David Grayson

Biography

David joined Cranfield as director of the new Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility in April 2007, after a thirty year career as a social entrepreneur and campaigner for responsible business, diversity, and small business development. This included founding Project North East which has now worked in more than 60 countries around the world; being the founding CEO of the Prince's Youth Business Trust and serving as a joint managing-director of Business in the Community. David has an Honorary Doctorate of Law from London South Bank University and was a visiting Senior Fellow at the CSR Initiative of the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard (2005-10); He has served on various charity and public sector boards over the past 20 plus years. These have included the boards of the National Co-operative Development Agency, The Prince of Wales' Innovation Trust and the Strategic Rail Authority. He chaired the National Disability Council and the Business Link Accreditation Board; in each case appointed by the Major Government and re-appointed by the Blair administration. He is currently chairman of the national charity Carers UK championing the role of 6.5million Britons caring for a loved one; and is a former chairman of one of the UK's larger social enterprises and largest eldercare providers, Housing 21(www.housing21.co.uk) during which the organisation made corporate history by becoming the first-ever not-for-profit successfully to acquire a publicly quoted group of companies. David received an OBE for services to industry in 1994 and a CBE for services to disability in 1999. The Guardian has recently named David as one of the top ten tweeters on sustainable leadership alongside Al Gore, Tim Cook - CEO of Apple, Sheryl Sandberg - Fasebook's COO and Kumi Naidoo - the Heed of Greenpeace International @DoughyDavidG.

Research Interest

David's research focuses on Logistics and sustainability.