BRIEF BIOGRAPHY
Dr Simon Croom is Executive Director of the Supply Chain Management Institute at the University of San Diego. In 2008 he was awarded a prestigious Research Fellowship from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply for his work on sustainable supply chains.
Born in Coventry, England, he began his career in supply at Jaguar Cars as a purchasing specialist whilst completing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration specialising in Materials Management (or Supply Chain Management as it would now be called). He also qualified as member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply.Following three years as a purchasing executive in an engineering company Dr Croom set up his own retail business and for 10 years was active in growing his own operation through a series of collaborative ventures with other small businesses in the Midlands of the UK.
Returning to complete his MSc in Management Science and Operational Research at Warwick Business School he then became a Senior Lecturer in Operations Management and Strategic Management at Sheffield Hallam University and then Coventry University before successfully completing his PhD research entitled “The Management of Dyadic Capability in New Product Development: A Qualitative Analysis of Customer-Supplier Relationships during the Jaguar X300 Vehicle Development Programme.” His PhD was awarded by the University of Warwick, UK in 1996. He has also completed his post graduate education in politics and history.
Since 1996 he has been a faculty member of Warwick Business School as an Associate Professor and joined USD in 2005 to lead the growth of the Supply Chain Management Institute. In April 2006 he was the organizing chair of the Fourth Worldwide Symposium in Purchasing and Supply Chain Management.
He has published over 60 technical papers in leading supply chain management journals and was guest editor for both the Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management and Supply Chain Management: An International Journal. He has published a series of research monographs, co-authored a text on Global Account Management and contributed to a series of research texts including a new text on research methods in operations management. Dr Croom is currently leading several global research projects in strategic supply chain improvement. He has been the recipient of over a $million of research funding.
Prior to moving to the USA, he was an advisor to the UK Government and EU on e-procurement and continues to work closely with US and European blue chip corporations in support of their strategic supply chain developments.
Dr Croom’s contribution to supply chain thought has been recognized by his election as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply in 1992 and as Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of the Arts, Manufacturing and Commerce in 2000.
