Professor Simon Burtonshaw-Gunn has a technical background with experience in mechanical and nuclear engineering, Research and Development and on-site major plant commissioning followed by over twelve years Project Management in both technical consultancy and hardware projects for the UK Ministry of Defence. He joined British Aerospace, now BAE Systems, in 1994 undertaking the project management of specialist consultancy work in three countries within the former Soviet Union. Following a 12-month project management consultancy role with British Aerospace Military Aircraft he took up the position of Head of Project Management also acting as Project Director for two multi-million pound infrastructure projects. In January 2000 he took up the position of a Managing Consultant leading a specialist management consultancy team in a number of consultancy assignments including business strategy planning, change management, organizational development and provision of associated management training in over 20 countries in Asia, the Far East, Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Two years ago Professor Burtonshaw-Gunn joined a specialist international risk management company as a Principal Management Consultant and is able to draw on this extensive experience in his work with the University.
From an academic viewpoint he holds two Master's degrees (MSc in Business Management and MA in Strategic HRM) and a PhD which he completed in 2001. His doctoral thesis entitled Strategic Supply Chain Management: Critical Success Factors for Partnering Relationships within the UK Construction Industry was undertaken under the supervision of Dr Bob Ritchie now Professor of Risk Management at the University of Central Lancashire. He holds Fellowships in four UK professional institutions including the Chartered Management Institute and the Institute of Business Consulting and has recently been appointed as a goodwill Ambassador to the Chartered Management Institute, one of only 40 appointments made worldwide.
Over the last ten years he has provided specialist consultancy input on process development and construction industry supply chain topics; has been a Steering Board member for two EPSRC research projects at Reading University; and a founding member of an International academic research group on Supply Chain Risk Management, (ISCRiM) contributing book chapters to the publications made by this group.
From the summer of 2001 he was appointed as an Honorary Research Fellow at the Manchester Metropolitan University which he relinquished in 2004 on appointment as a Visiting Professor in the School of the Built Environment (SoBE) at the University of Salford and a committee member of the Salford Centre for Research and Innovation (SRCI) Forum.
Against this background he has interests in Project and Risk Management, Supply Chain Management and Collaborative Working in the form of Partnering or Prime Contracting. In addition he lists his wider interests as being in strategic and business management and organizational performance. Simon enjoys writing and has presented conference papers in Sweden, USA, UK, Hungary and India, together with a number of publications and four text-book chapters. His first book 'The Essential Management Toolbox' covering over 200 management models was published in January 2008 and deemed to be one of the successful books of the year leading to a new three book contract with the World's largest publisher. The first book of the trilogy "Essential Tools for Organizational Development" was published in July 2009 with the other two books "Essential Tools for Management Consulting" and "Essential Tools for Operations Management") were published in early 2010. His presentations on risk management to post-graduate students at the University also led to the publication of his book "Risk and Financial Management in Construction" in February 2009.
Over the last five years Professor Burtonshaw-Gunn has enjoyed being active in the University supporting under-graduate teaching, post-graduate research and refereeing conference paper submissions as a member of various scientific committees. To supplement his interest in education he has also held a two year appointment to the Governing body of another UK university including membership of its Finance and Employment Committee. In July 2009 he completed a two-year term as a member of the higher governing body (The Court) at the University of Leeds under the chairmanship of the University's Chancellor.
Simon remains active in his Visiting Professor role in the Salford Business School and also in collaboration with other Schools in guest lectures and student support. He is actively involved in supporting the University's and School's growing reputation.
Essential Tools for Operations Management: Tools, Models and Approaches for Managers and Consultants
Essential Tools for Management Consulting: Tools, Models and Approaches for Managers and Consultants
The Essential Management Toolbox: Tools, Models and Notes for Managers and Consultants