New Head of BMEc starts in post
Prof Steve McGuire
The new Head of the School of Business, Management and Economics says he is “delighted to be starting at BMEc and Sussex”.
Professor Steve McGuire took up his new role on 1 March.
He is joining BMEc from Aberystwyth University, where he was that university’s first ever Chair in Management. Before that, he worked for nine years at the University of Bath’s School of Management.
Though most of his academic career has been in management schools, Professor McGuire’s background is as a political scientist.
He has politics degrees from the universities of Calgary and Toronto.
He did his DPhil work at Oxford; his dissertation, using aerospace as a case study, looked at how firms and governments worked to create competitive advantage in the sector, and the implications this had for trade relations.
Professor McGuire says: “So throughout my academic career, I have used the work of scholars at Sussex, whether it be trade policy research or work on innovation and technology policy.”
And he adds: “For me, the strength of Sussex and BMEc lies in the commitment to teaching and research that crosses disciplinary boundaries.”
Speaking at the time of Professor McGuire’s appointment in October 2014, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Michael Farthing, said: “Having had a key role in establishing, growing and enhancing the reputation of the business school at Aberystwyth, Steve has a track record of operational and management experience.
“At Aberystwyth he has fostered a strong culture of interdisciplinary working and has grouped research there into three interdisciplinary areas. Similarly, his vision for BMEc is grounded in interdisciplinarity and the creation of opportunities for students to study across the different areas of the School.
“Steve also has considerable experience of working at senior university level on a range of strategic initiatives, and of developing links with businesses.”