Role
Baback Yazdani is Professor of Product Development and the Executive Dean of Nottingham Business School (NBS), the UK’s top business school for personalisation and experiential learning, integrating research, teaching and industrial collaboration in business, economics and management research and education. During his Deanship since 2007, NBS has gone through a period of growth and transformation to become a leading business school by ranking and accreditations.
He combines extensive senior academic, business and leadership experience and has invested in acquisition and the development of a world-class faculty; developed NBS research to international standards; deepened NBS links to business; developed a revolutionary programme of experiential learning and personalisation that has received international recognition and acclaim.
He plays a key role in the development of business research and education. As well as being the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Academy of Business in Society (ABIS), Baback is a Board Member of European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), Council Member and Treasurer of the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS). He is also former regional chairman of the CBI in East Midlands and member of its influential national chairmen's committee, and a former member of Board of Trustees and Chair of the Remuneration Committee of Chartered Management Institute (CMI).
Baback is an international expert in the automotive industry, product design and development and Lean management, advising CEOs and senior executives of major industries. He is fluent in four languages and has a wealth of experience from his senior academic roles at the University of Warwick and Nottingham Trent University, as well as extensive senior leadership roles in industry and international business (US and Europe), including Director of Product Development at Jaguar Land Rover, and Director of Business and Operations at Premier Automotive Group: JLR, Volvo, Aston Martin and Lincoln Mercury in the USA and also a member of the Anderson School of Management’s Advisory Board.
Baback is a Fellow of IET, Fellow of Chartered ABS, a Companion of the CMI, Principal Fellow of HEA and member of the Fédération Européenne d'Associations Nationales d'Ingénieurs, American Society of Mechanical Engineers and British Academy of Management.
He is also an Honorary Professor of the Chinese Academy of Science’s Graduate School of Management and a Visiting Professor at University of Technology Malaysia.
He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering (Wales) and is also Chartered Engineer, has an MSc in Manufacturing Systems Engineering (Warwick) and a PhD in Product Development (Warwick) and also completed a Leadership Program for Senior Executives from Harvard Business School.
Career overview
Professor Baback Yazdani's career spans both senior international business and top level academia in the UK and USA.
Prior to his Deanship, Baback was a senior executive at Ford Motor Company's Premier Automotive Group's Product Design and Development Operations.
2004-2007 Director of Product Development Operations at Jaguar and Land Rover. One of the main architects of FMC's new Global Product Development System, and the introduction of Lean increased the efficiency and speed of product development, brining its performance to world-class standards, whilst introducing an entire range of new products into the market.
2002-2004 Director of Business and Operations at Ford's Premier Automotive Group responsible for Design at Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo Cars.
2000-2002 Director of Business and Operations at Lincoln and Mercury Design and Concept in the USA (Michigan and California).
1993-2000 Principal Fellow at Warwick University's WMG. Led the Innovation and Product Development group working closely with industry and conducting leading edge research in Product Development.
1990-1993 Manager of Design and Concept Engineering at Harland Simon Automation Systems (UK), responsible for automation of Design Systems.
1988-1990 he was the Head of Foundry, Forging and Tooling plant in Piraiki Orichalkouryia AE in Greece.
Baback is a fluent speaker of English, Greek, Persian and Turkish.
Research areas
Professor Baback Yazdani maintains an active research interest, works with international automotive companies and supervises a number of doctoral candidates in the following fields:
- Innovation and Technology Management
- Product Development Strategy, Systems, Processes and Performance
- Sustainable Mobility
- Automotive Industry
- Education Industry, Business Education and Personalisation
- Portfolio Management and Personalisation
Please visit the NTU Doctoral School website for information on doctoral research opportunities at NBS.
External activity
- Chair of the Board of Trustees of Academy of Business in Society (ABIS)
- Board Member of European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD)
- Council Member Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS).
- Treasurer of the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS).
- Honorary Professor at Chinese Academy of Science.
- Visiting Professor University of Technology Malaysia
Former regional chairman of the CBI in East Midlands and a member of its influential national chairmen’s committee.
Former member of Board of Trustees and Chair of the Remuneration Committee of Chartered Management Institute (CMI).
Press expertise
Automotive industry and business education expert, Professor Yazdani regularly provides press comment on both subjects in the UK, US and worldwide.
In addition to several other high profile media outlets, he has appeared several times on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Wall Street Journal, the BBC News Channel and in the Guardian.
He is an expert on business transformation and Lean Leadership and can also comment on manufacturing, product development, regional business, business education, and business schools