Senior appointments made at Huddersfield pharmaceutical company as it continues on growth trajectory
Huddersfield pharmaceutical company Thornton & Ross has expanded with a number of senior appointments as part of its ongoing strategy to expand the business.
Steve Makin has been appointed Vice President OTC Research and Development. He will be based at the firm’s HQ Huddersfield site but holds global responsibility. Kathryn Heywood has come on board as Vice President Human Resources for the UK.
A qualified pharmacist, Steve brings with him a wealth of experience in consumer health research and development. He started off his industrial career in Unilever before moving to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) where he was responsible for R&D on some of GSK’s largest consumer brands. He has led large groups in oral health and skin health, where he worked on many of the brands recently taken on by Thornton & Ross. Most recently he was based in Switzerland, where he led R&D efforts on GSK’s Pain Relief portfolio.
Steve holds a PhD in pharmaceutics from the University of Manchester and is an Honorary Professor at King’s College London, and Keele University School of Pharmacy. He has been elected a fellow of both the Royal Society for Chemistry (2014) and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (2018).
At Thornton & Ross he is responsible for all research and development for the firm’s over-the-counter consumer brands including Covonia®, Hedrin®, Flexitol®, Cetraben®, Natures Aid® nutritional range and Zoflora® household disinfectants.
Kathryn Heywood has over 20 years’ HR, leadership and development experience working across a variety of industry sectors including media, engineering, telecommunications and food and drink. She worked in a senior role for the TalkTalk Group before moving to Smith & Nephew where she was Senior HR Director for Global Business Services. This role saw her lead a global team within HR Services, Payroll & Human Resource Information Systems across the Americas, Europe & Asia Pacific.
Her role at Thornton & Ross will include building and leading the HR function of the business and supporting the firm’s growth trajectory.
Thornton & Ross develops, manufactures and supplies a wide range of branded over-the-counter medicines, dermatological solutions and other healthcare and hygiene products including Zoflora®, Hedrin® and Setlers®. It is part of the German-based STADA Group.
In addition to Steve and Kathryn, the company has recently made senior appointments in other areas such as procurement and marketing.
Roger Scarlett-Smith, Executive Vice-President of Thornton & Ross, said the opportunities had been created as a result of the company’s continuing growth. “Steve, Kathryn and our other recruits have joined us at a time of rapid expansion and will be real assets in driving the business forward through this period of transformation and growth.
“Steve has a proven track record of delivering differentiated pipelines to support brand growth in FMCG, Consumer Health and OTC industries as well as the leadership experience during major organisational changes.
“Coupled with Kathryn’s experience in delivering large scale growth trajectory, we are in the best position possible to develop a clear roadmap for HR transformation across the organisation and develop employee engagement.”
Thornton & Ross is recruiting for additional roles. For further information please visit www.thorntonross.com
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