Daniel Ganly

• Developing Skills for Business and Leadership
• Developing Leadership Capability
• Synoptic Research Project

I jointly lead BMGT 7049 Synoptic Research Project, which is one of the Masters level Capstone projects.

I have spent half of my career in senior management in the commercial sector and half of my career in higher education working with senior executives and mid-career professionals. My leadership roles in industry included managing significant change, restructuring businesses, and opening new businesses in the UK and abroad. My leadership roles in Higher Education have focussed on directing and developing programmes with an emphasis on strategic thinking and personal and professional development. I am currently a Senior Lecturer in Business and Management at Oxford Brookes University. I combine this with my private consultancy, which specialises in helping individuals to achieve their personal and professional goals through one-to-one coaching.

Career and Experience

I have held senior management positions in organisations where I developed my commercial awareness, strategic thinking and operational knowledge and expertise. I started my early career with Marks and Spencer (Commercial Management Graduate Scheme). I held a number of roles with C&J Clark Retail (footwear) including that of Personal Assistant to the Chairman, European Marketing and Sales Director for an American brand, and Merchandise Controller for a major retail brand. I was Director of European Operations for Richard Branson’s Virgin Retail Group where I was responsible for developing and delivering the expansion of the retail strategy across Europe.

I was inspired to change career to business and management education after completing my MBA. It was during this dynamic process of personal growth and change that I became aware of my true interest in developing the leadership and management capabilities of others.

At Oxford Brookes University, I have held posts which include MBA Director and Head of MBA and Executive Development. In these roles I introduced coaching as a core component of the MBA, and led the MBA through a number of high profile accreditations which saw the Oxford Brookes MBA rise through the global rankings to be consistently placed in the top 10 worldwide (QS TopMBA).

I have lead the MBA Personal and Professional Development module and the MSc in Business and Management core personal development module Developing Skills for Business and Leadership. I also teach on the MBA Leadership Development and Entrepreneurship modules.

In my research and consultancy I have worked with a number of companies including Vodafone, Marks & Spencer, Virgin, and Blackwell Retail. I have been involved in the supervision of MBA consultancy projects for a range of organisations including OXFAM, Harley Davidson, Siemens, The Crown Estate, and numerous SMEs. My research focused on Leadership and Coaching and I hold a relevant level 7 qualification for Executive Coaching (Institute of Leadership and Management).