Centre for ExecUTIVE & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Professor Rajah has over 25 years’ experience in Executive Education and is the Executive Director of the Center for Executive and Professional Development, CEPD London. His vision for CEPD London is to champion excellence in high growth enterprises underpinned by the tenets of creativity, innovation and leadership. Prof. Rajah is a Chartered Manager and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, UK.

He was previously Dean and then Senior Academic and the RAU Chair in Entrepreneurial Behavior and Innovation at the School of Business and Entrepreneurship, Royal Agricultural University, England. He is now Visiting Professor there. Earlier, he spent three years as Director of the Business School at Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa. During 2000-09 Professor Rajah was the Director, Centre for Entrepreneurship and Head of Department of Strategy and Operations, University of Greenwich Business School, UK. During 1995 -1999 he was Director of the MBA in Agribusiness and Lecturer in Strategic Marketing at the University of Aberystwyth in Wales.

In parallel, he is a successful management consultant working in the UK, Europe, USA, Asia and Africa. His career spans senior level appointments across major blue chip organisations; the multi- national Kraft Inc. (Scientist, Europe), HJ Heinz, Dairy Crest (European Marketing Manager) and Ernest George Limited (Commodity Trading Manager). He also helps with business start-ups and undertakes audits for venture capital investment. He is active in business consultancy focused on clients in Europe, Asia and Africa.

Professor Rajah has in excess of 200 scholarly outputs in management, entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity. He has been interviewed by the international press and media for his views on economic development, socio economic change, creativity and innovations and recently in the role of smart technologies in providing solutions to global challenges in food supplies. His background in Chemistry (BSc.), Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (MSc.) and Technology Transfer (Ph. D) has enabled him to generate more than two hundred scholarly outputs and publications; edited books, book chapters; peer reviewed and invited papers in management and scientific publications and professional journals, proceedings and a patent. He is a regular keynote speaker in international conferences, first choice event speaker, and creativity expert.

Prof Rajah has worked with the European Union on market development projects in the Far East (five ASEAN countries). In 2001 he was a principal contributor to more than 50 South African lecturers completing a Masters degree in entrepreneurship as part of the EU funded “Tabeisa Project” – Technical and Business Education Initiative in South Africa. He has also been involved in developing senior managers in Russia, Ghana and Indonesia. During 1999-2001 he was a member of the unique network ‘Asian Business Breakfast Club’ at the House of Commons – UK’s Houses of Parliament.

Prof. Rajah is an advanced practitioner in Kirton’s adaptor-innovator theory (KAI) which is used in personal, leadership and organisational development. He is also a professional Practitioner in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and is certificated for psychometric testing. He mentors and coaches entrepreneurs and managers, and contributes to top team development.

Professor Rajah is a Fellow of the Centre for Strategy, Leadership and Organisational Reinvention, South Africa. He is an Executive Council Member of the Institute of Productivity and Management, India and Adjunct Professor on the unique ‘Global Village for Future Leaders Programme’ at the Iacocca Institute, Lehigh University, Pennsylvania.