The above is yet to be proven. SS has been here for two years already and not much heavy weight activity yet that has resulted in anything tangible for OBJ Shareholders - apart from OBJ's Share-price dropping by a further 50%+. Yes, his resume looks good on paper and so does Peros, but remember Dr Steve Meller, he too looked good on paper and so did Dr Ian Frazer. Once again, I would like to remind everyone that past performance is no guarantee of future success. IMO, it's a leap to assume they are all taking advantage of their NOW moment and actually doing something tangible, as opposed to just being a 'Hire' that creates forum discussion, as in the past with Dr Ian Frazer and Dr Steve Meller and others, including failed ventures, products, collaborations, partnerships & negotiations, that were all conveniently swept under the carpet.
An interesting read from amg63 from almost 5 and a half years ago, which was just one of many, many discussions around what Dr Meller would achieve for OBJ and how awesome P&G's Connect + Develop program is for companies like OBJ. As we all know, this did not turn out to be a heavy weight negotiating deal for OBJ just like all the others; but you will find that all OBJ Directors of the time are historically recorded as selling very large portions of shares less than two months later in May 2014; just a breath after the P&G Multi product PDA and the associated hype:
'I hope this is the same Dr. Steve Meller that OBJ has hired. If it is expect big things on the P&G front, sorry if i highlighted the entire article but it was a bloody ripper read.'
'Tomorrow, it won’t be the largest or fastest companies who will succeed but the most collaborative,” Steve Meller, PhD, Chief Innovation Catalyst at Procter and Gamble USA said in his Keynote address, "Open Innovation: P&G's Lifeblood" at TiECON Australia 2011 in Sydney.
TiECON Australia 2011, TiE Sydney’s seminal annual conference "Sustaining Innovation" held on October 11, 2011 at the University of New South Wales in Sydney’s Central Business District, brought together corporates and entrepreneurs in a synergistic collaboration.
The more than 90 delegates were represented by entrepreneurs in all stages, innovators, thought leaders, corporates, academics and several students of innovation and entrepreneurship had come together to discuss and explore new ways of how agile and nimbleinventions and innovations could both disrupt and incrementally improve innovation inside large cumbersome corporates. Perhaps with the exception of Procter and Gamble (P&G), which is one of the world’s most innovative (2008, Business Week) and respected companies (2006, Wall Street Journal).
Leading the innovation debate at TiECON 2011 was P&G USA’s Steve Meller (pictured). The Australian born Meller with a PhD in NeuroScience from the University of Adelaide has beenintegral to P&G’s world-leading ‘open innovation’ practice and the very successful ‘Connect & Develop’ program that has yielded more than half of P&G’s new products by leveraging expertise outside the company.
“We build partners vs crafting contracts. Our deal structures are as creative as the innovations. No two partnerships are the same, so neither is the agreement. It begins with a conversation and shared vision,”Steve Meller said.
P&G currently has multiple deals with more than 40% of its Connect & Develop partners, which had earned itself a reputation of "making (innovation) strategy its brand. The branded way is how we have chosen to talk about open innovation," he said.
Its Connect & Develop Innovation Network is a confluence of entrepreneurs, consumers, VCs, suppliers, research institutes, contract labs, alliances, Joint Development partners, virtual networks, trade partners, individual inventors, governments labs and retirees. It was this aspect that generated a heightened level of interest and debate evidenced by the lively and interactive debate during the Q&A session.
So what does the Chief Innovation Catalyst do? “My role is to create strategies and capabilities and then pitch it back to the company.Innovation drives our growth strategy. We are continually expanding brands and leveraging growth. We can’t be everywhere, think of everything, especially not at the speed with which the world operates.
“To deliver what consumers need, in an efficient and cost effective way, that is market-leading, we need to tap the ideas of the world. Innovation will be the key to get there.P&G brings expertise, scale. We focus on what customers really want,” he said.
P&G currently conducts 20,000 research studies which hone in on where (innovation) can impact on consumers which it reaches via 30,000 global suppliers. “Innovation is more than R&D - in fact, its not R&D,” Steve said.
P&G aims to develop more strategic Connect & Develop partnerships to deliver more"game-changing wins for us and our partners and with greater scale."
“We are always looking for collaboration opportunities. Our door is always open to partnerships.It's win-win interactions with us. We want to create partnerships that will sustainably grow over time,” Steve said.
Steve's presentation can be viewed in Entrepreneur's Corner at
The only thing of substance that I can see that Dr Steve Meller has done or is doing, is the following:
'The relationship with the Manufacturer is being managed by OBJ’s USA-basedpharmaceutical consultant Dr Steve Meller, who has extensive experience in IBUclinical studies and a longstanding relationship with the Manufacturer’s analgesicteam.' https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20170829/pdf/43ltzfvx7pcz26.pdf
Here's an interesting ad-lib comment from jace from yesteryear - how we all got it soooooo wrong:
'After years of research and clinical trials with a number of global corporations that produce fast-moving consumer goods and healthcare products, OBJ is now at the point where it is clear that these corporations wish to incorporate our proprietary technology into their products. What is left to finally do is negotiate a commercial licensing arrangement that is mutually acceptable to OBJ and each of its global partners. To that end, OBJ has taken steps to engage a highly qualified expert who will ensure shareholders' interests are maximised."
Dr Steve Meller's original ASX Announcement titled 'Appointment of Licensing Specialist' stated:
'Dr Meller will work closely with OBJ in future negotiations and discussions with Global FMCG and Pharmaceutical companies and advice on further opportunities for OBJ's technologies.'
Recently Opel24v was quoted as saying the following and I'd like to know how they came about this information?!?- 'OBJ appointed Steve Meller ( ex P&G) to handle negotiations so I thought we were in safe hands. Look back through previous announcements to find the ASX release as most who are new to OBJ won't know this name. I was shocked when I found out he wasn't used in the deal we ended up with. P&G aren't the bad guys here'.
2nd tech licence - Master Licencing Agreement - aim to get done before AGM, but dependent on P&G They must give us launch plans with intentions next 18 months And must have products on shelves within 30 months, or we have right to terminate Provisions in there that allow us to move forward Will take a full year to get product out 1000 person trial (considerable) Very exciting for company.
The above was taken from the 18/10/2017 Conference call, so the 2nd tech Termination trigger must be getting close (30 months is around 1st half of 2020) and Shareholders are yet to be advised of any 'Launch Plans' which was a 'MUST' requirement from P&G within 18 months that has already expired.
OBJ Price at posting:
1.4¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)