development, innovation strategy, intellectual property management, new business development and building partnerships/ecosystems. He is particularly passionate about innovation and finding a better way to do things; within Unilever he has often been at the front end of developing new technologies, testing new organisation models, and piloting new ways of working!
Having learned early on the power - and fun - of collaboration, Paul has delivered by building effective partnerships both within and beyond the borders of organisations. A particularly fruitful collaboration between Unilever and Cranfield University led to the development of the Innovation Accelerator where each year students from multiple schools across the University compete in teams to develop solutions to Unilever’s real innovation challenges, culminating in a final pitch and awards session.
A focus throughout Paul’s career has been the development of health and nutrition-based innovations and functional foods. He has also published >30 scientific papers in this field. This has included development of a biotechnology derived ingredient for infant nutrition, development of health claims and new functional foods for global tea brands such as Lipton, PG Tips and Brooke Bond; hunger management technologies for SlimFast, and development of vitamin/mineral fortified food products for D&E markets
Current activities
Paul’s current activities include mentoring of startups/SME’s; consulting with organisations on innovation management; teaching/lecturing; and chair of a Board of trustees for a UK charity.
Publications
Articles In Journals
- Hindmarch I, Rigney U, Stanley N, Quinlan P, Rycroft J & Lane J (2000) A naturalistic investigation of the effects of day-long consumption of tea, coffee and water on alertness, sleep onset and sleep quality, Psychopharmacology, 149, (3) 203-216.
- Quinlan PT, Lane J, Moore KL, Aspen J, Rycroft JA & O'Brien DC (2000) The acute physiological and mood effects of tea and coffee: The role of caffeine level, Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 66 (1) 19-28.
- Kennedy K, Fewtrell MS, Morley M, Abbott R, Quinlan PT, Wells J, Bindels J & Lucas A (1999) Double-blind, randomized trial of a synthetic triacylglycerol in formula-fed term infants: effects on stool biochemistry, stool characteristics, and bone mineralization, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 70 (5) 920-927.
- Chandler IC, Quinlan PT & McNeill GP (1998) Lipase-catalyzed synthesis of chiral triglycerides, Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society, 75, (11) 1513-1518.
- Hindmarch I, Quinlan PT, Moore KL & Parkin C (1998) The effects of black tea and other beverages on aspects of cognition and psychomotor performance, Psychopharmacology, 139, (3) 230-238.
- Lucas AL, Meah S, Lucas PJ, Ryan S, Abrams S & Quinlan PT (1997) Randomised controlled trial of a synthetic triglyceride milk formula for preterm infants, Archives of Disease in Childhood.fetal and Neonatal Edition, 77, (3) F178-F184.
- Quinlan PT, Lane J & Aspinall LT (1997) Effects of hot tea, coffee and water ingestion on physiological responses and mood: the role of caffeine, water and beverage type, Psychopharmacology, 134, (2) 164-173.
- Quinlan PT, Lockton S, Irwin J & Lucas AL (1995) The relationship between stool hardness and stool composition in breast and formula-fed infants, Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, 20 (1) 81-90.
- Quinlan PT & Moore SM (1993) Modification of triglycerides: process technology and its application to the production of nutritionally improved fats, Inform, 4, 580-585.
- Quinlan PT & Halestrap AP (1986) Mechanism of the hormonal activation of respiration in isolated hepatocytes and its importance in the regulation of gluconeogenesis, Biochemical Journal, 236 (3) 789-800.