Empowering Higher Education Leaders to Achieve Strategic Growth and Financial Sustainability Solutions

My Key Value Creation Roadmap

Together We Are Going To Create

Serendipitous Inspiration

Growth - Mindset

Value for Stakeholder

Higher Education Institutions need to improve how they deploy their scarce resources to drive growth, revenue, and value creation that benefits all stakeholders.

About Paul

Professor Paul A. Phillips served for over two decades as Professor of Strategic Management at Kent Business School, University of Kent, UK. He also served as Deputy and Director of Kent Business School and held academic appointments at Cardiff Business School and University of Surrey, UK. 

In 2001, Paul was appointed to the Charles Forte Chair of Hotel Management, University of Surrey. His earlier business career was as a qualified accountant and a Senior Management Consultant with Price Waterhouse. Professor Phillips holds an MBA and PhD from Cardiff Business School and is a qualified marketer.

He has acted for a wide range of clients in the public and private sectors, which included providing strategic advice to organisations such as the UK Government; Deputy Prime Minister's Office; Northern Ireland Government; Ministry of Defence (UK); China People’s Liberation Army; World Bank; China Development Bank; Caribbean Development Bank; BT; Shell; Guinness; hospitality and tourism organisations; and an increasing number of for-profit, non-profits and local, regional and global higher education institutions.

Strategic Development and Advisory Committees

During his term as Director of Kent Business School, he provided strategic, academic, and operational leadership, which increased revenue by 56% and UK student numbers by 17%. He formulated and implemented new strategic partnerships in Mainland Europe, the Middle East, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Africa, and Brazil.

Paul has served as Chair of the UK Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS) Research Steering Committee (2008-2011) and Member of the CABS Executive Committee (2008-11). He chaired the 2010 ABS Annual Research Conference and the 2010 ABS Annual Doctor of Business Administration Conference. Paul has served on the Institute of Business Ethics UK Advisory Council (2010-2017) and Westminster Business School Advisory Board (2010-2016), and is the Founder and Inaugural Chair of the CABS International and External Relations subcommittee (2011-2013).

Training and Facilitation

Paul has completed the Experienced Deans’ and New Deans’ Seminar Series, Association to Advance Collegiate School of Business (AACSB) International. In addition, he completed the International Deans’ Programme, Association of Business Schools/European Foundation for Management Development, and the Leading Change and Organisational Renewal Programme at Harvard Business School, Harvard University.

He has assisted global universities by creating strategic development and implementation plans. He has facilitated universities, faculties, divisions, schools, and departments to pivot in repositioning strategies and building and enhancing research capacity and capability. He has been used as an external advisor for the Research Assessment Exercises, UK and more recently, the Research Excellence Framework 2014, 2021, and 2029 for all levels of research-intensive universities. In addition, Paul has been used as an external advisor for Professorial appointment panels in several countries worldwide, so he is well qualified to offer insights into shaping academic-related strategies. In the global university research ecosystem, to challenge their Institutional approaches to impact the status quo. Professor Phillips brings about change through agile strategic management, innovation, design thinking, visual techniques and technology to help (re)shape and drive impact transformation across universities, businesses, governments, processes and people. 

Honorary Appointments and Publications

Professor Phillips has served as a Visiting Professor at three universities in China: The School of Business Administration, Hunan University, Changsha; International Business School, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing; School of Economics, Shandong University, Ji’nan.

Paul has recently written three books: Newman, V. and Phillips, P. A., (2023) The Research Impact Strategy Playbook; Phillips, P. A. Subramanian, K V and Newman, V. (2019) Management Consultancy Through an Academic and Practitioner Perspective, and Phillips, P. and Moutinho, L (2018) Contemporary Issues in Strategic Management (Routledge).

Routledge has commissioned Professor Phillips to write a book entitled Sustainable Strategic Management: Leadership with Purpose, which is due for publication mid 2025.

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The Leadership Series 2022

The Learning and Development Leadership Paradox

Paul has observed in his research, delivering presentations and workshops, the learning and development paradox in which the increasing expenditure on L&D does not achieve the desired results.

The Challenge

According to 2020 Govt figures - UK employers invested around £42bn, approximately - £1530 per annum per employee.

Yet there is growing evidence from Gallup, Government, and McKinsey’s and many others) towards a greater focus on L&D for organisations of all sizes. But unfortunately, data suggest that investment in leadership development rarely generates the expected results.

But HR managers need to work on engagement, impact and results achieved. L&D can be a roadblock to growth and is now a board-level challenge. 

Practitioners have encouraged Paul to pursue this paradox challenge of nurturing continuous improvement using today's technology platforms and modern practices.

He leads an initiative comprising a community of high-quality academics sharing their academic knowledge, business experience and frameworks, tools and solutions to help organisations build capacity to deliver strategic objectives. In addition, support is available to HR functions through speaking engagements, workshops and innovative bespoke training services, which can be provided in a hybrid format. 

Key Research Activities

One of his key research activities lies in how to create impactful research. He is applying the lessons learnt to himself and has developed a range of impact-oriented services that help Universities align their institutional approaches to impact with their everchanging external environments. 

Videos

Chairing

Research Impact and Value Creation

Key Drivers for Change

Goverment Policy

Finite Resources

Regional Priorities

Exciting Sense

A Strategic Epiphany

Excellent tactics are no substitute for an effective strategy. 

A Growth Agenda

Managing Guest Editor - Special issue _ Latin America and Caribbean Economy