About
Geoffrey is the Chairman of Commonwealth Infrastructure Partners.
Geoffrey is a specialist in organisational capacity building and management training in infrastructure sectors. He has been an Adjunct or Visiting Professor in leading business schools and universities in India. He has visited seventy countries in a professional capacity in his career, and in addition to higher education teaching activities, has acted as a consultant and mentor to educational institutions, as well as conducting professional training programmes and acting as an adviser to companies and government departments. He has represented UK universities in higher education conferences in India and elsewhere.
Geoffrey has been visiting India professionally for over four decades. He has conducted capacity building workshops for Indian Government Ministries, and led teams for development projects with State Governments in India. He engages in consultancy activities, with a focus on the application of innovative technologies and good management practice. He has a partnership agreement with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for organisational development programmes.
Geoffrey is a Visiting Professor at leading Indian business schools and universities, including:
- Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM), Hyderabad (2018 – present)
- IMT Hyderabad (2016 – 2020)
- Symbiosis Centre for Management Studies (SCMS), Noida (2021 –present)
- Vishwakarma University, Pune (2020 – present)
- IIHMR University, Jaipur (2019 – 2020)
- Manav Rachna University, Faridabad (2022
He was Adjunct Professor at IMT Ghaziabad in the Indian National Capital Region from 2012 – 2014. He is a Founding Director at Vigyan Centre of Excellence (VCE), based at Vishwakarma University, Pune. He has taught and mentored more than 2,000 postgraduate students.
Geoffrey was India Director for the Commonwealth Business Council Academy from 2006 – 2008; Managing Director & India Director of the Commonwealth Business School from 2008 – 2012; and Chairman & India Director for the Commonwealth Association for Infrastructure Development from 2012 – 2017.
Geoffrey was a consultant for Bournemouth University (2015 – 2017), with a focus on creating engagement between Bournemouth University and higher education institutions and other organisations in India. He created introductions for Bournemouth University with leading institutions and government departments, including IIM Lucknow; IMI Delhi; IMT Ghaziabad; the Confederation of Indian Industry; the Department of Higher Education, Government of Maharashtra; and the Higher Education Council, Government of Kerala. He was an active participant in the 1990s and 2000s in the UK Parliamentary Group for Alternative and Complementary Medicine and contributed to meetings of the European Herbal and Traditional Practitioners Association. He takes part in meetings of the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group for Indian Traditional Sciences. He is a member of the Advisory Committee of the British Ayurveda Medical Council (BAMC).
Geoffrey obtained his BSc and DPhil in Materials Science and Applied Physics from the University of Sussex. During his doctoral studies, he was mentored by Nobel Laureate, Prof. Sir Nevill Mott of Cambridge University, who was regarded as a late 20th century Rutherford, and whose work provided the first understanding of photovoltaic solar cells.
The Department of Engineering and Design at the University of Sussex (then the School of Applied Sciences) focuses on a multidisciplinary approach to engineering and materials science, integrating innovative materials and technologies into established engineering disciplines and practice. Geoffreys DPhil work at the University of Sussex was a combination of applied and theoretical research on innovative materials for the electrical and electronics industries and for the development of solar energy technology.
Geoffrey is an organisational capacity building specialist. He has co-developed and delivered capacity building programmes for Indian Central Government Ministries, including the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the National Highways Authority of India and the Ministry of Urban Development. He was the team leader for the development of the Master Plan for Solar City Gandhinagar in Gujarat. This Master Plan prescribed an integrated approach to the implementation of renewable energy in Gujarats new capital city, integrating conventional and novel power generation and distribution. The Master Plan included combining conventional power and renewable energy generation with the development of other elements of the citys infrastructure.
Geoffrey has developed organisational capacity building programmes in sectors including:
- Highways & bridges
- Ports and inland waterways
- Urban water
- Power
- Renewable energy
- Mining
- Healthcare
- Agriculture and food processing
- Sustainable development
These programmes were developed for implementation in companies, apex sector organisations and national and state government departments in India. He has a partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the development and delivery of these and other programmes. These organisational capacity building programmes include elements to integrate international best practice with local requirements and challenges.
Geoffrey also engages in consultancy activities, with a focus on the application of innovative technologies and best practice in leadership and management, with a focus on sector- specific factors.
Geoffrey is working with the Independent Schools Association and the Department of Education at the University of Sussex to assist in the introduction of international standards in school education in India. This includes incorporating the proposed changes in school education in the new National Education Policy announced by the Government of India in 2020 (NEP 2020).
At IMT Ghaziabad, IMT Hyderabad, SIBM Hyderabad, SCMS Noida, Vishwakarma University Pune, IIHMR University Jaipur and other institutions, Geoffrey introduces methods of international best practice in the postgraduate curriculum. He has developed and taught courses in subjects including:
- Project management
- Supply chain management
- Corporate governance
- Innovation
- Entrepreneurship
- Geopolitics
- Global mindset
- Business communications
- Converting technology into commercial opportunities
- Fiscal and monetary policy
He conducts guest lectures and workshop sessions at universities, engineering colleges and business schools around India. He is a regular participant and speaker at international conferences on themes including:
- Sustainable development
- Renewable energy
- Infrastructure development
- Corporate governance
- Higher education
- Skills development
Geoffrey was an invited speaker in Plenary Sessions in three consecutive Partnership Summits in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, co-organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Government of Andhra Pradesh (2016 – 2018). He spoke on:
- Sustainable development
- Smart cities
- Sustaining the growth of infrastructure projects
In 2016, Geoffrey represented Bournemouth University at, and invited other UK universities to, the Global Education Meet in Trivandrum, hosted by the Government of Kerala Higher Education Council.
In 2017, he spoke in sessions on higher education and skills development at the Global Exhibition on Services, co-organised by CII and the Indian Central Government Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
In 2017, Geoffrey was an invited speaker on the topic of entrepreneurship at the annual conference of the Indian Subcontinent Decision Sciences Institute (ISDSI) held at IIM Trichy. He regularly speaks on infrastructure topics at conferences organised by CII, on themes including smart cities, corporate governance, sustainable development, the quest for green energy and the integration of infrastructure sectors.
Geoffrey is working on developing relationships between higher education institutions in the UK and India. He has a special interest in identifying areas where education can be enhanced to improve professional skills and employability, and to contribute to national development. During his career, Geoffrey has visited over 70 countries, and has led projects in countries including the Philippines, Brazil, China, India, Armenia and Russia. He has made presentations to heads of government, government departments, international organisations and universities in many countries, including addressing plenary sessions of United Nations conferences.
Geoffrey has organised and chaired upwards of 20 international conferences on themes including: education; health; law, justice and rehabilitation; leadership and management; and a spectrum of scientific themes.
He has been a leading member of various international forums, including:
- The Asian Business Breakfast Club (meeting at the Houses of Parliament, London)
- The Indo European Business Forum
- The European Herbal & Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association
- The Emerging Directions in Global Education (EDGE) Forum (India)
He is a Member of the Advisory Board of the Journal of General Management Research, published by Symbiosis Centre for Management Studies (SCMS), Noida, India. Geoffrey has a career-long interest in programmes for the development of consciousness and their potential benefits in education and other spheres, such as corporate development. Geoffreys interest in this area includes studying the connections between the knowledge of consciousness and the deeper theories of modern physics.
Geoffreys interests include Western and Indian classical music, playing the classical guitar, travelling and becoming familiar with world cultures, keeping a photographic record of his travels, current affairs and playing cricket (and following the progress of the India and England teams). In 2017, Geoffrey organised a 10-day tour to Trivandrum in Kerala for 40 cricketers of all ages from Barns Green Cricket Club in Sussex, which had the ancillary goal of promoting educational and cross-cultural understanding.