Chris Horridge

About Chris Horridge

I\'m a British proactive, performance focused & passionate creative, who has gained a broad range of experience through a diverse career that’s linked by a culinary thread. I served 9 years in the Royal Air Force, before leaving and going on to gain a Michelin star with my team in 2006, creating a cuisine that balanced not only the more obvious visual and taste elements, but also carefully considered the nutrition elements and their bioavailability within each dish. After 10 years in the hospitality industry, I moved into the FMCG arena taking up post initially as Creative Innovation Manager and then more lately as Director of Innovation and pathfinding (although we’re still figuring out the exact title!) with Kerry the world’s leading taste and nutrition company.I\'m currently based in Wisconsin, North America and head a team of innovators supporting our customers in their food journey and the future of ‘Kerry Taste & Nutrition’.Core skills:• ‘Free thinking’ approach to innovation, R&D, operations, management, & leadership. • Mindset and a track record of setting and achieving tactical and strategic targets, build, train & support teams, work closely with existing teams, and create innovative process’ and models that deliver with measurable pace, while under the pressure of tight deadlines and financial constraints.• Tell me it’s tough or can’t be done & I try harder - together we’ll find a way.Also; see Great British Chefs website for a snippet of my past career journey: •

Experience

1. Director of Innovation

   Kerry

   Feb 2022 — Present · WI, US

   I oversee Innovation and Pathfinding activities in a leadership role supporting Kerry and our customers in connecting today’s dots to a point in the future. I’m the founding editor of ‘Pathfinder Review’ an internal innovation magazine created with my team to stimulate conversation and debate through our analysis and commentary. I also lead the ‘Kerry Craft Collective, a global team of craftspeople each an expert in their field helping ignite the future in their respective categories and regions. I’m a big believer in creating your own reality, my job is fun and I try & make it so for everyone I work with too!A few key responsibilities:• Build, develop and support a thought leading R&D innovation team capable of working in the grey, problem solve and successfully meld learnings, food science and technology into an opportunity pipeline with culinary excellence at the core.• Oversee the delivery of key strategic innovation and Pathfinding projects. • Create an engaging support programme for the ‘Craft Collective’ that aids the globally dispersed team members deliver to their regional business and customer commitments while broadening their skill and knowledge base through collective learning opportunities and shared experiences. About Kerry Taste & Nutrition:\'Inspiring Food, Nourishing Life\'We are the world’s leading Taste and Nutrition Company, solving complex challenges with differentiated solutions to create a world of sustainable nutrition.We\'re in the midst of a food and drink revolution. Kerry is at the forefront in anticipating and leading the industry’s response to this complex challenge through our consumer insights, world-class innovation, application expertise and a long history of creating taste and nutrition solutions in a sustainable way.Visit to learn more.

Education

• Yale School of Management

  Executive development programme, Leading & Managing Globally

  2020

• Erasmus University Rotterdam

  Innovation management

  2016

• IMD

  Executive development programme, Leading & Managing Globally

  2020

Skills

• Restaurants
• Culinary Skills
• Food & Beverage
• Nutrition
• Cooking
• Menu Development
• Hospitality Industry
• Food Service
• R&D
• Food Industry
• Hospitality Management
• Food
• Pastry
• Cuisine
• Ingredients
• Catering
• Restaurant Management
• Wine
• Product Development
• Hotels
• Fine Dining
• Hospitality
• Recipes
• Chef
• Pre-Opening