Member Profile Simon Ward

IOEE Fellow and Entrepreneur in Residence at IOEE Academy, Sheffield Hallam University

We met with Simon Ward CEO at Buybrandtools, an IOEE Fellow and entrepreneur in residence at Sheffield Hallam University. We caught up with Simon to find out more about his experiences and passion for supporting other small businesses. We also welcome a feature article from Simon on business education being misunderstood. Before we hear from Simon on the misunderstanding around business education, we asked if he would introduce himself to our network.

Could you introduce yourself, and tell us about your current engagement with enterprise?

I am the CEO of Buybrandtools Ltd and an entrepreneur in residence at Sheffield Hallam University.

I started my career in sales and became involved in an MBO of the company I was working for after a few years as the sales director. I am the co-founder of Buybrandtools ltd, an internet retailer which was formed over twenty years ago.

As a co-founder of a business, I am sure you have a background in enterprise and entrepreneurship. Could you tell us a bit about this?

I am an accomplished entrepreneur, with a passion for enterprise and business education. I am particularly passionate about developing business skills in people from diverse backgrounds, who may just need somebody to give them the confidence to start their own companies. I taught strategic management at Sheffield Hallam University for over twenty years and became one of the universities entrepreneurs in residence in 2019. I find it incredibly rewarding to be involved in a range of activities that promote a culture of enterprise at the university. We love that you fight for visibility for enterprise education, and business education, and I am sure our readers do too.

At this stage in my life and career, I want to share my knowledge and experiences with as many potential entrepreneurs as possible. I feel the readership of IOEE will hopefully benefit from my passion for enterprise. I had the pleasure of connecting with the CEO of IOEE through LinkedIn and felt the ethos of the magazine to be inspiring and very helpful to potential entrepreneurs.

We want to thank Simon for contributing to the Think Enterprise publication and hope to see some more submissions from him in future editions.