As director of Contextualize, I use my more than twenty years’ experience in Analytical Science, especially as it pertains to wax and polymer characterization, to provide companies with R&D support to better position or differentiate their products in the market. I also have a keen interest in the use of technology to streamline work processes and assist laboratories to organise their workflow. I am passionate about enabling the sciences and facilitating learning. I leverage this industry engagement in the training we offer by helping university students develop the requisite skills for the workplace through our course: '21st Century Skills for Industry'.

I obtained my Master's degree in Polymer Science from the University of Southern Mississippi, USA and was previously employed by Sasol, where I spent my earlier career working in the R&D Analytical Division and building capacity in Analytical Science in South Africa. My professional interests are: Managing a team of scientists, Creating product intelligence, Analytical Problem Solving, Analytical Laboratory Leadership, Skills for Industry and using technology to optimize work processes.
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I am a skilled researcher with a PhD in Polymer Science, obtained from Stellenbosch University, South Africa with five years’ experience. My research expertise is in the field of polymer characterization with a focus on polyolefins. I have good knowledge on a vast array of analytical tools for correlating structure-property-application relationships of various polymeric systems. Additionally, I have fundamental knowledge and practical experience in the fields of hot melt adhesives, waxes and PVC.

Postdoctoral research and scientific consultation projects with commercial partners allowed me to gain more insight into independent research where I could further develop my scientific skills. I have also been involved in research on academic level as mentor and co-supervisor for undergraduate and postgraduate polymer science students. My biggest passion is to utilize fundamental scientific research to assist the commercial sector with real-world challenges. I personally believe a balanced lifestyle is important and thoroughly enjoy my sport when I am not in the laboratory or behind my desk.

I am from Sweden and first came to South Africa in 2007. Having been brought up in East Africa I always had a love for the continent and its people. I met my wife, Heidi while working on a research project in beautiful South Africa and it felt like a natural choice for us to settle down here. Together, we started Contextualize in 2016. Since then, the company has evolved and nowadays, we direct the educational initiatives that I am passionate about, through our non-profit company Contextualized Learning Solutions (CLS).

Professionally, I hold a PhD in Computer Science and I am the technical director for Contextualize where I am responsible for the ICT deployment in the company and share the financial management with my wife and co-director Heidi. I manage and direct the project initiatives for CLS with the support of three co-directors.

Kyle has a BSc in Computer Science from University of Western Cape and is Smartsheet Core Product certified. His role is to design, analyze, implement, and maintain business systems and processes that allow business stakeholders to operate efficiently and at scale. It includes communicating with non-technical business users to determine specific business requirements for complex system design, automations and integrations.