David Gann Explained

David Michael Gann CBE (born 1960) is a British academic administrator and civil engineer. He is Vice-President (Innovation) at Imperial College London^[1] and a member of the College's Executive Board. His academic research spans strategy, management science and systems engineering. He is Vice-Chair at Villars Institute.^[2]

He plays a central role in shaping the vision, strategy and innovation agenda for Imperial's White City Campus,^[3] and the development of new ventures such as Imperial College ThinkSpace,^[4] increasing and diversifying income.

In 2015 he led a review of Imperial’s technology transfer, translation and collaboration activities, Pathways to Societal Impact.

Gann took up this post in April 2013. He was previously Deputy Principal for Research and Business Engagement, Imperial College Business School.^[5]

Gann holds the Chair in Innovation and Technology Management at Imperial College Business School and Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering,^[6] Imperial College London.

He is a Chartered Civil Engineer, a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers,^[7] an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Art, a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) and a Fellow of City & Guilds Institute. He previously held the Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Innovative Manufacturing at the University of Sussex.

Early life

Gann attended St Bartholomew’s school in Newbury, Berkshire. He holds a PhD from the University of Sussex, an MSc in Science, Technology and Industrialisation from the University of Sussex, and a BSc in Building Construction and Management from the University of Reading.

Research

Gann's main research interest is innovation: exploring why and how innovation happens, the ways it continually transforms the world we live in, and how it can be managed. His particular focus is on innovation in the digital economy, including smart cities, data-driven innovation, and new business models.

As the founding Head of the Imperial College Business School's Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group,^[8] Gann built a portfolio of research in collaboration with large and small firms, including IBM, Microsoft, Nokia, Citigroup, Finmeccanica (since 2016 Leonardo-Finmeccanica), Arup and BP. The Group is consistently ranked in the top tier worldwide by the Financial Times, and under Gann's leadership from 2003 to 2013, has been awarded over £65 million in research funding. During this time, Gann co-founded multi-disciplinary initiatives such as: the Digital Economy Lab,^[9] a cross-faculty portal, connecting activities in the Digital Economy across Imperial; Digital City Exchange,^[10] a cross-faculty 5-year smart cities project at Imperial, funded by Research Councils UK; Imperial – Citigroup collaborative research on Digital Money;^[11] and Design London,^[12] a centre for design-led innovation and collaboration between Imperial and the Royal College of Art.

From 2003 to 2013, Gann directed the Innovation Studies Centre^[13] (ISC) – a ten-year EPSRC-funded programme conducting multi-disciplinary research on the innovation process in the science and engineering industries, from knowledge creation to commercialisation. The ISC final report^[14] showcases the major impact the programme has had on policy and practice.

Industry engagement

Gann has led Imperial College Business School's executive education^[15] programmes on innovation for business leaders at organisations such as IBM, Laing O'Rourke, Vodafone, Total, Finmeccanica (now Leonardo), Citigroup, Arup and the Royal Society.

He is a member of Crossrail's Innovation Board.^[16]

Gann was seconded from Imperial College to be the Group Innovation Executive at Laing O'Rourke (2007–2011), the UK's largest privately owned construction and civil engineering group, which jointly managed the 2012 Olympic Games development programme.

Advisory roles

Gann currently holds the following positions, advising government and academic institutions:

Digital Economy and Smart cities

• Chair of the Smart London Board,^[17] reporting to Boris Johnson, Mayor of London
• Member of the Smart Cities Forum^[18]
• Member of the UK Smart Cities All-Party Parliamentary Group
• Member of the London Enterprise Panel’s Digital, Creative, Science & Technology Group^[19]
• Member of the UK Information Economy Council^[20]
• In recent years, Gann has joined a select group of world leaders at the annual Ambrosetti Forum.^[21]

Innovation

• Member of the McMillan Task and Finish Group on Technology Transfer, Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)
• Member of the League of European Research Universities^[22] (LERU) Enterprise and Innovation Working Group
• Member of the Advisory Board of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering^[23] (ACE)
• Member of the Imperial College India Foundation Board.

London

• London Enterprise Panel's Higher Education representative^[24]
• Member of the Greater London Authority's Investment Infrastructure Plan Advisory Group^[25]
• Member of the London Enterprise Panel's Economic Development Plan for London Advisory Group.

Selected previous advisory roles

• Trustee and Director of the Institute for Sustainability,^[26] 2009–2015
• Panel Member, Review of IP and Growth,^[27] UK Government, 2011
• Adviser, Sir John Fairclough's Department of Trade and Industry Review of Construction R&D, 2001 – 2002
• Advisory Board member, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, 1998 – 2001
• Adviser, Deputy Prime Minister's Construction Egan Taskforce, 1997 – 1998
• Member, Karpin Inquiry Industry Task Force on Leadership and Management Needs of Embryonic Industries, Australia, 1994
• He has been Leader/Academic Advisor on eleven Department of Trade and Industry Science and Technology expert missions in Japan, the US and Europe.

Commercial ventures

In 2004, Gann co-founded the Think Play Do Group, an Imperial College London spin-out specialising in innovation strategy and management.

Gann was previously Director of Technopolis, a research and evaluation consultancy.

Fellowships and Visiting Professorships

• Honorary Fellow, Royal College of Art, 2011–present
• Honorary Professor in Innovation Management, the UQ Business School, 2001–present
• Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers, 2004–present
• Visiting Professor, University of Southampton, 2001 – 2006
• Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Innovative Manufacturing, Science and Technology Policy Research (SPRU), University of Sussex, 1996 – 2001.

Recognition

Gann was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to engineering. He is the recipient of the 2014 Tjalling C. Koopmans Asset Award,^[28] for extraordinary contributions to the economic sciences.

Selected publications

Articles

• Llewellyn Thomas, Erkko Autio, David Gann, 2014, Architectural Leverage: Putting Platforms in Context, Academy of Management Perspectives^[29]
• Rashik Parmar, Ian Mackenzie, David Cohn, David Gann, 2014, The New Patterns of Innovation, Harvard Business Review^[30]
• Mark Dodgson, David Gann, Nelson Phillips, 2013, Organizational Learning and the Technology of Foolishness: The Case of Virtual Worlds at IBM, Organization Science^[31]
• David Gann, Ammon Salter, Mark Dodgson and Nelson Phillips, Inside the World of the Project Baron, 2012, MIT Sloan Management Review^[32]
• David Gann, Mark Dodgson and Dheeraj Bhardwaj, 2011, Physical-digital integration in city infrastructure, IBM Journal of Research and Development^[33]
• Linus Dahlander and David Gann, 2010, How open is innovation?, Research Policy.^[34]

Reports

• Smart London Plan:^[35] Using the creative power of new technologies to serve London and improve Londoners' lives, Smart London Board,^[36] 2013
• Getting Ready for Digital Money: A Roadmap^[37] a report on the Digital Money Readiness Index, by Imperial College London and Citi, 2014
• The Innovation Studies Centre: Impact Report 2003-2013,^[38] Imperial College Business School, 2014.

Books

• Mark Dodgson, David Gann and Nelson Phillips, 2014, The Oxford Handbook of Innovation Management, Oxford University Press^[39]
• Mark Dodgson and David Gann, 2010, Innovation: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press^[40]
• Mark Dodgson, David Gann and Ammon Salter, 2008, The Management of Technological Innovation: Strategy and Practice, Oxford University Press^[41]
• Mark Dodgson, David Gann and Ammon Salter, 2005, Think Play Do: technology, innovation and organisation, Oxford University Press.^[42]

Personal life

David lives in Hove, and is a Patron, Trustee and board member of Brighton Dome and Brighton Festival.

External links

• David Gann's website at Imperial College

Notes and References

1. Web site: Imperial College London . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140901142441/http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/ . 1 September 2014 .
2. Web site: Systems leadership for all generations . 2024-03-15 . villarsinstitute.org . en.
3. Web site: White City campus.
4. Web site: Imperial College ThinkSpace.
5. Web site: Imperial College Business School.
6. Web site: Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering. 19 June 2024 .
7. Web site: Institution of Civil Engineers.
8. Web site: Innovation and Entrepreneurship Department.
9. Web site: Digital Economy Lab. 19 June 2024 .
10. Web site: Digital City Exchange.
11. Web site: Digital Money Index.
12. Web site: Design London.
13. Web site: Innovation Studies Centre. 19 June 2024 .
14. Web site: Innovation Studies Centre Final Report.
15. Web site: Executive Education.
16. Web site: Crossrail's Innovation Strategy. 19 June 2024 .
17. Web site: Mayor of London's Smart London Board.
18. Web site: Smart Cities Forum.
19. Web site: LEP Digital Creative, Science & Technology Working Group.
20. Web site: UK Information Economy Council. 1 September 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140903133124/https://www.techuk.org/about/information-economy-council. 3 September 2014. dead.
21. Web site: Ambrosetti Technology Forum.
22. Web site: League of European Research Universities.
23. Web site: Advisory Board of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering.
24. Web site: LEP Higher Education Representative.
25. Web site: London Infrastructure Plan 2050.
26. Web site: Institute for Sustainability.
27. Web site: Independent Review of IP and Growth. 1 September 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140719075954/http://www.ipo.gov.uk/ipreview/ipreview-about.htm. 19 July 2014. dead.
28. Web site: 2014 Tjalling C. Koopmans Asset Award.
29. Web site: Thomas. Llewellyn. Autio. Erkko. Gann. David. Architectural Leverage: Putting Platforms in Context. Academy of Management Perspectives.
30. Parmar. Rashik. Mackenzie. Ian. Cohn. David. Gann. David. The New Patterns of Innovation. Harvard Business Review. January 2014 .
31. Web site: Dodgson. Mark. Gann. David. Phillips. Nelson. Organizational Learning and the Technology of Foolishness: The Case of Virtual Worlds at IBM. Organization Science.
32. Gann. David. Salter. Ammon. Dodgson. Mark. Phillips. Nelson. Inside the World of the Project Baron. MIT Sloan Management Review. 20 March 2012 .
33. Gann. David. Dodgson. Mark. Bhardwaj. Dheerag. Physical-digital integration in city infrastructure. 2011 . IBM Journal of Research and Development. 55 . 8:1–8:10 . 10.1147/JRD.2010.2095750 .
34. Web site: Dahlander. Linus. Gann. David. How open is innovation?. Research Policy.
35. Web site: Smart London Plan. Smart London Board, Greater London Authority.
36. Web site: Smart London Board.
37. Web site: Getting Ready for Digital Money: A Roadmap. Imperial College London and Citigroup.
38. Web site: The Innovation Studies Centre: Impact Report 2003-2013. Imperial College Business School.
39. Web site: Dodgson. Mark. Gann. David. Phillips. Nelson. The Oxford Handbook of Innovation Management. Oxford University Press.
40. Web site: Dodgson. Mark. Gann. David. Innovation: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press.
41. Web site: Dodgson. Mark. Gann. David. Salter. Ammon. The Management of Technological Innovation: Strategy and Practice. Oxford University Press.
42. Web site: Dodgson. Mark. Gann. David. Salter. Ammon. Think Play Do: technology, innovation and organization. Oxford University Press.