Royal Society of Arts fellowship honour for Thornton & Ross R&D expert Prof. Stephen Makin

• Research executive honoured for voluntary work and university roles

Thornton & Ross (T&R) vice president for consumer health research and development Prof. Stephen Makin has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA) for his outstanding work in the community.

Stephen is based at T&R’s Huddersfield site but holds global responsibility for parent company STADA’s innovation agenda for the over-the-counter consumer brands including Covonia®, Hedrin®, Flexitol®, Cetraben®, Natures Aid® and the Zoflora® range of household disinfectants.

Stephen was judged to have made ‘outstanding achievements to social progress and development’ through his role at two universities, King’s College, London, and Keele University, in addition to voluntary work he carries out within the community.

Stephen was appointed visiting professor at King’s College six years ago. His remit includes delivering lectures to fourth year pharmacy undergraduates and developing the undergraduate curricula with colleagues in other leading UK pharmacy departments. He has also acted as industrial supervisor for industry sponsored PhDs.

In September last year, Stephen was also appointed an honorary professor at Keele University’s School of Pharmacy and Bioengineering.

An experienced and respected global R&D executive, Stephen has a proven track record of supporting innovation and brand growth in FMCG, consumer health and OTC industries. As a result of his professional achievements, he has been elected a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

The RSA Fellowship is a global community of 30,000 innovators committed to social change. Founded more than 260 years ago, the organisation is committed to sharing ideas, carrying out cutting-edge research and building opportunities for people to bring about change through innovative ideas. Work focuses on three key areas, creative learning and development, public services and communities and economy, enterprise and manufacturing.

Stephen commented: “While it was extremely flattering to have received the two fellowships for my professional achievements, it is particularly pleasing to have been recognised for work carried out outside this. I teach at two universities and am also involved with setting and marking exams, and also spend time carrying out voluntary work in the community.

“It’s an honour to have been recognised to have contributed to innovation in social progress and development.”

Roger Scarlett-Smith, executive vice-president of Thornton & Ross, added: “This is a richly deserved honour for Stephen, who is a highly respected and truly innovative thinker. He is an experienced global R&D leader and we are delighted that he has been recognised for the excellent contributions he makes outside his professional remit.”