John Austin Slade: A Man of Many Interests

John Austin Slade is an accomplished professional who has spent many years perfecting his business acumen. Although his career is ripe with achievements, John has many interests outside of the workplace. With many activities, professional responsibilities and typical duties of daily life, John has become an expert at balancing the finer points in life in order to appreciate every aspect of it.

Education

John highly values education and explains that academic development is a facet of human existence that should never go unnoticed. Having worked in the biotechnology industry for many years, John has seen just how much education can shape and change the way people go about their daily lives. With a particular focus on agriculture and food products in biotechnology, John has witnessed what intelligent and gifted scientists can do with their knowledge to improve the way people all over the world receive nutrition. He explains that without proper education and academic ambition, these talented research and development teams would never have had the ability to create the next wave of technology that is sure to change many aspects of life.

John’s personal experience with education is one that has propelled him to become the gifted professional that he is today. He notes that this intellectual journey began during his studied at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. It was here where John earned his Bachelor of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, with a Concentration in Microbiology—a field of study that would greatly impact his success in the biotechnology field. Wanting to perfect his skills even further, John studied at Heriot-Watt located in Edinburg, United Kingdom, working to obtain his Master of Business Administration in 2001. Eight years later, John traveled to Fontainebleau, France, to study Advanced Management at the notable INSEAD institution.

Even throughout his career, John has made it a priority to continue his executive education in order to ensure that he is always current with modern workplace practices. For instance, in 2005 John completed the Asian International Executive Program at INSEAD in Singapore, which allowed him to have a stronger grasp on multi-cultural business relations. In addition, he completed the High Performance Leadership Program at the University of Chicago in 2007.

Diverse Industry Experience

Although John is often associated with his profession in biotechnology, he notes that this field is one that touches upon many other industries. This vast application of the science has given him many opportunities to explore and work within areas such as:

• The food industry, including baking goods, beverages, brewing, dairy, food processing and wine and distilled spirits
• The pharmaceutical industry
• The home goods industry such as textiles, leather, cleaning detergents and personal care products
• Waste water treatment
• Energy resources, such as oil, gas and biofuel
• Channel management
• Distribution management

International Travel

Although John’s career has given him the chance to explore the many corners of the Earth, he has also appreciated these travel opportunities as a way to educate himself about the many cultures this world offers. John Austin Slade has accomplished the incredibly rare feat of visiting each of the 50 United States and explains that America is uniquely diverse and large in its own right, as it is home to so many different cultures. Outside of America, John has ventured to many spectacular destinations including:

• Peru
• Brazil
• United Arab Emirates
• Denmark
• United Kingdom
• Fiji
• Australia
• Singapore
• Japan
• Qatar
• Sweden
• Tanzania
• Sri Lanka

He has visited many more countries than those listed above, and continues to have a respect for the diverse countries this world is home to. He encourages Americans to explore not only their home country, but to also voyage to foreign destinations with an open mind.

Fitness

While globetrotting may seem exhausting enough, John makes sure to partake in several physical activities to keep his fitness at a peak. Having gained an appreciation for natural wildlife all over the globe, such as the lush tropical rain forests in Malaysia, John has found scuba diving as an excellent way to explore the world just a bit further. He is also an experience PADI Divemaster, half marathon runner and deep-sea fisherman.

John Austin Slade: The Importance of Giving Back

Throughout his many cultural experiences, John Austin Slade has come to appreciate the act of contributing to charities and nonprofits that aim to improve the world. One such organization that he has supported in the past is that of Universal Care. Universal Care is a local philanthropic based in Bangalore, India, that aims to help better the lives of orphans in the community. Aside from helping raise funds for the organization, John had become involved with endowment creation, home repairs and constructing water systems so that individuals could enjoy indoor conveniences of having running water in bathrooms and bedrooms.

How Science Can Give Back to the World

As an individual that has worked in the field of biotechnology, John Austin Slade believes that the science that has created the world we live in can also help propel it into the future. As many citizens across the globe become increasingly concerned about the state of the environment it is more important than ever for people to embrace ways that science can improve the sustainability of the planet. Biotechnology is one science that many experts believe will serve as the next wave of development in modern society. This field of science is one that holds the potential to:

• Feed hungry nations and provide improved nutrition to citizens through innovative approaches to agriculture.
• Improve medicine and treatment of severe conditions such as diabetes, ALS, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease.
• Create bioenergy that could offer a completely renewable source of power.

John Austin Slade is constantly amazed and impressed by the many solutions that biotechnology can offer to today’s world. John Austin Slade believes that if global commerce and mankind embraces this developing field of science, that many modern problems will reach a solution and develop a brighter path for future generations. Although such solutions have yet to become widespread, John Austin Slade notes that everyone can do their part to make the world a better place, whether an individual decides to contribute money, time, resources or skills to a specific cause.