John Nottingham is Co-President of Nottingham Spirk, a leading business and product innovation firm founded by John Nottingham and John Spirk in 1972. He and the NS team use the Vertical InnovationTM process in collaboration with their client/partners to deliver product platform innovations resulting in over 1,000 commercialized patents over $50 Billion in combined sales for their clients.
Nottingham Spirk helps enable companies to build businesses in adjacent categories and to disrupt markets. They have also co-founded new venture companies, many of which have been acquired. One venture-capital backed company, co-founded by NS was the Dr. Johns SpinBrush Company, later acquired by Procter & Gamble for $475 million. It resulted in the Crest Spinbrush, the largest selling powered toothbrush line. NS also co-created the P&G’s Swiffer SweeperVac; Scott’s Snap Spreader System; helped to build the Dirt Devil product line from the beginning; and developed the Sherwin-Williams Twist & Pour paint container platform, named one of the Top 10 Package Innovations of the Decade. Troy-Bilt FLEX, the first modular out-door power equipment system, resulting in MTD winning Lowes Innovator of the Year Award.
NS co-created “Rover,” the first autonomous golf caddie, which is changing golf by encouraging a healthy lifestyle. Rover follows you around the course so you can focus on your golf game.
Nottingham Spirk has developed an effective methodology for tech transfer and commercialization, collaborating with Cleveland Clinic, NASA and others. For example, starting with a Case Western Reserve University technology, NS co-created CardioInsight ECVue, the first non-invasive electrocardiographic mapping system. Medtronic recently acquired this technology for $93 million plus an earn-out.
John Nottingham serves on the Cleveland Clinic Board of Trustees, Case Western Reserve University Technology Commercialization Board, boards of CWRU think[box] maker space, Global Center for Health Innovation, Great Lakes Biomimicry, Cleveland Institute of Art and University Circle Inc., as well as several private equity company boards of directors.
John has presented numerous times on the subject of Breakthrough and Disruptive Innovation, and has shared speaker platforms with Neil Armstrong, Colin Powell and Clayton Christensen, author of “The Innovator’s Dilemma.” He has been featured on The Today Show, SiriusXM, CNN, NBC Nightly News, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes, Japan Forbes, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, New York Times, Wired and Fast Company.
