Bob Cryan (born 7 January 1964) is a British professional with

Chartered Engineer Regulation and licensure in engineering is established by various jurisdictions of the world to encourage life, public welfare, safety, well-being, then environment and other interests of the general public and to define the licensure process thr ...

and Chartered Manager designations. He has served as the Vice-Chancellor and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the

University of Huddersfield The University of Huddersfield is a public research university located in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It has been a University since 1992, but has its origins in a series of institutions dating back to the 19th century. It has made te ...

since 2007. Cryan served as the President of the

Institution of Engineering and Technology The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is a multidisciplinary professional engineering institution. The IET was formed in 2006 from two separate institutions: the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE), dating back to 1871,Engin ...

from 2022 to 2023.

Early life

Cryan was born in 1964 in Huddersfield, England. His parents were working class and neither had the opportunity to complete secondary education so they encouraged him to go as far as he was able. He was not entered for the 11+ examination and attended Deighton Secondary School, Huddersfield. At 16 he tried and failed to get an apprenticeship and went to

Huddersfield New College Huddersfield New College is a former grammar school and current sixth form college located in Salendine Nook on the outskirts of Huddersfield, in the county of West Yorkshire, England. On 30 November 2023 the college was assessed as 'Good' fol ...

to study

Maths Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, theories and theorems that are developed and proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many areas of mathematics, which include num ...

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

and

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

Education

Cryan gained a

First-Class Honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...

degree in

Electrical Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

and

Electronic Engineering Electronic engineering is a sub-discipline of electrical engineering that emerged in the early 20th century and is distinguished by the additional use of active components such as semiconductor devices to amplify and control electric current flo ...

at what is now the

, graduating as top student and receiving the IEE (now IET) award for Academic Distinction. In 1992 he was the first person to be awarded a PhD, completed on a part-time basis and sponsored by

British Telecom BT Group plc (formerly British Telecom) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-li ...

, from the

and in 1999 he was the first person to be awarded the higher doctorate degree of Doctor of Science from the University of Huddersfield. He completed a PhD in Leadership and Management with

Northumbria University Northumbria University (legally the University of Northumbria at Newcastle) is a Public research university, public research university located in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England, North East of England. It has been a university since 199 ...

and an MBA with

Swansea University Swansea University () is a public university, public research university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it chang ...

. Whilst Vice-Chancellor, he wanted to remind himself what it was like to be a student and completed an

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

degree in

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

in 2013, graduating with First Class honours.

Career

During his first degree Cryan secured sponsorship from

Thorn EMI Thorn EMI was a major British company involved in consumer electronics, music, defence and retail. Created when Thorn Electrical Industries merged with EMI in October 1979, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituen ...

Electronics and on graduating he took up employment with their Defence Systems Division in Feltham, Middlesex. In 1986 he was appointed as a

Lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at what is now the University of Huddersfield. Four years later he was promoted to Senior Lecturer and in 1992 he took on the role of Director of the Centre for Communication Systems Research in the Faculty of Engineering at

Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Education ...

. In 1994 he was appointed to his first Professorial Chair and Head of Department position, at the age of 30, at

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

University and at the time he was the youngest Professor of Engineering in the UK. Following his success as Head of the Department of Electrical, Electronic Engineering and Physics he was appointed as Head of the newly created School of Engineering, following a merger with the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Manufacturing Systems. He moved to the

University of Wales, Swansea Swansea University () is a public university, public research university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it chang ...

in 1999 to be Chair of Electrical & Electronic Engineering. He also held the Siemens Chair of Communications and the post of Dean of the Faculty of Engineering. In 2002 he returned to Northumbria University as Pro Vice-Chancellor, becoming Deputy Vice-Chancellor in 2005, with responsibilities including both teaching and research. In 2007 he returned to his hometown of Huddersfield and at the age of 42, became Vice-Chancellor and CEO of the University of Huddersfield and at the time he was the youngest Vice-Chancellor in the UK. Under his leadership the University has won many awards including the Times Higher Education (THE) University of the Year, THE Entrepreneurial University of the Year, THE Best University Workplace, THE Outstanding Leadership Team, two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, three Queen’s Anniversary Prizes, the Gold Teaching Excellence Award and Huddersfield was the first University to win the Global Teaching Excellence Award. In April 2024, Cryan announced that nearly 200 staff at Huddersfield University would be made redundant.

Other roles

Cryan is on the Board of Trustees and is a former President of the

, an organization of over 155,000 members from 148 countries and started his one-year term as President in October 2022. He also serves on the board of trustees of the Chartered Management Institute, the Chartered Body for Management and Leadership that has a membership of over 170,000. He Chairs the CMI Board of Companions that appoints and represents a select group of the best leaders in the UK and beyond. He chairs the Board of Trustees for the Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award, iDEA, an international award-winning program that helps develop digital, enterprise and

employability Employability refers to the attributes of a person that make that person able to gain and maintain employment. Overview Employability is related to work and the ability to be employed, such as: *The ability to gain initial employment; hence the ...

skills for free through the completion of online digital badges. To date, over ten million badges have been completed. He serves on the board of trustees for the Foundation of Dragon’s Den celebrity and entrepreneur Peter Jones CBE which has supported the development of entrepreneurial skills of thousands of young people. He is a Deputy Lieutenant of

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

and is nominated to be High Sheriff of

in 2024. Cryan’s previous roles include Chairing Yorkshire Universities, serving on the board of the

Leeds City Region The Leeds City Region, or informally Greater Leeds, is a local enterprise partnership City region (United Kingdom), city region located in West Yorkshire, England. Prior to the West Yorkshire devolution deal, the partnership covered parts of Sou ...

Local Enterprise Partnership, serving as a board member of the

Universities and Colleges Admissions Service The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS ) is a charity and private limited company based in Cheltenham, England, which provides educational support services. Formed on 27 July 1993 by the merger of the former university admiss ...

and Chairing the Teachers Pension Scheme working group for the

Universities and Colleges Employers Association The Universities and Colleges Employers' Association (UCEA) is the employers' association for universities and colleges of higher education (HE) in the United Kingdom. It represents universities and HE colleges in national negotiations with the f ...

Personal life

In 1983 Cryan met Kath Dolan, a local textile mill worker, when she was 17 and he was 19. They became engaged in 1984 and married in 1989. They had two children.

Honors and awards

* 2019: Business Person of the Year. * 2019: Business and Education Award. * 2016: Grant Thornton 100 Faces of a Vibrant Economy. * 2015: Educate North Leadership Award. * 2015: Appointed as Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. * 2014: Appointed as Companion of the Chartered Management Institute. * 2014: Commander of the British Empire. * 2013: Guardian Inspiring Leader. * 2012: Appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire. * 2009: Business Person of the Year: Examiner Business Awards. * 2008: Lifetime Achievement Award.A man of many firsts - YorkshireLive (examinerlive.co.uk)
/ref> * 1986: IEE Award for Academic Distinction

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cryan, Bob Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Vice-chancellors of the University of Huddersfield Living people Deputy lieutenants of Yorkshire People educated at Huddersfield New College People from Huddersfield 1964 births