Spencer Needs
Spencer is a Chartered Biologist. After early career experience as a microbiologist in food and pharmaceuticals he joined the cosmetic industry in 1975 with Unilever. In eight years at their Toiletries Research Centre he gained extensive product experience including semi-technical scale manufacture and scale up to factory production. At this time Spencer was awarded the Diploma in Management Studies and later the Diploma in Marketing.
A career move into Marks and Spencer in 1975 gave opportunities to combine technical skills with commercial aptitudes as he started the technical basis of their toiletries and cosmetics business with a flair for new product development. In 1981 Spencer became a Chartered Chemist and later Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. In 1985 he started the technical basis of their Household Products business, sourcing and developing a wide range of innovative cleaning and washing products whilst retaining Toiletries and Cosmetics responsibilities.
In his last five years with Marks and Spencer he was responsible for product safety systems across all non-food suppliers and also became a qualified and experienced ISO quality auditor.
In 1999 Spencer started his own consultancy focussed on legal compliance and products safety in the cosmetic industry and has lectured and written articles on these topics. A dual professional and long standing member of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists Spencer is also a Registered Toxicologist. He has worked for various international clients and has carried out a large number of safety assessments for cosmetics, household products and toys.
