When Dr. Robert De Simone graduated from Monsignor Bonner High School in 1959, he never imagined he would one day hold 20 patents in specialty chemicals and help shape the modern Flavor and Fragrance Industry. “I was a mediocre student at Bonner,” he admits, “and also at St. Joseph’s College, but I did well in chemistry.”
A Budding Fascination with Chemistry
Raised as the oldest of nine children, De Simone learned perseverance early. His father, a musician and inventor who created a patented variation of the celeste, a bell-toned keyboard instrument used by the Philadelphia Orchestra and on The Lawrence Welk Show, fell ill with facial bone cancer and was unable to work for an extended period. To support the family, he took jobs on cruise ships, leaving young Robert to develop the self-reliance that would define his career.
At Bonner, cross-country and chemistry gave him direction. “Someone told me they didn’t cut anyone from Cross Country,” he recalls. “I became the second-best freshman on the team. That was my sport. It was a revelation. I had endurance genes.”
In the classroom, he discovered his passion for Father Lafferty’s chemistry course. “Lafferty was a tough cookie, mercurial and sometimes rough, but he taught chemistry exceptionally well,” De Simone says. “Later, when I started my aroma-chemical company, I reached out to thank him for reinforcing my love of chemistry.”
A Flavorful Career
After Bonner, De Simone attended St. Joseph’s College, earning a B.S. in Chemistry while working days at Betz Labs as an analytical chemist and finishing his senior year in night classes. “It’s powerful to attend classes while working in your field. You knit the academic with the practical,” he says. At Betz, he learned wet testing and chromatographic methods, sharpening both his technical skill and curiosity.
From there, he joined Warner-Lambert, where he became proficient in IR, UV, and NMR spectroscopy, skills that deepened his understanding of organic chemistry. His desire to create products and solve problems led him to International Flavors and Fragrances, where science and creativity merged. There, his career blossomed as he co-authored several patents in aroma chemistry while pursuing graduate studies at Seton Hall University.
A year at Hoffman-La Roche followed, whereupon his mentor, Dr. Robert Augustine, encouraged him to complete his doctoral residency and set the stage for an innovative career ahead.
Industry Innovation and Entrepreneurship
After earning his Ph.D. in 1970, De Simone joined Rhodia (Rhône-Poulenc) as Research Director, helping the company expand into the flavor and fragrance market. His work led to several patented processes for aroma chemicals and vitamin intermediates.
He later served as Research Director at Polak’s Frutal Works, leading teams that developed patented products and practical solutions across the aroma-chemical field. One breakthrough, a flavor enhancer used by General Foods, had been too expensive for large-scale use in Jell-O and beverages. De Simone reformulated it into a patented, lower-cost version that added a “juicy” note to fruit and citrus flavors. The compound remains in use today.
“The flavor and fragrance industry follows strict safety standards,” he explains. “Flavor aroma chemicals must be GRAS, or Generally Recognized As Safe, and the industry works proactively with government agencies to test and monitor new compounds.”
He adds, “Perfumers and flavorists are artists, often called ‘noses,’ who, like painters or sculptors, rely on imagination and memory to create signature aromas and flavors.”
In 1980, De Simone joined Elan Chemical Company, where he introduced one of the first broad arrays of purified natural aromatics for the industry. After 13 years, he was ready to chart his own course.
In 1994, he and two younger partners, a CPA and a salesman, began moonlighting in a rented truck bay in Paterson, New Jersey. “Within four months, the Elan owners discovered us,” he recalls. “They tried to break us up, firing me, trying to make the salesman an independent agent, and keeping the CPA. We went back to work that evening and never looked back. The time was right. It was the best thing that ever happened. We were ready to fly.”
The new company, Advance Biotech, focused on purified natural aroma ingredients that food companies badly needed at the time. It quickly grew from a $1 million startup in its first year to $100 million by 2016, and by 2025 had reached $250 million in sales. Today it remains the world leader in its niche, serving major global clients including International Flavors & Fragrances, Symrise, Givaudan, and hundreds more.
Over his career, De Simone earned 20 patents in fine chemicals and aromatics. He also spent a decade consulting for a flavor and fragrance manufacturing company after earning his MBA at Pace University in 1989, an experience that helped him usher new products from the lab to commercial production.
A Family of Healers and Innovators
Science and service continue through the De Simone family. His wife, Barbara, was a computer specialist with a business degree. His son Rob and daughter-in-law Marianne are anesthesiologists, and his younger son, Mark, earned degrees in ceramic engineering and law.
The next generation carries on the STEM legacy. His grandson, Robert, is a mechanical engineer and director for an aerospace company. His granddaughter Ashleigh is a naturopathic physician. His grandson Mike is a computer scientist pursuing a master’s in cybersecurity and AI.
Reflecting on his journey from Bonner’s chemistry lab to global entrepreneurship, De Simone says, “I’m not someone with total recall who can memorize history or Shakespeare. I devise systems in my head, combining theory and experience in my own way to solve problems and innovate. I wasn’t a top student, but I was curious, and that curiosity, along with the right effort, can carry you far.”
He adds with a smile, “We all have different ways of learning. Paraphrasing Anthony Bourdain, proper preparation prevents pathetic, poor performance.”