Mr Ben Botes
Divisional Lead-Brunel Hive/Reader (Professional Practice) in Business Management

Summary

Ben is the Director of Brunel Hive at Brunel Business School.  Through his extensive experience and expertise, he leverages a practitioners' perspective to bring contemporary and real-world business issues to the lecture theatre. This approach enriches the learning experience of Executive, Post Graduate and Under Graduate students, ensuring that they are equipped with practical knowledge and skills to tackle the challenges of the business world.

Ben is a senior "hybrid" academic with 27 years of industry experience, both at corporate level and consulting firms supporting start-ups and SMEs. He has a proven track record of helping SMEs across various verticals during the early and growth stages in developing both internal capabilities as well as acquiring and integrating resources from outside the business.

As an impact investor and social value creator, Ben has a high reputation with learners at both undergraduate, postgraduate, and executive education level. He focuses on maximizing the learners' experience for growth while enhancing their interest in ongoing learning.

With a strong track record at both corporate and start-up level, Ben has been heavily involved in impact investment across Sub-Saharan Africa for the past 10 years. He has served as Head of Operations and later as Group Managing Director, demonstrating his experience and passion for impact investment.

Over the years, Ben has been involved with a number of academic institutions, including his most recent role as marketing division lead where he focused on quality assurance, while helping to manage and coordinate academics and staff, ensuring a contemporary level of teaching and a positive student experience.

In addition to his extensive industry experience, Ben has also been directly and indirectly involved in impact investment and supporting charities and non-profit organizations for the past 30 years, demonstrating his commitment to creating positive social impact through his work.

As a respected thought leader in his field, Ben is a regular speaker at the African Investment Conference in London, where he shares his insights and knowledge with investors and entrepreneurs from around the world. Additionally, he has been featured in prominent publications such as Wall Street for Europe, The Guardian Small Business, BBC, the Mail and Guardian in the UK, BizCommunity, Channel 3 TV, Investors Weekly, The Cape Times, Radio 702 with John Robbie, and Good Hope FM in South Africa.

Currently pursuing a PhD with the University of Bournemouth. His research focus is "An Investigation Into the Art of Digital Brand Storytelling, The Use of Immersive Technologies and Social Media in Business-to-Business Communication, The Case of Venture Capital Funds."

Responsibility 

Director of Brunel Hive