Sheffield-based manufacturer Gripple has appointed a new director to lead the business’ new product development function.
The company has hired Gerard Shevlin as ideas and innovation director, joining from Dyson where he most recently held the role of head of engineering.
Gripple said it is targeted 25% of annual turnover to come from products less than five years old, ensuring consistent focus on innovation for the benefit of its global customer base.
Gerard will be responsible for the 13 strong team of product design engineers and project managers, and will work closely with the product management, marketing and sales teams globally.
He said: “After nearly 23 years of continuous employment, I fully intended to take some down time to spend with my family, and complete the various DIY jobs I’d been putting off for so long, but I was immediately attracted to this opportunity at Gripple.
“After visiting Sheffield, and following many conversations with Gripple employees across the world, to say I was impressed would be an understatement.
“Everyone was so motivated and inspired by the future potential of the business and it was clear that nothing was out of scope in terms of exploring new opportunities, which was a hugely attractive prospect for me personally. The enthusiasm from all my now colleagues, combined with the continual year-on-year growth that Gripple are experiencing, made the role of ideas and innovation director an opportunity that I couldn’t decline – the DIY can wait!
“I look forward to playing my part in continuing the growth of the business. I’m particularly excited to accelerate our current new product pipeline to the market, and even more so to begin developing new and diverse solutions to solve our customers’ problems.”