Events | Bristol Business School blog

Honorary Degree for Peaches Golding OBE

Faculty of Business and Law | 7 July 2017

Peaches Golding OBE is to be awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University (Hon DUniv) by the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) in recognition of her contribution, service and commitment to Business.

Peaches Golding OBE is Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for the County and City of Bristol. Appointed in 2017, she will retire at the end of 2028.

Peaches is a highly experienced, award winning director and non-executive director having gained experience in sectors such as utilities, media, health, education and recruitment sectors. Her areas of specialism include corporate responsibility and strategic marketing and communications. She is a persuasive public speaker, trusted and respected campaigner and business leader.

Peaches established a marketing and communications consultancy in 1992 and for 17 years she was commissioned by one of HRH The Prince of Wales’s Charities, (the UK’s leading corporate responsibility charity), to focus on leadership development, diversity and change management. Her consultancy clients included Government Office for the South West, Office of Deputy Prime Minister, Business Link, Environment Agency, EDF Energy, Bowater Pharmaceuticals, British Steel, among others.

Peaches was a Non-Executive Director of the North Bristol NHS Trust and of GWR West Limited (where she was a member of the Board that won the franchise from Ofcom, the communications regulator).

She was the Independent Chair of the Regional Advisory Council of ITV West (1997 to 2006), Independent Chair of the Viewer’s Advisory Panel of ITV West Country (2006 to 2017), a member of the Ethnic Minority Business Forum (2004 to 2006), the Home Office representative on the Avon & Somerset Police Authority (2000 to 2008), an Independent Governor of the University of the West of England (2000 to 2008) and a member of the General Chiropractic Council (1996 to 2004).

Peaches is currently Independent Chairman of the Bristol Water Challenge Panel (the committee that assures the regulator Ofwat that the customer’s priorities are central to the business and investment programme), a Board Member of Moon Consultancy (an executive search, selection and recruitment consultancy for senior executive and Board level posts) and a Trustee of the ss Great Britain.

Peaches was appointed by The Queen to the ancient and historic role of High Sheriff of the County and City of Bristol 2010-2011. She was awarded an OBE in 2009 for services to minority ethnic people in the South West and was recognised by the Bristol Post and Bath Chronicle in 2015 for her ‘Outstanding Contribution to Business in Bristol and Bath’ in the Women in Business Award.

Peaches graduated from the University of N Carolina, USA with a BA (Biology) degree and awarded an Honorary MBA by the University of West of England in 2010. She is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Responding the award Peaches said, “I am thrilled and deeply honoured to be awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University. To receive this tremendous honour is far beyond my expectations and an enormous pleasure for my family, colleagues and me. Bristol is a city that I dearly love and I shall cherish this Honorary Degree in recognition of my contributions to it. Thank you so very much”.

She is married to Bob Golding (a former Zoo Director of the Zoological Gardens at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, Executive Director of Cotswold Wild Life Park and Founding Director of Natural Habitats Ltd). Peaches and Bob have one son Charles (who was awarded a Foundation degree at the University of the West of England before graduating from the London College of Printing).

This Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University (Hon DUniv) will be conferred at the Awards Ceremony of the Faculty of Business and Law at Bristol Cathedral on Friday 14 July at 10:30.

Entrepreneur Luke Johnson to be awarded Honorary Degree

Faculty of Business and Law | 6 July 2017

Luke Johnson is to be awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration (HON DBA) by the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) in recognition of his service to entrepreneurship.

Luke Johnson is a leading figure in private equity and the restaurant industry and the pioneer behind several instantly recognisable high-street brands.

An Oxford medical graduate, he began his career as a media analyst at Grieveson Grant, before being appointed as Chairman of PizzaExpress PLC in 1993. The business grew from 12 to over 150 restaurants during his tenure.

In 1999, he started Signature Restaurants, which owned The Ivy, Le Caprice and the Belgo chain, before establishing the Strada restaurant concept. The total proceeds from these two disposals were in excess of £90 million.

Luke is the Chairman of Risk Capital Partners, a private equity firm he co-founded in 2001, as well as Chairman and part owner of Gail’s bakeries, Neilson Active Holidays and Patisserie Holdings PLC.

He also serves on the board of Brompton Bicycles and is chairman of the Gaucho restaurant business. He also chairs Brighton Pier Group PLC. He was appointed Chairman of StartUp Britain in 2012 and, a year later, he created a think tank called The Centre for Entrepreneurs.

During his time as the Chairman of Channel 4 Television (2004 – 2010) the organisation enjoyed record ratings and revenues. He has also previously served as Chairman of the Royal Society of Arts and as a Governor of the University of the Arts. As well as being the Chairman of the Institute of Cancer Research and the Almeida Theatre, Luke writes weekly for The Sunday Times, and, until 2015, he contributed a weekly column to The Financial Times for seven years.

Commenting on his award Luke said, “I am very grateful to UWE Bristol for this honour. Every effort all of us can make to encourage more entrepreneurs matters. They generate new companies, jobs, innovation, tax and exports. Entrepreneurs are the future, and the more of them there are, then the better off we will all be.”

The Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration (HON DBA) will be conferred at the Awards Ceremony of the Faculty of Business and Law at Bristol Cathedral on Wednesday 12 July at 14:00.

Stephen Robertson awarded Honorary Degree for contribution to Bristol Business

Faculty of Business and Law | 6 July 2017

Stephen Robertson is to be awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration (HON DBA) by the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) in recognition of his contribution to Bristol Business and academic business engagement.

Stephen Robertson is Chairman of Retail Economics (bespoke research consultancy), Non-Executive Director: Timpson Group (privately held services retailer), Hargreaves Lansdown plc (FTSE 100 consumer financial services), Sofology (furniture retailer) and Clipper Logistics plc.

Stephen is a Visiting Professor at Bristol Business School at UWE Bristol.

Stephen’s career started in marketing roles in fmcg businesses – Unilever, Alberto Culver, Mars Inc, Mattel – before serving on the boards of major UK retailers.

Stephen spent seven years as Marketing Director at B&Q before leading the acquisition of Screwfix Direct which he then chaired through a period of strong growth. He went on to become Director of Communications at Kingfisher plc and took the helm of the Ellen MacArthur sponsorship programme. Subsequently, he served on the boards of WHSmith and Woolworths.

Stephen was Director General of British Retail Consortium for five years to the end of 2012. The BRC represents UK retail, large and small, lobbying governments and near-government organisations, as well as producing key retail data. Through this role Stephen appeared frequently on TV, radio and press to discuss business issues.

Previously he was a non-executive board member at National Portrait Gallery Company, Fresca Group (fresh produce supplier) and Chairman, Business West and West of England LEP.

He is a fellow, and former chairman, of the Marketing Society, a fellow of Royal Society of Arts, a fellow of Chartered Management Institute and a member Emeritus of the Marketing Group of Great Britain.

Stephen Robertson said, “It is both a pleasure and an honour to receive this recognition from the respected and innovative Bristol Business School.”

Stephen lives with his wife, Sue (who is the elected Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset Constabulary), in North Somerset.

The Honorary Degree will be conferred at the Awards Ceremony of the Faculty of Business and Law on Thursday 13 July at 17:00 at Bristol Cathedral.

UWE’s Distinguished Address series prepares to receive 100th guest speaker

Faculty of Business and Law | 30 June 2017

Adapted from South West Business article written by David Clensy.

The Bristol Distinguished Address Series (BDAS) will receive its 100th guest speaker when the series restarts this Autumn.

The BDAS events will now take place in UWE Bristol’s new £55million Bristol Business School building.

Karen Blackett OBE, chairwoman of MediaCom, will be the 100th speaker on December 6, after the talks kick off on October 11 with a talk by Sacha Romanovitch (CEO of Grant Thornton).

Since 2008, highly prestigious speakers have captivated audiences attending the BDAS events at UWE Bristol. Eminent lecturers have so far included Lord Karan Bilimoria (chairman, Cobra beer), who spoke about boldness in business, Michael Ward (managing director, Harrods) on the luxury industry and its challenges, and Baroness Dido Harding (chief executive, TalkTalk) on how Britain can lead in the digital revolution. Many other high-profile names from the business world also feature on the list of previous speakers.

The lectures are free to attend, open to everyone and last about an hour with opportunities to meet the speaker afterwards, and to network. The talks provide a rare opportunity for attendees to hear about the challenges, issues and decisions made at the highest level of leadership.

For the full article please see here.

For more information on the BDAS events please see here.

UWE Bristol appoints new Director for Bristol Business Engagement

Faculty of Business and Law | 29 June 2017

Dr Noordin Shehabuddeen has been appointed Director of the newly created Bristol Business Engagement Centre at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol).

Dr Shehabuddeen has worked at the interface between industry and academia, at Cambridge and Liverpool universities and had a stint as an advisor to two cabinet ministers on innovation and knowledge transfer. A Mechanical Engineer by training, he later ventured into innovation and entrepreneurship, completing a masters and doctorate at Cambridge University.

His most recent role was at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, where he played a founding role in the development of a multi-million dollar initiative called the Innovation Precinct – which brought together various innovation infrastructure and activities across the University under a single industry-facing umbrella.

He also led the development of an incubation/acceleration facility for start-ups, has authored a practitioner handbook and developed a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on innovation – which has seen over 21,000 students going through it from around the world.

Speaking about his new role at UWE Bristol, Dr Shehabuddeen said,

“The scope for extending our engagement is tremendous. Regionally, Bristol is a happening place in terms of sectors such as creative and digital media, music and events, professional and financial services, and new technologies generally. It is also an exciting start-up scene.

“UWE Bristol has an important role to play in all aspects of business support and creation, be it around our entrepreneurship initiatives, or student advice clinics for business, or indeed through cross-disciplinary offerings.

“One of our first projects will be the launch of a business club facility – a sort of business class lounge with co-working spaces to create a strong ecosystem of industry stakeholders and practitioners. Some of the benefits of club membership will range from discounted access to our short courses to accessing student talent, relevant research expertise, and specialist facilities.

“We have a superb new building with state-of-the-art lecture theatres, innovative training suites, Bloomberg trading room, and moot courts. We would like to see businesses of all sizes and sectors making use of our facilities and engaging with our staff and student body. The future looks very exciting for us.”

Donna Whitehead, Executive Dean of Bristol Business School, said,

“We are delighted to welcome Dr Shehabuddeen on board. He has an outstandingly strong track record and will help us to shape some exciting new projects that take UWE Bristol’s business engagement activities into a new stratosphere.”

Bristol Business School and Bristol Law School host alumni networking event in their new building

Faculty of Business and Law | 8 June 2017

In late May, the Bristol Business School and Bristol Law School hosted an alumni networking event in their new building.

The event was an opportunity for alumni to see first-hand the new state of the art facilities that the new Bristol Business School has to offer including a Bloomberg trading room and three fully equipped Law courts.

The alumni at the event were given a brief talk from faculty Dean Donna Whitehead, before getting the opportunity to take part in guided tours around the building. Tours were led by academics from both schools.

The Bristol Business School opened in April to staff and students. The £55 million project will now house staff and students from the Bristol Business School and Bristol Law School, as well as providing office space for local businesses. More on the building can be found here.

More photos from the event can be found here.

Hugo Gaggiotti completes successful research, partnership and recruitment trip to South America and Jordan

Faculty of Business and Law | 5 June 2017

In early May, Bristol MBA Programme Director Hugo Gaggiotti visited South America and Jordan as part of a research and recruitment trip.

Whilst in Chile, he lectured at the at the EQUIS-AACSB accredited Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUUC) and the triple crown (AMBA-EQUIS-AACSB) accredited Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú.

He also held recruitment and partnership meetings at Universidad Chileno-Britanica de Cultura and Universidad Central de Santiago.

In Jordan, he presented the MBA and interviewed potential students at the American University of Madaba and worked with UWE agents in Amman.

New £55 million building will change how UWE Bristol does business

Faculty of Business and Law | 24 April 2017

Staff and students working and studying at Bristol Business School (BBS) and Bristol Law School (BLS) at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) have moved in to a new state of the art £55million building.

The building is the jewel in the crown of a significant £300m capital investment programme across all campuses and will enable UWE Bristol to offer a new way forward in Business and Law Education to benefit students and businesses in the region.

Designed to foster formal and informal interaction between businesses the new facility promises to bring many benefits to the regional economy.

Donna Whitehead, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of BBS and BLS says,

“This will be a live environment where staff and students and business work together – with collaboration at its core.

“We consult with our advisory board of key business figures who challenge us to make our provision meet the needs of employers and the latest developments in the business world.”

Professor Steve West, President and Vice-Chancellor at UWE Bristol, said,

“It is wonderful to see this flagship build fully occupied. But it’s not really about the building, it is about what will happen inside it.

“At UWE Bristol we teach business differently. A UWE education goes beyond getting industry accreditation, important though this is.

“We are harnessing relationships with thousands of businesses across the region, nationally and internationally helping us to shape our courses so that our students develop the skills that are needed to help the economy thrive.”

Donna Whitehead continues,

“Already UWE Bristol students are demonstrating entrepreneurial spirit through our Team Entrepreneur course where a degree is earned by students collaborating in teams to create and run a business over a three year period under the guidance of mentors.

“We foster an enterprise mindset in all our students. Last year Bristol Law School students doing pro bono work gained £1 million in welfare benefits for people wrongly declared fit for work.

“They also advise start-ups and tech businesses though our Business Clinic, which will diversify into digital marketing, finance and tax advice over the next year. This service has been set up in collaboration with Bristol law firm Gregg Latchams Ltd and international legal practice Osborne Clarke LLP and is based at the Future Space Centre on Frenchay Campus.

“Activities like these keep us in touch with what is happening in the region and provides students with relevant work and placement opportunities as they interact with business, owners and developers.”

Features of the new building include two showcase law courts, a city trading room, a 300 seat lecture theatre, two Harvard lecture theatres, an incubator for our Team

Entrepreneurs, technology enhanced and flexible learning spaces, IT suites, meeting facilities and parking for business, an external business engagement space, a central social space and a café.

Key professional organisations will have a base in the new building enabling barristers, accountants, small business owners and start-ups to mix with staff and students in the learning and social areas.

Throughout the building there are flexible workspaces that staff, students and visitors can use.

See also a 3D-modelled film showcasing the internal design, layout and infrastructure and also a YouTube 360 degree video visualisation of the new building.

Bristol Business School recently achieved the prestigious European programme accreditation (EPAS), placing it in an elite and internationally recognised group of modern Business Schools.

Relational coordination mechanisms for sustainable food supply chains: the role of farmer cooperatives in Brazil (British Academy and Newton Fund project)

Faculty of Business and Law | 12 April 2017

Associate Professor in Enterprise Operations Management Vikas Kumar is working with Brazilian researchers from University of Fortaleza to investigate the role of farmer cooperatives in the promotion of sustainable organic food supply chains in Brazil and transfer best practices from the UK.

As a part of this project Dr Vikas Kumar recently visited University of Fortaleza to deliver a two day workshop on Sustainable Supply Chain Management. The event was very well attended by more than 150 staff and students.

The workshop was jointly funded by the University of Fortaleza and British Academy-Newton Fund. Dr Kumar and Dr Daiane Neutzling are the principal investigators of the project.

In the workshop Dr Kumar presented his talk on ‘Sustainability and Short Food Supply Chains’ where he discussed the potential linkages between the two topics. Other keynote speakers attending the event included Prof Stefan Seuring (Kassel University, Germany), Prof Marcia (The Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) and Prof Susan Pereira (The Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo).

Dr Kumar also delivered a talk on current funding opportunities with UK for the Brazilian researchers and facilitated a mini-workshop for their current PhD students.

Prior to visiting Brazil, Dr Kumar was invited to the British Academy office in London to give a poster presentation.

CIMA Presents: Finance Business Partnering: The Conversations that Count

Faculty of Business and Law | 10 March 2017

On Thurs 23^rd Feb, CIMA President Andrew Miskin FCMA CGMA visited UWE to present CIMA research on the changing role of the management accountant in the information age.

He addressed an audience of public and private sector delegates, academic staff and students, and lead an interactive discussion on finance business partnering. He was welcomed by Tracey John, Head of Research and Business Development in RBI and supported by an introduction from Professor Robert Luther. 150 delegates enjoyed an insight into the future of the management accountant in the information age and a lively panel debate ensued. A number of students from AEF attended and their comments included:

It was a very powerful talk that gave me new insights to approach my current modules with, as well as a rare chance to have an informal talk with leading academics and accountants that more students should utilise.(Maxwell , BAAF3)

‘It was an enlightening experience and was full of lots of relevant insightful information. Andrew seems to have a very real and positive idea about how management accountants fit into the future. I found the whole thing very interesting.’ (Abigail BAAF3)

CIMA are actively involved in supporting our accounting students and are already planning further events of this kind with us.

Tag: Events