Meet Dave Kennedy

Meet Dave Kennedy

“Working at Phenomenex was not so much a chore as a joyful challenge, and I really feel fortunate to have been a part of it,” said Dave.

Earlier in his career, before Phenomenex, Dave Kennedy was the general manager of an instrument company that made chromatography instruments and consumables.When Dave Kennedy worked at a previous company, he spent time identifying customers that could benefit from his company’s chromatography technology. In 2004 he wanted to divest a non-strategic product line and began to contact potentially interested companies. He knewhad heard of Phenomenex but didn’t have any direct connections there, so he reached out directly to Fasha Mahjoor, the Phenomenex founder and CEO who immediately expressed interest and invited Dave to visit Phenomenex. “I took myself and a couple of other people to make a presentation at Phenomenex, and I was blown away by how significantly the company differed from others,” said Dave. “I got a great feeling from interacting with Phenomenex’s people and experiencing their enthusiastic energy. I got the impression that this is a pretty amazing company.” Although Phenomenex didn’t buy the product line, tThis was the beginning of what turned out to be a long, successful journey between Dave and Phenomenex.

About 6A few years after that first meeting with Phenomenex, Dave retired from his prior companyor the first time. “I don't have any major hobbies, like playing golf, to keep me occupied and, so I wanted to stay professionally involved during my retirement,” said Dave. “So, The very first thing I did was get on the phone and call Fasha Mahjoor, founder of Phenomenex. We had a nice chat and I told him that I was looking forwanted something challenging to do. I asked if he had anything that I could help Phenomenex with, and it took off from there.” Dave came out of retirement and joined Phenomenex with an extensive understanding of environmental and food customer perspectives and a long list of contacts in the industry. Both of those assets fueled his success as a business development manager responsible for understanding the markets and the people in his field and looking for new opportunities for Phenomenex.

After a fulfilling 11-year chapter at Phenomenex, Dave recently retired, again. This time, it was challenging to say goodbye to a place he’s loved so dearly. Dave greatly admired the colorful and vibrant company culture that Fasha Mahjoor carefully curated and is very excited to see where Phenomenex goes in the future. “I think the Danaher Corporation acquisition has fueled an incredible opportunity opportunities for Phenomenex to grow,” said Dave.

Dave has spent most of his career on the customer side of the business in the commercial laboratory industry. “You learn and understand all these trade practices because you grew up with them,” said Dave. “Then, on the Phenomenex side, I came to realize all of a sudden that I have a whole set of experiences, nuances, understandings, and contacts that are all unique to our customer’s experience.” He was able to take everything from his prior career and apply it to his work at Phenomenex.

Although he has retired from Phenomenex, Dave’s relationship with the company remains strong. He is simply transitioning into a new chapter with his peers. “I'm searching around, trying to redefine this part of my life going forward,” said Dave. Now that he has more free time, he looks forward to spending more time with his family. He also plans to get back into fishing. “I discovered recently that only two miles away from me is the Verde River, which comes out of the mountains of northern Arizona—one of the best trout fishing streams in the state,” said Dave.

_“Just like any other change, it always takes time to learn, adapt, and find new ways to improve, but I wholeheartedly believe the company is launching moving forward in toward a tremendous futureway._”

There is an old, Greek poem called Ithacka written in 1911 by the Greek poet C.P. Cavafy. It evokesis about Homer’s Odyesseyaka in stressing the importance of the journey over the destination and how one can gain knowledge, wisdom, and perspective wealthfrom the journey. “It’s a metaphor for the journey through your life or your career,” explained Dave. “In business we very strongly focus on the ultimate goal and often times don’t appreciate the actual journey. YouOne starts in one place and ends up someplace else but in between arewith all these incredible adventures in between. That’s how I like to think about my career; the incredible r journey rather than the outcome.”