Beverley Nielsen

Beverley has worked for Birmingham City University for over a decade in a variety of exciting roles. Positions have included Visiting Tutor, MA Design Management and Business Development Manager for Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, as well as Director of Employer Engagement and Director of Corporate Affairs for the institution.

Prior to working at the University, Beverley spent a decade in business as Director of the FTSE-250 company, AGA Rangemaster plc and Managing Director of subsidiary retail business, Fired Earth. She worked in policy at the CBI for over a decade as European Policy Advisor in London and Brussels, and as Director of CBI West Midlands.

Her early research on the impact of non-tariff barriers on British business was published in a report of the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Communities (1983) with other reports covering productivity and competitiveness. She was Chief Executive of the Heart of England Tourist Board and has a strong interest in place-based economic growth having written extensively about regional economic development, as well as producing corporate case studies on cultural transformation.

Through IDEA Institute, Beverley Nielsen, Associate Professor, works with start-ups to bring them to market and close the gap between tech development and market application. She assists with business planning, network development and promotion, funding, ensuring robust management, marketing and protection of new applications.

She co-authored ‘Redesigning Manufacturing’ with Professor Michael Beverland, University of Sussex and economist Vicky Pryce (2015) and co-edited ‘Brexit Negotiations after Article 50’ with Professor Alex de Ruyter (2019).