Professor Paul Cousins B.A. (Hons), MBA, Ph.D.

Personal Statement

Paul is Professor Emeritus of Operations Management at the University of Liverpool. He has worked in academia for over thirty years which has led him to live and work in three continents (USA, Australia and Europe) and to have held a variety of senior leadership and research roles across six universities, including being the first Deputy Dean at the University of Liverpool.

Prior to his academic career Paul began his working life in industry as a Buyer and Senior Contracts negotiator in the Aerospace and Defence Industry and after completion of his Ph.D he moved into corporate consulting for A.T. Kearney Limited based in London and working for their European Sourcing Group. During his time in consulting he worked with numerous clients around the world and across a variety of industries including Aerospace, Fashion, Banking and Manufacturing as well as project and client management. In addition, he also led the development of several new consulting methodologies on innovation, sustainability and supplier relationship management. From being a practitioner and consultant Paul decided to put these skills into practice and returned to academia at the University of Bath as a Lecturer, then in 2001 he move to the University of Melbourne, as a Senior Lecturer, then to Queen's University Belfast (2003) as a Professor. In 2005 he joined the University of Manchester, Manchester Business School, where he remained for 13 years, as Professor of Operations Management, he then became Head of Department, Director of Research and External Engagement and Deputy Director of the Business School. Subsequently, in 2017 he moved to the University of Bristol where he was appointed as Head of School (Dean) and was responsible for a change project merging several schools together to create what is now know as the University of Bristol Business School. Having successfully completed this role in 2019 he was offered the position of Professor of Operations Management at the University of Liverpool and became the inaugural Deputy Dean of the School.

Paul retired from his full time role at Liverpool at the end of the academic year 2024, he is very pleased to maintain an on-going association with colleagues within the School and University. In addition to his honorary appointment at Liverpool Paul also continues to hold his appointment as a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Supply Chain Management at the University of Oklahoma, Price College of Business, USA, (https://www.ou.edu/price/marketing_supplychainmanagement/people) where he works closely with his colleague Prof Ken Petersen.

Paul plans to continue to write academic and practitioner focused articles, consult and conduct personal research on supply strategy and sustainability. He is currently working on his fourth book on sustainable supply and consumption networks, this book is a research monograph pulling together research that Paul has conducted in this area since the mid 1990s. The book is aimed at thinking practitioners, scholars and students of supply chain sustainability. He aims to complete a first draft of the book by Easter 2025 with an anticipated publication date of mid/end 2025.

Contact details can be found at:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-cousins-386974305/
Email: paulcousins123@icloud.com