Phil Webster

Partner

Principal

United Kingdom

Phil is a strategy consultant specializing in technology and innovation management, with an academic background in the life sciences.

Phil Webster

Education

Newcastle University (UK)
MSc Industrial Biotechnology
University of York (UK)
BSc Biology

Phil Webster

Phil is a Partner in the Global Technology & Innovation Management Practice of Arthur D. Little, and is based in London. He has worked internationally across the healthcare and life sciences, agri-food and chemicals sectors.

Since joining Arthur D. Little in 2006, Phil’s work has focused on helping businesses set innovation strategy and identify new growth opportunities underpinned by effective science and technology. He also works with the corporate innovation centers and quality management functions of some of the world’s largest companies to improve their capabilities through better business processes, organizational structures and governance models.

He also works with universities, research institutes and Government in setting national science policy, defining technology roadmaps and finding effective ways to use and manage intellectual property.

Before joining Arthur D. Little, Phil worked in the agricultural biotechnology industry. He has a passion for achieving responsible business performance through innovation, and particular interests in sustainable agriculture, clean energy and renewable chemicals.

Strengthening resilience in food & beverage product development
Strengthening resilience in food & beverage product development
The food and beverage industry is experiencing rapid, unpredictable disruptions driven by supply scarcity and commodity price fluctuations. This presents an existential challenge in getting safe, consistent products to market. In this Viewpoint, we identify practical actions to strengthen resilience and build supply chain security through a combination of supply chain innovation and improved product development approaches.
DEMOCRATIZING TECH
Democratizing Tech
Digitizing government services and processes is crucial to delivering greater efficiency and increased economic competitiveness, bridging equality gaps, and meeting the changing needs of citizens. Yet many government solutions failed the stress test of the pandemic, wasting scarce resources and adding to suffering.
How to build a unicorn in the post-pandemic inflationary world
How to build a unicorn in the post-pandemic inflationary world
The global boom in start-up valuations has abruptly stopped. What felt like never-ending growth in venture capital and private equity investments that created a conveyor belt of new tech disruptors has been replaced by a landscape of failed initial public offerings (IPOs), dramatically lower valuations, and job cuts. Q3 2022 saw 37 new USD1bn+ valued tech unicorns created – a year earlier, the figure had been 165. Venture funding dropped by over 50 percent year-on-year.
Time to renew your pilot’s license?
Time to renew your pilot’s license?
Why the bio-based materials market is finally poised for growth
Why the bio-based materials market is finally poised for growth
This is now changing rapidly, reinvigorating the market. Demand is growing, driven by increasingly environmentally conscious consumers and governments’ Net Zero targets requiring consumer-focused product companies to achieve sustainability. Finally, technology breakthroughs are bringing down production costs for bio-based materials, while improving their performance to make them comparable or superior to fossil-based counterparts.
The Future of Innovation Districts
  The way in which organizations innovate, and places where they are based to do this, have changed profoundly over the last decade due to two overall trends – convergence and disruption. Companies have moved away from closed innovation models to more open approaches in which organizations and places work in collaborative ecosystems and networks, forming “uncommon partnerships” between previously unrelated industries.

Phil Webster

Phil is a Partner in the Global Technology & Innovation Management Practice of Arthur D. Little, and is based in London. He has worked internationally across the healthcare and life sciences, agri-food and chemicals sectors.

Since joining Arthur D. Little in 2006, Phil’s work has focused on helping businesses set innovation strategy and identify new growth opportunities underpinned by effective science and technology. He also works with the corporate innovation centers and quality management functions of some of the world’s largest companies to improve their capabilities through better business processes, organizational structures and governance models.

He also works with universities, research institutes and Government in setting national science policy, defining technology roadmaps and finding effective ways to use and manage intellectual property.

Before joining Arthur D. Little, Phil worked in the agricultural biotechnology industry. He has a passion for achieving responsible business performance through innovation, and particular interests in sustainable agriculture, clean energy and renewable chemicals.

Strengthening resilience in food & beverage product development
Strengthening resilience in food & beverage product development
The food and beverage industry is experiencing rapid, unpredictable disruptions driven by supply scarcity and commodity price fluctuations. This presents an existential challenge in getting safe, consistent products to market. In this Viewpoint, we identify practical actions to strengthen resilience and build supply chain security through a combination of supply chain innovation and improved product development approaches.
DEMOCRATIZING TECH
Democratizing Tech
Digitizing government services and processes is crucial to delivering greater efficiency and increased economic competitiveness, bridging equality gaps, and meeting the changing needs of citizens. Yet many government solutions failed the stress test of the pandemic, wasting scarce resources and adding to suffering.
How to build a unicorn in the post-pandemic inflationary world
How to build a unicorn in the post-pandemic inflationary world
The global boom in start-up valuations has abruptly stopped. What felt like never-ending growth in venture capital and private equity investments that created a conveyor belt of new tech disruptors has been replaced by a landscape of failed initial public offerings (IPOs), dramatically lower valuations, and job cuts. Q3 2022 saw 37 new USD1bn+ valued tech unicorns created – a year earlier, the figure had been 165. Venture funding dropped by over 50 percent year-on-year.
Time to renew your pilot’s license?
Time to renew your pilot’s license?
Why the bio-based materials market is finally poised for growth
Why the bio-based materials market is finally poised for growth
This is now changing rapidly, reinvigorating the market. Demand is growing, driven by increasingly environmentally conscious consumers and governments’ Net Zero targets requiring consumer-focused product companies to achieve sustainability. Finally, technology breakthroughs are bringing down production costs for bio-based materials, while improving their performance to make them comparable or superior to fossil-based counterparts.
The Future of Innovation Districts
  The way in which organizations innovate, and places where they are based to do this, have changed profoundly over the last decade due to two overall trends – convergence and disruption. Companies have moved away from closed innovation models to more open approaches in which organizations and places work in collaborative ecosystems and networks, forming “uncommon partnerships” between previously unrelated industries.

More About Phil
  • Newcastle University (UK)
    MSc Industrial Biotechnology
  • University of York (UK)
    BSc Biology