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Dr Duncan Angwin is a Professor of Strategic Management at the UCL School of Management, University College London and Director of Executive Education. He is also part of the School’s Management team and sits on the School’s advisory board.

UCL is the second largest University in the UK and a member of the prestigious Russell Group. It ranks amongst the top 8 Universities in the World and the School of Management is ranked 3rd in the UK.

Duncan also holds an Honorary Professorship at the University of Nottingham, another Russell Group University, where he was previously Dean of the Business School. In that role he led the School to achieve triple accreditation (AACSB, EQUIS, AMBA), two of which were tri-campus, and Athena Swan Bronze. He improved the MBA programme so it rose in the rankings from 14th in the UK to 3rd (The Economist) and also grew the executive programmes substantially. He was effective in widening participation, diversity, and improving the international balance of the student body. He also established important links between the Business School and other schools across the University. Overall, his leadership moved Nottingham University Business School from 16th in the UK (2020) to 9th (2024) (Times Higher Education ranking). Previously Duncan held a personal chair as the Sir Roland Professor of Strategic Management at Lancaster University and was a professor in strategic management at Warwick University. He sits on a number of academic advisory boards for international business schools and has held a number of international visiting professorships in Europe, Asia and Africa.

Prior to his time in academia, Duncan was a senior investment banker in corporate finance with leading Merchant, Investment and International banks. He also gained an extensive academic grounding with several degrees from Cambridge University (M.A (Hons), M.Phil.), Cranfield University (MBA) and University of Warwick (PhD). His practice experience as well as academic depth, as the most highly published researcher in Europe on Mergers and Acquisitions and co-author of the world’s leading strategy text, Exploring Strategy (13th edition), place him at the intersection between theory and practice. This blend of practice and academic insight informs his executive education, consulting, teaching and research.

Strategy + Mergers and Acquisitions

Duncan believes business is more than just finance and so he lectures, researches and consults on the importance of strategic management. He focuses upon the practices of strategy, ‘what strategists actually do’, which includes strategy formulation, implementation and the work of key strategists. In particular he specialises in company growth strategies, including international Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), where he is the most published academic in Europe, and continuously develops the boundaries of understanding this important phenomenon. Duncan is the first to use a multi-disciplinary approach to explain success and failure in Mergers and Acquisitions (Angwin, 2007). He also speaks and writes about other aspects of growth, such as joint ventures and alliances, strategic change as well as corporate decline and rejuvenation.