Improving lives through business

Experience

Rajesh Chandy is the Academic Director of the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development. He holds the Tony and Maureen Wheeler Chair in Entrepreneurship and is a Professor of Marketing at London Business School. He also serves as Academic Director of the Market Driving Strategies executive education course at London Business School.

Much of Rajesh’s current research is at the intersection of business, innovation, entrepreneurship, and development. His recent projects have covered the impact of business skills among micro-entrepreneurs in South Africa, novel financing approaches in Ghana, property rights in slums in Egypt, innovation among farmers in India, highways and private education expenditures in India, and using big data for development outcomes.

During 2006-2008, Rajesh served as a member of the US Secretary of Commerce Advisory Committee on Measuring Innovation in the 21st Century Economy. He has provided advisory and executive education services to Carrefour, Novo Nordisk, Nordea, Rabobank, Toshiba, St. Jude Medical, 3M, Philips, Commonwealth Microfinance Limited, American Medical Systems, Deutsche Telekom, Bertelsmann, Hutchinson Technology, Microsoft, Mundipharma, Rexam, Wrigley, GfK, Futuredontics, Telenor, Vodafone, World Economic Forum, and the US and UK governments, among others. He serves as an Independent Director on the board of Laurus Labs Limited, a publicly listed pharmaceutical company.

Rajesh received his PhD in Business Administration in 1996 from the University of Southern California. In 2018, Rajesh was elected a Fellow of the British Academy.

Experience

Elias Papaioannou is academic director of the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development and professor of economics at London Business School, focusing on international finance, political economy, applied econometrics and growth and development.

After completing his doctorate in 2005, he worked for two years at the Financial Research Division of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany. From 2007 to 2012, he served as assistant professor of economics at Dartmouth College in the US. Between 2010 and 2012 he was a visiting assistant professor at the economics department of Harvard University in the US.

His research has been recognised with a consolidator ERC grant in 2018, the inaugural 2013 European Investment Bank Young Economist Award, the 2005 European Economic Association’s Young Economist Award and the Royal Economic Association’s Austin Robinson Memorial Prize, 2008. He is a research affiliate of the Centre for Economic Policy Research.

Elias has been published in leading peer-refereed journals, with his work appearing in numerous edited book volumes. He consults regularly to international organisations and institutional investors on macroeconomic developments in the EU and Greece in particular.

In 2005, Elias received his PhD from LBS. He holds a Master’s in Public Policy and Administration from Columbia University and a LL.B. Bachelor’s in Law from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

Experience

Tiago Ivo Martinho is the Interim Executive Director of the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development and is responsible for setting the Institute’s strategic direction, implementing its annual agenda, and effectively stewarding its resources. Tiago brings to this position three successful years leading the Wheeler Institute Outreach team, developing strategic partnerships and amplifying the Institute’s mission and initiatives to wide audiences.

Previously at LBS, as Admissions Director, Tiago led the recruitment and admissions team of Early Career Programmes at the School throughout a cycle of expansion of the degree portfolio, with a particular emphasis on raising the diversity of the class profiles. Prior to joining LBS, Tiago managed the recruitment activities of Said Business School, University of Oxford, for the East and South East Asian regions. Previously, Tiago’s career was developed across multiple sectors, from corporates, to start-ups and not-for-profit organisations.

Tiago holds an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering, professional studies in Filmmaking and a MBA degree from the University of Bath.

Experience

Niomie Benjamin is outreach director of the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development and is responsible for building the awareness and promoting initiatives of the Wheeler Institute.

As former Senior Engagement Lead at LBS, Niomie led on digital communications for prospective candidates to London Business School’s degree programmes. During her time in Recruitment and Admissions, Niomie set up the digital communications team delivering over 200 campaigns annually, with emphasis on delivering a strategy rich in diversity and highlighting LBS’ most underrepresented communities. Niomie also sits on the committee of London Business School’s Black Employee Network as Marketing and Communications Lead. Prior to joining London Business School, Niomie’s communications and marketing experience spanned several sectors including education, hospitality, finance and legal.

Niomie holds an undergraduate degree in Multimedia Communications from the University of Wolverhampton, a Diploma in Digital Marketing and more recently she completed the Strategic Branding: From Behavioural Insights to Business Growth programme delivered by London Business School.

Experience

Co-founder of M-KOPA and “father” of M-PESA

Nick Hughes has been at the forefront of mobile commerce activities in emerging markets for over 15 years, pioneering digital fintech solutions that solve real problems. He is the co-founder and Chief Product Officer at M-KOPA, the first company to launch pay-as-you-go clean energy services in Africa. M-KOPA has won multiple awards for its innovative business model and today has reached over 850,000 customers in East Africa, predominantly rural households. In 2015, Nick initiated M-KOPA Labs to provide a innovation pipeline to the core business, an initiative that took M-KOPA from providing solar home systems to TVs, fridges, financial services and most recently smart-phones.

Nick was previously Global Head of Payment Solutions at Vodafone Group, where, in 2003, with UK government matched funding, he started the ground-breaking mobile payment service M-PESA, delivering it across multiple Vodafone territories over the period to 2009. M-PESA has established a large customer base, with tens of millions of people signing up to the initial person-to-person payments before the service evolved into a comprehensive mobile commerce channel, bringing financial inclusion at scale.

Nick holds a small number of advisory roles in the digital services space and is a founding Board member of bKash, Bangladesh’s leading mobile money service reaching over 30 million people.

Holding a PhD in Applied Science and an MBA from London Business School, Nick has also won The Economist’s Innovation Award for Social & Economic Impact for his work on M-PESA. In 2017 Nick was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to ‘innovation in Africa’.

Nick Hughes has been a key contributor with London Business School and the Wheeler Institute establishing a ‘digital for development’ workstream and is currently leading our collaboration with DFID as part of the Science of Scaling project.

Experience

Bushra Yasin is Senior Manager of the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development with oversight of Wheeler Institute events. Bushra leads on the delivery of the Development Impact Platform and supports in the development and delivery of other key Wheeler Institute education initiatives.

She brings to this role success in designing and delivering programmes in Adult Education, Further Education and the telecommunications industry.

Prior to joining LBS, Bushra curated, developed and delivered Literacy, ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) and Employability and Citizenship Programmes to adult learners and 14-16 year olds. Concurrently, she served as an Assessor for Pearson Edexcel and Ascentis, for ESOL qualifications.

Between 2003 and 2012, Bushra held the position of Sales Advisor at Orange Retail whilst she pursued her A-Levels, undergraduate and postgraduate studies. During August through December 2011, she was the only non-manager at Orange, UK seconded to the role of Orange Brand Expert. In this role, she was responsible for delivering a bespoke onboarding programme to the sales and management teams of several of the first 30 Everything Everywhere (now EE) stores in England and South Wales, including its flagship stores in London.

Bushra has a Master’s degree in Modern English Studies from The University of Northampton; a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in English and Drama from Birmingham City University; and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from The University of Greenwich.

Experience

Trias Kolokitha-Schmitz is Senior Research Manager of the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development. As part of the broader research strategy, Trias is responsible for the growing portfolio of diverse research initiatives and funding opportunities such as the Institute’s Call for Proposals, PhD awards and the pre-doctoral research assistant programme.

With a particular focus on the changing requirements of global markets, previously Trias developed strategic educational programmes and publications for a leading independent education provider founded by the Senate of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.

Trias holds a PhD in Literature with a focus on Intermediality and a postgraduate degree in Social Psychology (MA). She has a strong interest in interdisciplinary approaches, education and sustainability.

Experience

Oliver Jakes is the Outreach and Communications Manager of the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development at London Business School.

He is responsible for managing and performing a wide range of creative and technical duties in order to support outreach actions to amplify the Wheeler Institute's reputation through its research and education initiatives. Oliver oversees and supports the creation of a variety of content to endorse the Institute's overall objectives.

Prior to joining the Wheeler Institute, Oliver worked as a Digital Media Assistant at National Geographic Traveller (UK). There, he helped to remodel the National Geographic website, while developing articles and promoting accessible travel programmes. Oliver has also worked in education management and student welfare services at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford.

Oliver holds a BA in History and English from the University of Oxford.

Experience

Nicola Hare is the Outreach and Communications Executive of the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development at the London Business School. She is responsible for supporting and amplifying the Wheeler Institute’s mission with its research, education initiatives, and the forging of lasting communities to inspire positive societal change through business. Nicola works to build relationships with external stakeholders and engaging communities of people through a variety of communication activities.

Nicola has worked in varied roles with a primary focus on the technology and future mobility sector. Prior to joining the Wheeler Institute, Nicola worked as a Communications Executive at Zenzic, and supported the organisation in realising the vision toward creating a safer, more inclusive and more efficient mobile future through connected and automated mobility. Nicola was responsible for marketing, communications, and events, and supported the research team.

Nicola holds a BA in Philosophy and Literature from the University of Warwick. She was a teaching volunteer in a township in South Africa before beginning her career and is passionate about collective responsibility in ensuring that the world is a better place.

Experience

Bihter Erbaş is a Pre-Doctoral Research Assistant at the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development. Her primary research interests include economic growth and development, innovation, labour economics, and political economy.

Prior to joining the Wheeler Institute, Bihter completed her M.A. degree in Social Sciences with a concentration in Economics at the University of Chicago. She wrote her thesis about innovation-adjusted economic complexity and its differential effect on economic growth through the institutional quality of countries. Additionally, she conducted independent research on the Turkish labour market and the productivity of the talented workforce in the United States using patent data.

Bihter holds a B.A. in Economics from Galatasaray University as well as Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. She worked on projects regarding poverty and inequality and defended her undergraduate thesis on monetary policy in Turkey. Before starting her academic career, Bihter worked as a Research Associate at the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey, where she took part in projects on regional development, Turkey-EU relationships, and regional connectivity.

View Bihter's full CV here

Experience

Mike is a Pre-Doctoral Research Assistant at the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development from Chicago, USA. His main research focus concerns climate, however, he has general interests in a variety of topics such as gender inequality and child poverty.

Before joining the Wheeler Institute, Mike obtained his M.Sc. in Quantitative Economics through a fully funded two-year Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree program, organised by the Université Paris 1 – Panthéon-Sorbonne, with semesters spent in Italy, Spain, and Belgium. For his master’s thesis, he conducted a randomised controlled trial at his university to investigate climate-signaling and how it affects individual climate behaviour. For his undergrad, Mike spent four years at the American University of Paris, obtaining his BA in International Economics (Honors), with minors in Business and Applied Mathematics. During this time, he worked at a café, spent time as an au pair, tutored economics and math courses at his university, and volunteered frequently at Les Petits Frères des Pauvres, an NGO that provides care for French senior citizens. For his bachelor’s thesis, he investigated the relationship between child labour, self-concept, and educational outcomes in Peru. Mike also has experience at the U.S. Department of State – Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement in Washington, D.C., where he interned for a summer in 2018. In the time between his master and undergrad, he took a gap year to travel around South America, where he took the opportunity to volunteer in child education and animal rehabilitation in the Amazon.

Mike is incredibly excited to join the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development and looks forward to making tangible contributions to ongoing global development efforts. View Mike's full CV here

Experience

Daniel is a Pre-Doctoral Research Assistant within the Economics subject area at the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development of London Business School. His research interest includes experimental economics, development economics, environmental economics, and applied econometrics, with a particular focus on the application of rigorous econometric tools to better understand social issues in developing contexts.

Daniel has a master’s degree (MPhil) in Economics from the University of Ghana, West Africa, specialising in environmental and monetary economics. His master’s thesis focused on development economics where he investigated the impact of remittance receipts on agricultural asset accumulation. This household-level analysis employed a treatment effect model (TEM) within a counterfactual framework to examine the remittance-asset accumulation nexus. The study considered the receipts of three forms of remittances; domestic remittance receipts, international remittance receipts, and a combination of both domestic and international remittance receipts on agricultural asset accumulation for Ghana.

Before joining the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development, Daniel was a Research Officer on the Transforming Social Inequality through Inclusive Climate Change Action Project (TSITICA-Project). This was the Ghana node, situated at the Institute of Statistical, Social, and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana. The TSITICA Project was an international team of world leading-expertise from the United Kingdom (UK), Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. The essence of such an international team is to explore the nexus between climate change, sustainable livelihoods, poverty, and inequality across all three countries to help inform policy in these countries. Additionally, Daniel served as a Graduate Teaching and Research Assistant at the Department of Economics of the University of Ghana, where he embarked on field surveys, assisted with data management and analysis, and helped students with their research works.

Daniel holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, focused on the determinants of the demand for insurance in Ghana. Prior to his academic career, he was an Office Assistant at Zenith Bank (Ghana) Limited.

View Daniel's full CV here