ABOUT
Progressive Sports Technologies maintain a highly skilled research and development team, at-hand to support your project requirements, large and small.
A highly skilled, bolt-on R&D team capable of supporting your innovation projects: large and small.
Progressive operates from space in the Advanced Technology Innovation Centre at Loughborough University. Maintaining a small but highly skilled research and development team, we are primed to support your unique project requirements.
Founded in 2001, by Ross Weir and Professor Mike Caine as a commercial B2B consultancy, the team provide validation, research and development support to the international sporting goods market and its related industries.
The company has enjoyed working with many of the world’s best R&D teams within industry leading brands. With such partners Progressive bolts-on seamlessly to their established in-house teams, as for smaller partners Progressive can be a complete R&D team on tap.
Progressive utilise high value resources across the Loughborough campus, and beyond, to discover valuable insights that can be used to drive improved product and service performance for our partners.
Offering both tactical and strategic support, Progressive is an on-demand R&D service to suit your requirements, fast. When you need extra resource to successfully deliver your project Progressive is here to assist.
TEAM
Founder / Director
Ross Weir
Known as an insightful and practical entrepreneur, Ross has developed an industry leading breadth of experience across research, development, validation and innovation.
As co-founder of Progressive, Ross is most proud of the incumbent and past team members whom he has enjoyed working with over the years. He continues to draw a huge amount of satisfaction from seeing the individuals he has had the pleasure to work with flourish and succeed in the wider global sports industry.
Skill set
• Product and Research Vision
• Creativity and Innovation Implementation
Founder / Director
Prof. Mike Caine
An entrepreneurial academic leader, capable of delivering transformational change in complex, multi-stakeholder environments. Mike is well connected and respected within academic, sport and technology communities globally. Mike is most comfortable hanging out with those focused on building a bright future and being inspired by those who dream big!
Skill Set:
– Leader
– Large Scale Project Management
– Physiology
Head of R&D
Dr. Bertrand Bru
Bertrand moved from being the Head of R&D at CODAmotion in October 2017. With him, comes a wealth of knowledge on the
workings of motion capture software and biomechanics.
Biomechanist by education, Bertrand completed his Ph.D in 2011 at the “Institute of Intelligent Systems and Robotics” (Paris – UPMC) where he developed an innovative dynamic identification method for estimating the inertial parameters of the human body.
In 2007, he completed a Master’s degree in Sport Science at the university of Toulouse 3 with a special interest in the influence of sporting expertise on the EMG-torque relationship.
Skill set
– Biomechanics
– Electronics
– Data Analysis and Programming
Sports Research Scientist
George Jenner
George by education is a Physicist having studied his bachelor’s at the University of Bath, which included a year working at Mercedes AMG Formula 1. This was followed by a master’s degree in Sports Engineering at Sheffield Hallam University.
Skill set
– Mechanics
– Data Analysis and Programming
Director
Jeff Davis
Jeff is a Sports Scientist with a keen eye and experience for New Fitness & Wellness Products that can be invented, developed and innovated; with the ultimate aim of commercialisation to the benefit of the end user.
TEAM
Known as an insightful and practical entrepreneur, Ross has developed an industry leading breadth of experience across research, development, validation and innovation.
As co-founder of Progressive, Ross is most proud of the incumbent and past team members whom he has enjoyed working with over the years. He continues to draw a huge amount of satisfaction from seeing the individuals he has had the pleasure to work with flourish and succeed in the wider global sports industry.
Skill set
• Product and Research Vision
• Creativity and Innovation Implementation
An entrepreneurial academic leader, capable of delivering transformational change in complex, multi-stakeholder environments. Mike is well connected and respected within academic, sport and technology communities globally. Mike is most comfortable hanging out with those focused on building a bright future and being inspired by those who dream big!
Skill Set:
– Leader
– Large Scale Project Management
– Physiology
Bertrand moved from being the Head of R&D at CODAmotion in October 2017. With him, comes a wealth of knowledge on the
workings of motion capture software and biomechanics.
Biomechanist by education, Bertrand completed his Ph.D in 2011 at the “Institute of Intelligent Systems and Robotics” (Paris – UPMC) where he developed an innovative dynamic identification method for estimating the inertial parameters of the human body.
In 2007, he completed a Master’s degree in Sport Science at the university of Toulouse 3 with a special interest in the influence of sporting expertise on the EMG-torque relationship.
Skill set
– Biomechanics
– Electronics
– Data Analysis and Programming
Thomas is a Biomechanist by Education, having completed a master’s degree in Sports Biomechanics at Loughborough University. Prior to this, he studied Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Portsmouth for his undergraduate degree.
Skill set
– Biomechanics
– Data Analysis and Programming
George by education is a Physicist having studied his bachelor’s at the University of Bath, which included a year working at Mercedes AMG Formula 1. This was followed by a master’s degree in Sports Engineering at Sheffield Hallam University.
Skill set
– Mechanics
– Data Analysis and Programming
Emma keeps the business running smoothly. She is the liaison to our clients to manage the commercial aspects of each project. Behind the scenes, Emma handles all Progressives’s business administration.
Skill set
– Operational control
– Budget management
– Recruitment
Jeff is a Sports Scientist with a keen eye and experience for New Fitness & Wellness Products that can be invented, developed and innovated; with the ultimate aim of commercialisation to the benefit of the end user.
Many of our previous Progressive team members are still in the industry and have moved on to bigger and better things:
Dr. Tom Waller
Senior Vice President Whitespace (Innovation and R&D) at lululemon athletica
Dr. David Barrass
International Director Product Line Management (PLM) at Haworth
Dr. Phil Hodgkins
Founder / Owner of EPIKMOTO: www.epikmoto.com
Joseph Santry
Director of Research at lululemon athletica
Dr. Dan Toon
Principal - Design Team at McLaren Applied Technologies
Rob Waters
Design Programme Supervisor - Special Vehicle Operations at Jaguar Land Rover
Dr. Jouni Ronkainen
Project Manager Machine Vision and Sports Technology at Stemmer Imaging
Dr. Iain Roche
Head of Innovation at High Speed Two
Dr. Connie Yang
Head of Packaging and Product Display at Apple
Dr. Mike Vasquez
Additive Manufacturing Technical Expert at 3Degrees Consulting
Bryan Hoing
Senior Development Engineer at adidas USA
Ashley Gray
Collaborative Innovation Program Manager at Loughborough University
Elliot Welland
Managing Director at Ashmei
Mari Thomas
Founder at MAREE
Dr. Bryan Roberts
Founder and Managing Director at Kit Radar
Sebastian Wronski
Sports Science Specialist
Laura O'Shea
Innovation Research and Testing Manager at Pentland Brands
Olly Eades
Senior Innovation Research Manager at Gymshark
Dr. James Jones
Bid Manager - Research and Innovation at Ixion
LOCATION
Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for excellence in teaching and research, strong links with industry and unrivalled sporting achievement.
It is a member of the esteemed 1994 Group a set of internationally recognised, research intensive universities and has a reputation for the relevance of its work. Its degree programmes are highly regarded by professional institutions and businesses, and its graduates are consistently targeted by the UK’s top recruiters.
Loughborough is also the global premier university for sport. It has perhaps the best integrated sports development environment in the world and is home to some of the country’s leading coaches, sports scientists and support staff. It also has the countryís largest concentration of world-class training facilities across a wide range of sports.
As well as being the premier university for sport globally (QS higher education league table 2017), Loughborough also has a growing and dynamic portfolio of spin-out companies across all research areas. Progressive was spun from the Sports Technology Research Group in 2001, the group has successful created and nurtured 3 spin out companies to date.
Progressive has benefited from the close associating with the University, its leading research groups and key business incubation activities. The company continues to work in synergy with our Loughborough based partners and the ever developing university campus.
Progressive Sports Technologies Ltd
Advanced Technology Innovation Centre
5 Oakwood Drive
Loughborough
LE11 3QF
United Kingdom
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