Professor Paul Burns

Paul Burns is Emeritus Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Bedfordshire where he was Dean of the Business School and Pro Vice Chancellor, retiring in 2015. Over a forty year career he has been an academic, accountant and entrepreneur. Previously Professor of Small Business at Cranfield School of Management and Director of 3i European Enterprise Research Centre, he started his career at Warwick University Business School. He has been President of ISBE, Visiting Fellow at Harvard Business School (USA) and Visiting Professor at the Open University Business School (UK). He launched the English Graduate Enterprise Programme and the OU/BBC Small Business Programme.

He has authored over 30 books and hundreds of journal articles and research reports. Entrepreneurship and Small Business: Start-up, Growth and Maturity (4thedition; 2016) is the UK’s market-leading textbook on entrepreneurship. Other books includeNew Venture Creation: A framework for entrepreneurial start-ups(2ndedition; 2018) andCorporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation (4thedition; 2020).