Paul Chapman

Profile

Paul Chapman is a leading expert on the learning and development of executives, especially those responsible for leading the delivery of major programmes/major projects typically valued at more than $1billion.

Paul is Academy Director for the UK Government's 'Major Project Leadership Academy,' MPLA, a one-year, part-time programme for the Major Project Leaders responsible for delivering the UK Central Government's portfolio strategic projects valued at over £440bn. In this role he also designed and directs the 'Sponsoring Major Projects' programme for UK Government Ministers.

At Oxford Paul also set up Oxford's MSc in Major Programme Management, a two-year, part-time programme that attracts senior programme leaders from around the world (50% are based outside the UK) who lead programmes across a range of sectors.

These programmes involve working closely with client organisations and participants to understand their potential for development and growth through to realising these opportunities. These roles also include engaging teams of faculty and experienced practitioners to create the design and content required to ensure an engaging learning experience. For example, in addition to the MPLA, Chapman’s work with the UK Government extends to include developing and delivering workshops for the Civil Service’s Permanent Secretaries and also for particular Departments that bring together Ministerial teams and their Senior Civil Servants. This means that the insights and capabilities Major Project Leaders develop on the Academy receive better support and can be implemented more effectively in the workplace, which is leading to notable improvements in Major Project delivery.

Paul’s research takes concepts at the heart of operations management, especially engineering and production, and blends these with other insights. This includes developing an approach to reducing new product development lead times that enabled organisations to improve market sensitivity and return on capital. Another strand of research brings together operations management with criminology to address product loss through theft and errors. The outputs from this work have been adopted internationally, saving retailers in Europe and the Americas over $2bn in recent years.

Before joining Saïd Business School, Paul was a Senior Research Fellow at Cranfield School of Management and previously was a member of the Warwick Manufacturing Group at the University of Warwick. Paul took his BEng, MSc and Engineering Doctorate at the University of Warwick, UK.

Paul is also Vice President of the Association for Project Management (APM), the Chartered body for the project profession, and previously served six years as a Board member and Chair of the Professional Standards and Knowledge Committee.

Research

Paul’s research is focused on mechanisms for benefit delivery, especially the role of collaboration between parties within the supply chain.

His work also takes concepts at the heart of operations management, especially engineering and production, and blends these with insights from other disciplines such as criminology, organisational design, organisational behaviour and learning and development.

Major programme management and mega project phenomena

Paul’s work on major programmes includes research into the mega project phenomena, such as the EPSRC-funded ‘Super Value Goods Initiative’. His research on managing projects includes engaging and integrating Small and Medium sized Enterprises, SME, into new product development with Jaguar/Land Rover and delivering productivity improvement in the aerospace sector for companies such as Airbus, Rolls-Royce and British Airways through product design and process reengineering.

Delivering performance improvement

Paul’s work in the automotive, aerospace and retail sectors has led to significant reductions in new product development time, introducing concepts into product design for increased supply chain responsiveness and reducing waste and loss. In the grocery retail sector this work has delivered more than US $2billion in savings in recent years. Paul has a track record of working closely with practitioner organisations to help them realise these opportunities for increasing performance and reducing inefficiencies.

Other areas of interest include supply chain management, collaborative performance improvement and reducing retail crime.