Professor Peter Buckley

Presentation address by Professor Julia Bennell:

Chancellor,
    
The University of Leeds is the sum of its community. Within this community, past and present, we have some truly exceptional individuals who have contributed not only their knowledge, experience and skills, but their versatility, integrity, innovative prowess and unrelenting support for nurturing the next generation of scholars and leaders. Peter Buckley OBE is one such individual.

Peter was appointed Professor of International Business at the Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, in 2023, having completed 28 years of service here at Leeds. His achievements in that time were multi-faceted and have left a lasting imprint on the strategic direction and values of the Business School. 

Peter founded the Centre for International Business (CIBUL) in 1995 and played an integral role in its growth. Today, it produces cutting edge research on, amongst other things, international strategy, global innovation and competitiveness, and multinational enterprise theory.

Peter himself is, of course, a leading researcher with – to date – over 250 refereed articles on subjects including foreign direct investment and the economics of tourism, and 56,500 citations listed on Google Scholar. He has also published 29 books, including The Future of the Multinational Enterprise, which was reissued to celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2016, and holds several editorial roles on leading periodicals, including the Journals of International Business Policy and International Business Review.

The breadth and range of Peter’s expertise has been resourced and recognised by a number of prestigious organisations. He has carried out consultancy work for local and central government and international bodies, including two UN agencies. He has been a television and radio contributor in the UK, China and Singapore for networks including the BBC World Service. He was, and remains, the youngest ever academic to be elected as a Fellow of the Academy of International Business.

In addition to the plethora of awards bestowed on him in the intervening decades, he was made an OBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List of 2012, and a Fellow of the British Academy two years later. 

While these accolades are testament to Peter’s professional success, for many of us in the Business School, it is his personal dedication and support for colleagues that we remember most distinctly. Throughout his long tenure, he was a role model, a mentor and an exemplar of collegiality. He worked tirelessly to foster a supportive and constructive working environment and, although he is no longer an employee of the University, his legacy will continue to inspire all those who knew him, and most likely those who did not.

Chancellor, it is with enormous pride that I present to you for the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Professor Peter Buckley OBE.