Professor John Bates

John Bates has been teaching at London Business School since 1984, while also starting up, running and selling two technology businesses Datapaq Ltd and Newmarket Datasystems Ltd and establishing a Venture capital firm which he donated to London Business School.

Areas of Specialisation
He has extensive experience in working with organisations and lecturing on the development of strategy and entrepreneurship.  As a result he understands the competitive advantage that can be delivered through the right balance of innovation and commercial awareness.

Client Organisations
John has worked at board and general management level for organisations in the financial services, telecommunications, industrial manufacturing and media sectors in the UK, Europe and Asia for over 20 years.  Previously he worked for Eli Lilly and then as a Sales Manager G.D.Searle in Zambia.

Career Background
John has had a long and established sales career in the scientific equipment and pharmaceutical industries in the UK and Africa.  Following his MBA,  John became a Marketing Manager for International Paint (now part of Akzo Nobel) launching the highly successful Interpon range of solvent free coatings worldwide.

He was invited to lecture at Harvard on the MBA programme in 1983 before joining the London Business School faculty, part time, in 1984. In addition, he set up his first Hi Technology business in Cambridge in 1985. Since then he has balanced a career as an entrepreneur, business executive, educator and investment manager.

John is Adjunct Professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at London Business School. His recent LBS teaching portfolio includes two MBA electives, New Venture Development and New Creative Ventures and the ever popular Growing Your Business open executive programme.

Over the last 12 years he has been leading London Business School’s practical initiatives in developing entrepreneurial firms, involving €20m of ‘pre seed’ and ‘seed’ venture capital funds.  He has also been leading various networks of entrepreneurs, advisors and private investors associated with the London Business School, who have collectively supported over 50 alumni-founded companies.

Qualifications and Board Positions
John graduated from Harvard Business School with an MBA with high distinction in 1979.  He is Chairman of the London Technology Network, MyDish.co.uk and the British Documentary Film Foundation; a Director of Sussex Place Ventures and Cambridge Management Group and formerly Chairman of Multimap.com (sold to Microsoft in 2007).