Dr. Paul Wassell
Head, Research and Development
Paul Wassell spearheads the company’s work in food technology and innovation, leading a team of more than 40 in New Product Developments (NPD), applications, nutrition, compliance for specialty fats, margarines, shortenings, chocolate and non-dairy. He has over 39 years of experience in the field, and is a specialist in edible fats and oils application, particularly for baking and confectionary.
Prior to joining GAR in 2014, Paul worked with palm oil in Malaysia, DuPont (Danisco) in Denmark and ADM Pura Foods in UK. Paul has extensive knowledge in NPD, and has led the development of palm oil based solutions for multiple food applications. He is currently a member of the American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS).
Paul received first-class honours with his Bachelor Degree in Product Management and Baking Technology at South Bank University, UK in 1997. He then completed his PhD in Biological Sciences at the University of Chester, UK in 2013. His thesis was titled: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Structuring in Reduced Triacylglycerol Based Systems.
“My journey in the food industry has often taken me into new specialisations and I have always enjoyed new challenges – especially when others say something cannot be done. The phrase ‘adapt and overcome’ is continuously expounded to my R&D colleagues. Yes, I am an idealist, and that is probably why I love to innovate – to put conceptual thinking into practice, but always, within commercial reality.
Understanding what people want and predicting future consumer desires, requires a lot of emotional intelligence. I passionately believe that people are important, and I enjoy people learning and developing new skills. During my time in Indonesia, it has been my proud privilege to support and lead a world class team, which is successively innovating a new, and more sustainable future.”