Dr Paul Matts
Title
Honorary Doctor
Person Type
Honorary
Dr Paul Matts is a biochemist with a passion for research, education and sun protection. He joined Procter and Gamble (P&G) in 1988, where he spent 36 years researching skin and developing products for some of the company’s most iconic brands, including OLAY and Max Factor. He retired in 2024 as Research and Development Vice President and a member of the Victor Mills Society, an honour society reserved for the company’s top technologists. Since 1993, Dr Paul has led the development of global standardised test methods for sun protection products.
Paul has taught at London College of Fashion (LCF) as an Associate Lecturer on the Cosmetic Science courses since 1993. In 2010, he was appointed Visiting Professor to the College, following an earlier appointment as Visiting Professor to the UCL School of Pharmacy in 2008. His passion for education led him to co-create the ‘P&G Better Lives’ awards, which help winning LCF postgraduate students jump-start their research and careers.
In 2006, Paul was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2012. He has authored and published over 65 peer-reviewed journal articles and delivered more than 150 keynote presentations at conferences worldwide. Driven by a mission to eradicate preventable skin diseases through non-profit initiatives and education, he co-founded Action on Podo, an Ethiopian non-governmental organisation that aims to eradicate podoconiosis, a skin disease affecting 1.5 million people. Since launching, under Paul’s leadership, the organisation has successfully treated around 40,000 patients.