Meet Jenny Brown...

Officially, Jenny Brown is the Regional Business Partner for Callaghan Innovation. Unofficially Jenny’s a professional ‘hand-holder’ whose job it is to help local businesses navigate their way through the labyrinth of business growth support opportunities on offer. The government’s innovation agency, Callaghan Innovation provides funding, advice and support for businesses who want to grow revenue through research, development and innovation. This can involve the development of new products or processes, and funding can be used to undertake an R&D project, engage experts or students explains Jenny.

“My role is to fly the flag for Callaghan here in the bay, to make sure businesses are aware of what Callaghan has to offer, and to identify what is appropriate and relevant to them. They may need technical advice, or support on how to protect their intellectual property, or introductions to others who could help them. I create links between the businesses and what Callaghan and the wider business community can offer – I act as a trusted impartial advisor who’s here to help.”

Jenny has been helping businesses grow for almost two decades, both in New Zealand and the UK. Born and bred in Scotland, Jenny gained an Honours degree in Human Nutrition and Food Science at Glasgow Caledonian University before spending 10 years working in food manufacturing.

“I was a food technologist in a ‘ready meals’ producer for Marks & Spencer, then became a quality manager in a bakery employing 400 people which supplied supermarkets like Asda, Sainsburys and Tesco. I learned a lot about the way business works, the importance of constantly exploring ways to improve what we did and the importance of market validation when developing new products, and asking the question: will customers really want to buy this?”

Jenny made a career move into economic development working at Scottish Enterprise, Scotland’s economic development agency – and one of the world’s leading economic development agencies – where she helped businesses grow through advice in strategy, collaboration and R&D. After emigrating to New Zealand 12 years ago, Jenny settled in Hawke’s Bay and worked for the region’s economic development agencies.

Today Jenny spends her days spreading the word about Callaghan Innovation’s services, and her work supports Matariki’s Action 5.6. Businesses of all sizes are involved, from start-ups like Business Assets Platform, small companies like Henry Manufacturing who want to grow and large companies like Furnware and Ravensdown. But Jenny says no matter what their size when they start their journey with Callaghan, the long-term goal is business growth through innovation.

“Business innovation takes commitment, and is not always a ‘quick win’ to see a return on investment, but ultimately it’s good for the businesses involved, good for the region and good for the country.”

Want to talk with Jenny? Get in touch now...

Jenny Brown - Innovation Specialist
Regional Business Partner for Callaghan Innovation
Hawke’s Bay Business Hub
36 Bridge Street, Ahuriri, Napier 4110
06 833 8049
027 210 0253

16 November 2017

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