Top Businessmen hired into Warwick’s Business School

**Warwick Business School (WBS) has recently hired three top businessmen as Professors of Practice. **

Venture capitalist, John Lyon, is involved in entrepreneurial finance modules for both undergraduates and postgraduates. Jon Rushman from Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, is now responsible for postgraduate courses in Finance while David Elmes, with over twenty years of experience in the energy industry, is teaching and running the Warwick Global Energy postgraduate course.

“This is a new initiative aimed at completing the high quality Academic education in the WBS. We have world-class research going on at the school and our three new Professors of Practice have added a direct link to very current case studies.” Ashley Potter, communications officer of WBS, told the _Boar_.

“It is clear that the student experience must be reviewed and developed periodically. David Elmes has held a position at Warwick previously as academic director of the Global Energy MBA, which is becoming more popular and relevant in the current climate. His success prompted WBS to examine other areas to do the same.

“In terms of teaching, [the Professors of Practice] will be evaluated in exactly the same way as other professors. For Professors of Practice, research is not something we are looking for. It is their teaching and practical knowledge for students that we have primarily hired them for.”

Hang Chen, postgraduate student in Finance, said: “Learning with these Professors of Practice will help us to be more competitive in the job market, because we can gain a deeper insight of the industry. And particularly, we can learn about the [skills and standards] the industry needs by learning from someone who is currently involved in the business.”

A PhD student who wishes to remain anonymous remarked, when asked how she felt about the Professors of Practice: “It depends on how the professors teach. It will be interesting if they can combine their own experience with the theories in the modules, otherwise what students are able to learn will be limited.

For more information on the Professors of Practice, visit: [http://www.wbs.ac.uk/news/professors-of-practice-bring-heart-of-busines-to-the-lecture-theatre/](http://www.wbs.ac.uk/news/professors-of-practice-bring-heart-of-busines-to-the-lecture-theatre/)