Dr Peter John is a consultant operating mainly in the areas of R&D management, innovation and intellectual property commercialisation. Peter gained a B. Eng and Ph.D. from the University of Wales, Institute of Science and Technology before moving to New Zealand to take up a position with the then Department of Science and Industrial Research. In 1993, he became the establishment CEO at Lincoln Ventures Limited, a position he held for 12 years.

In 2005 he established Lincoln University’s Research and Commercialisation Office, stepping down as Director in May 2013. Peter has managed the commercialisation of a range of software, bio-control, agri-tech and wildlife management technologies and specialist fee-for-service businesses. He has served on the Boards of Powerhouse Ventures Limited, Kiwinet Innovation Network Ltd, Canterbury Innovation Incubator Ltd and NZ Brain Research Institute Ltd.

Dr John has had a long association with FRST, MSI and MBIE chairing, among others, the New Materials, Technologies and Services (NMTS) Advisory Groups (2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09, 2009/10) and the 2009 High Technology Transformational Research, Science and Technology (High Tech TRST) Advisory Group. He was a member of the 2012 High Value Manufacturing and Services (HVMS) Assessment Panel and chaired the 2013 HVMS Panel.