Amir is an experienced business school dean and academic leader who is currently the Head (Dean) of Norwich Business School and Professor of Circular Economy at the University of East Anglia. Prior to this, he was the Dean of the Faculty of Management, Law and Social Sciences at the University of Bradford and before that, was the Head (Dean) of Brunel Business School at Brunel University London.
Before joining academia, Amir worked for several years as an industry practitioner working for JPMorgan, UBS Investment Bank and KPMG.
Starting his academic career as a researcher within the field of Artificial Intelligence, Amir developed research interests to apply his knowledge to complex societal challenges across food security, circular economy, healthcare, operations / supply chain management and humanitarian logistics. He has extensive international teaching and research experience across Europe, MENA, South Asia and the UK (having also taught at the University of Cambridge and within the University of London system).
He has lead and managed business schools contributing to winning team submissions, achieving the Times Higher Education (THE) Business School of the Year in 2021 and 2013 at Bradford and Brunel universities respectively. He has also successfully led and contributed to gaining five AMBA re-accreditation cycles, four AACSB cycles (including two as initial accreditation), and three EQUIS reaccreditations – as part of the ‘triple crown’ of business school accreditations.
Amir has been a member of senior university teams and boards – including externally such as Deputy Chair of the Sustainable Development Partnership Board of Bradford Municipal District Council, the Higher Education advisory group for the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and the Future Leaders Fellowships Programme panel for UKRI.
He is regularly called upon by research councils worldwide to evaluate research funding proposals including from China, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, the EU, the Netherlands, Qatar, Serbia, Switzerland and the UK (including the UKRI, British Council and British Academy).
Amir is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, the Chartered Management Institute, the Chartered Institute for Logistics and Transport and the Institute of Leadership and Management. He continues to support a number of charities aligned to education and healthcare.
