Denis Kobzev

Denis is a 'hybrid' academic and senior manager with R&D and management development experience gained both in Higher Education (14 years) and 'blue chip' companies (7 years). His qualifications include both academic (MD, PhD, MBA) degrees and professional (Project Management / PRINCE2) certificate.  

His industry experience, as well as client relationship management skills were developed via collaborative projects between businesses and HE. His top industry position at Procter & Gamble was a Senior Manager External Relations for Europe, Middle East & Africa, with responsibility for R&D, professional and management development programmes conducted in partnership with world leading Universities (Oxford, Cranfield) and clients like ASDA/Walmart, Migros, Spar, Aldi, Carrefour, NHS and other.  After achieving the ‘Manager of the Year’ award (The Financial Times / Wall Street Journal group, 2002) and securing HRM Chevening Scholarship he completed MBA programme (rated by AMBA / The Economist in 'World Top 5 MBA Students' 2003) and moved to HE sector.

His main professional interest was to further develop the link between industry, public sector and HE and, therefore, he gained an experience and relevant skills at research-led universities' environment, as well as at institutions renowned for its teaching excellence, student support and industry links. His academic leadership and management qualities were proven in UK universities (Warwick, Leeds and Leeds Trinity), as well as through international experience in Switzerland and New Zealand.

In these universities he was involved in strategic planning, people, budgets and resources management, committees' work, research and knowledge exchange projects, as well as the development and delivery of UG and PG, Executive, Corporate and Work-Based Learning programmes, managing academic and administrative teams and securing high levels of student satisfaction. These programmes receivied consistently high ratings in the UK National Students Survey (best in HE peer-group).

His expertise in Quality Assurance and external accreditations, with a focus on developing client relations with public and private sectors organisations resulted in multi-million pound contracts (e.g. MBA for IBM Talent Pool - £5M). One of his recent developments, Business (Entrepreneurship) programme, was rated in Sunday Times Good University Guide 2016 as No4 in the UK (in graduate salaries' ranking), while teaching on tailored Executive and PG programmes received 'Outstanding / Excellent' feedback from most of his clients, students and is nominated for industry award.

Denis has a particular interest in Knowledge Exchange activities, including consultancy, applied research and Corporate / Executive programmes, with key clients in the following sectors: Retail / Distribution - Wal-Mart / ASDA, Tesco, Morrison, Auchan, Carrefour, Migros, Spar, Uniserve Group, UK Supply Chain Academy; Health Care / Pharma / H&BC - NHS, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Bare Essentials;  Food - Florette UK & Ireland / Agrial Vegetables OP Europe, Pieminister UK, Majestic, Dashen Brewery; Engineering - Ardagh Group, Mitsubishi Electric, Qatar Petroleum; Communication - Thompson Reuters, IBM, O2, BT; Financial Services - First Direct / HSBC, Accenture; Public Sector - Church of England, UK Hospices, UK Police Forces.

Teaching experience

Operations and Supply Chain Management

Decision Making

Business Research Methods

Entrepreneurship, Creativity & Innovation

Project Management

Health Care Systems

Supervising UG / PG research (M-level) and PhD dissertations;

Blended, Distance, Executive and Work-Based Learning, managing associate tutors network, e-learning resources development.

Development of teaching and learning practices through contributing to a range of successful funding applications and the delivery of innovative teaching projects, e.g. collaborative bid (5 Yorkshire HEIs) for the creation of the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning - Assessment Learning in Practice Set Up, supported by HEFCE grant £4.5M; Leadership & Management for NHS; etc.

Current Teaching responsibilities

Operations and Supply Chain Management UG & PG

Business Research Methods / Managment Consultancy Projects PG

Project Management UG & PG

Major Administrative / Academic Roles and Responsibilities

Professor and Director of Business Education

Chair of PG Exam Board, Institutional Leader for Work-Based Learning Programmes; Member of Knowlege Exchange Group; Chair of Professoriate

Health Care Management, Decision Making, Operations & Supply Chain Management