International Advisory Board
An International Advisory Board comprised of experienced multinational business leaders
Aston Business School has an active International Advisory Board.
Comprised of experienced multinational business leaders the Board advises the School's senior leadership team on strategic areas in relation to learning and teaching, research, and business engagement. Board members support specific initiatives within the School, with many board members also acting as mentors to final year undergraduate students.
As part of the Business School’s process of reflection and review the International Advisory Board continually updates its membership to ensure that the expertise remains current and pertinent.
Mike Bandar (Chair)
Mike is a founding Partner of Turn Partners, a start-up studio focused on the acquisition, turnaround and creation of digital businesses. Turn Partners are also behind Hopper HQ, the Instagram scheduling tool, which became profitable standalone business within 3 months and servicing clients in over 55 countries within 12 months.
Turn Partner’s also run the influencer marketing agency Real Tribe as well as a small investment portfolio.
Mike is a graduate from Aston Business School and has owned and operated businesses since the age of 15. His background is mainly within sales, marketing and startup enterprise with experience ranging from the position of Head of New Business at a global advertising agency to providing independent consultancy for clients such as PETRONAS oil.
In 2017 Mike was featured on the Queen’s Birthday Honours list to receive a British Empire Medal for ‘Services to Young Entrepreneurs in the West Midlands’.
Mike has recently been awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Aston University for his contribution to Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, making him one of the youngest ever recipients of a DSc
Carolyn Chapman Lees
Carolyn is the Founder and Director of Just Horizons, a company with an ambition to cultivate equitable environments that enable individuals, teams, organisations and communities to thrive. Operating with a clear emphasis on equity, enterprise, and empowerment as powerful catalysts for transformation, Just Horizons supports organisations to not only embrace Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) principles but to integrate them into their DNA. Just Horizons aspires to make universal inclusion the bedrock of every organisation, where everyone's unique contributions are valued and where barriers to success are dismantled.
Before setting up Just Horizons, Carolyn was Chief Executive Officer of the Titan Partnership, a unique education charity supporting more than 50 Primary and Secondary schools, FE Colleges, Private Training Providers and Universities in Birmingham. During her tenure, Carolyn led successful campaigns that addressed digital poverty, child criminal exploitation and equality of opportunity for young people across the city.
Previous to her tenure with Titan, Carolyn was Executive Director at the Gazelle Colleges Group, a national network of FE colleges focused on wealth creation, entrepreneurship and employment as strategic drivers for change. Carolyn spearheaded national programmes for innovative student enterprise, entrepreneurial leadership and curriculum transformation whilst also developing and delivering design thinking, entrepreneurial mind-set and project-based learning programmes across the UK. In 2008 Carolyn founded TurnPoint Projects, a company specialising in personal development and enterprise education.
With a cross-sector portfolio career of more than 30 years in leadership, management, education and training, Carolyn has worked with companies such as Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Westfield London, Monsoon Accessorise, Scottish Power and Babson College, USA. Carolyn’s qualifications include a BA (Hons) Leisure and Business Management, a Post Graduate Certificate in Education and a Masters in Business Administration.
Indi Deol
Indi Deol is a visionary leader and the Founding Director of DESIblitz, the UK's largest online British Asian magazine. With a passion for advertising, leadership development, and strategic business growth, Indi spearheads the magazine's disruptive initiatives.
As the director behind Aidem Digital CIC, a Social Enterprise and digital media agency, Indi is dedicated to empowering projects that generate a positive social impact. His expertise and commitment make him a sought-after professional in the field.
Indi's impact resonates within the cultural sector as well. As a board member of Culture Central, the collective voice of the cultural sector in the West Midlands, he plays a pivotal role in shaping the region's creative landscape. Furthermore, his advisory and fellowship positions at Aston University Business School showcases his unwavering dedication to academic excellence and business innovation, propelling him to the forefront of the industry's thought leaders.
Indi's industry knowledge also extends to the world of film. As a trusted consultant for the esteemed BFI Film Audience Network, he contributes to the growth and development of film audiences across the country. Additionally, his involvement in the West Midland Combined Authority Cultural Leadership Board highlights his commitment to fostering cultural progress.
He is a Trustee of The Birmingham Civic Society and The Chamberlin Highbury Trust and he’s dedicated to shaping the cultural fabric of our vibrant city. Serving as a Trustee he contributes to the strategic vision and governance of these organisations, ensuring that they continue to make a positive impact on the community.
With an arsenal of digital skills, Indi excels in solving complex marketing and business challenges. Drawing from a diverse educational background that includes a strong emphasis on fashion design, he has honed his expertise in online media and content marketing over the past decade.
He has completed the prestigious Goldman Sachs 10,000 Businesses programme and has been recognised as a finalist for the esteemed Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.
Outside of his professional endeavours, Indi finds joy in exploring new places, immersing himself in the power of music, and indulging in the enchantment of cinema. Embodying the mantra "no pain, no gain," he continuously pushes boundaries and embraces challenges, thriving on the journey to success.
Indi Deol enjoys blending creativity, digital acumen, and a social conscience to shape a vibrant future where culture, media, and business intersect.
Dr Quintin Heath
Quintin Heath is a Human Resources Director with a deep interest in transforming businesses through cultural change, major organisation redesign and organisational effectiveness programmes. He has previously worked in retail, higher education, and airline catering. In 2001 he joined Associated British Foods and for them has worked in Twinings, UK Grocery and, since 2010, AB Sugar. Over the last 25 years he has worked internationally, with experience of Europe, Asia and southern Africa. He likes to combine the practical realities of his day job with his desire to understand how to bring about fundamental business change.
Throughout his career, he has retained the ability to see things from different perspectives. This desire and the passion for creating business value led him to undertake a doctorate at Aston in organisational culture change, which he completed in 2018; with three case studies from South Africa, the UK and China.
Outside of work Quintin enjoys swimming, cycling and running (but not when they are put together) and has two grown up children.
Professor Dominique Turpin
Dr. Dominique V. Turpin is the European President and Professor of Marketing at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS). He joined CEIBS in September 2022. Prof. Turpin is a marketing expert and Japan specialist. He was IMD's Dentsu Chaired Professor of Marketing and the Dean of External Relations until 2022 and served as IMD President, Dean and Nestlé Professor from 2010 to 2016. Before joining IMD in 1986, he spent several years in Tokyo as a representative of a French firm in Japan. He earned a doctorate in economics from Sophia University in Tokyo, after receiving a master's degree in marketing from French business school ESSCA.
For his outstanding accomplishments in executive education, Prof. Turpin was awarded life-long membership of the International Academy of Management. Prof. Turpin is a board member of EFMD. He is also on the International Advisory Board of prestigious institutions such as the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE), Waseda Business School (Japan) and others. He has been a member of CEIBS Academic Council since the very beginning.
Prof. Turpin has extensive teaching, consulting, and research experience in the fields of marketing and international strategy in Europe, Latin America, and Asia, particularly in the areas of brand management, customer orientation, and communications strategy.
He remains active in the writing of case studies and is working on two books-one with Goutam Challagalla on digital transformation in marketing, and another containing the many quotations from business leaders that he has gathered over his long career.
Prof. Turpin taught on IMD's flagship Orchestrating Winning Performance (OWP) program and was previously Director of the school's MBA program and its Program for Executive Development Diploma (PED). He has also directed customized programs for companies such as KAO, Mondelez, Groupe SEB, Panasonic and Japan Tobacco International, and he has worked as a consultant and management educator with a large number of international companies including Coca Cola, CPW, Danone, DSM, Jardine Matheson, Nestlé, Novo Nordisk, Philips and Uponor.
Prof. Turpin is the author of more than 100 books, articles and case studies. He has had articles published in the Financial Times, European Business Forum, and MIT Sloan Management Review, and has been a regular contributor to the Nihon Sangyo Shimbun, one of the leading business dailies in Japan. He is an editorial advisor for the Singapore Management Review.
Prof. Turpin’s case studies have won several awards. His cases on Toyota and Kineer were recognized in the 2022 John Molson MBA International Case Writing Competition awards, and his case Sam100: Will construction robotics disrupt the US bricklaying industry? won an EFMD Case Writing Competition Award in 2020. He was also included on The Case Centre's list of the top 40 best-selling case authors both in 2015/16 and 2018/19. Prof. Turpin is Chairman of DAA Capital Partners, a Geneva-based private equity firm investing in impactful trends and serves on the boards of several listed and unlisted companies and educational institutions
