Professor David Gann CBE, the Business School's innovation strategy expert, has been appointed Vice President for Development and Innovation

Professor Gann tell us about himself and the challenges Imperial faces right now.

What has driven your career to date?  

I’m interested in ideas and how we apply them. I’ve always been interested in how things function and how they can work better. Ever since I was a kid I would take things apart – like my go-kart – and put them back together.  My main interest is innovation strategy: exploring why and how innovation happens, the ways it continually transforms the world we live in, and how it can be managed.  

What are the key challenges facing Imperial right now? 

Firstly, we’re dealing with significant economic upheaval and government science budgets cannot be taken for granted, so we have to continue to diversify our funding sources.  

The centre of gravity for global competition and collaboration is shifting from Europe and the US towards rising players in East Asia. We must continue to build links in the region. 

Technology is changing the nature of education and everything else that we do. Digital technology and big data will be revolutionary for science, technology, engineering and medicine. It already is. We must be ready to adapt. 

Finally, we’ve run out of space to grow in South Kensington. This is why we’re building Imperial West, to build more strategic relationships and create more options for how we integrate technology, like the tools behind big data, into our research and translation work. 

How do you relax outside of work? 

My biggest passion is music. I’m a Patron of Brighton Festival, England’s largest multi-arts festival, and I go to the opera at Glyndebourne. I love gardening - we grow asparagus and keep bees in our garden in Hove. I also enjoy sport: exercising at the gym, walking, skiing and watching rugby.