David was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to engineering and received the 2014 Tjalling C. He advises technology companies on innovation strategy and is a non-executive director of Directa Plus plc, a graphene company, and VenCap International plc, a venture fund-of-funds. His research explores why and how innovation happens, the ways it continually transforms the world we live in, and how it can be managed. He has authored eight books and numerous academic articles on innovation and entrepreneurship. He has an MSc in Science Policy and a PhD in Industrial Economics, both from Sussex University. David studied engineering and project management at Reading University and is a chartered civil engineer.
He was previously Vice-President (Development and Innovation) at Imperial College London. He is Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Said Business School and Chairman of the UK Atomic Energy Authority. Professor David Gann CBE, CEng, FICE, FCGI took up the post of Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Development and External Affairs) on 2 November 2020.
