Professor Zahir Irani appointed Dean of the Faculty of Management and Law
Professor Zahir Irani has taken up his post as the Dean of the Faculty of Management and Law at the University of Bradford.
Professor Irani brings a wealth of experience to the role, and has a clear vision for the Faculty. He said: “The Higher Education landscape is rapidly changing, with increased competition, changing student demands and new Government policy all adding to the complexity of working and managing Universities. I think being distinctive is part of the solution and integral to my ambition for the Faculty of Management and Law; knowing what makes you unique and where you can add value throughout the student journey and exciting for our students. It is here, with my management team and staff, that I will be developing a bold new vision for the faculty that brings together research, learning and knowledge transfer”.
Professor Irani held several senior management positions at Brunel University London, the most recent of which being the Dean of College (Business, Arts and Social Sciences - CBASS) which he setup following an organisational restructuring from eight Schools into three Colleges. Prior to this role, he was seconded full-time to Whitehall, where he was a Senior Policy Advisor at the Cabinet Office during part of the coalition Government. He is however most proud of being Head of the Brunel Business School, where in 2013 it was awarded the Times Higher Education Business School of the Year under his leadership.
He completed a BEng (Hons) at Salford University before then accepting a research position in industry where he finished his Master’s degree by research. He has a PhD in the area of investment evaluation and undertook his leadership development at the Harvard Business School. He has an extensive list of 3 and 4 star publications in the area of information systems, Project Management and eGovernment, and significant grant income from national and international funding councils.
He said: “I am very excited about leading a triple accredited School of Management and in supporting a developing School of Law. The faculty has an excellent heritage and I look forward to working with colleagues in preparation for the challenges we will face around the REF, TEF and internationalisation.”