Dr Neil Shepherd

Profile

Neil is a Chartered Accountant, and prior to pursuing an academic career he worked for KPMG in London, in both their advisory and audit practices. Prior to joining Leeds, Neil was Senior Lecturer at Lancaster University Management School, and previously he held the post of Senior Lecturer in Strategy at Aston Business School in Birmingham.

Neil is focused on theoretically and methodologically rigorous empirical research, drawing on the domains of organizational, social, and cognitive psychology. Specifically, Neil's research is focused on the psychology of strategic management, and the analysis of social and cognitive processes during strategic decision making and strategy implementation. Neil's research has won several awards, including the 2026 European Academy of Management conference best paper award for the M&A and divestiture track.

Neil's current funded research on "Generative AI and Strategic Foresight in SMEs" places him at the forefront of a critical and emerging field. An emerging area of Neil's research and engagement activities is the advancement and representation of women in the mergers and acquisitions profession.

A Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) who has mentored five colleagues in attaining FHEA and SFHEA status. Neil is an award winning teacher with extensive experience of teaching strategy related subjects to executive, MBA, MSc, and UG audiences. Neil is committed to teaching excellence and curriculum innovation, evidenced by outstanding student feedback, multiple teaching awards, and a track record of transforming the student experience. Neil has extensive experience directing undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, including joint honours degrees, and has led both new programme launches and re-launches.

Neil has taught courses on strategic management, scenario planning, behavioral strategy, managing strategic change, corporate strategy, mergers & acquisitions, strategic leadership, and consultancy.

Neil is currently external examiner for Imperial College London's MBA programme, and previously Neil was the Doctoral Director for the Entrepreneurship & Strategy Department at Lancaster University Management School, and was a member of the departmental leadership team. Neil also chaired the Lancaster University Management School Income Generation Group.

Neil's previous leadership experience demonstrates a broad range of capabilities. He has directed doctoral programmes (DBA Director, Doctoral Work-in-Progress Convenor), led student recruitment initiatives, and driven strategy for business partnerships and community engagement. Prior to his academic career, Neil led multi-million-pound, cross-border mergers and acquisitions.

Neil is Principal Consultant and Founder at SSP, where he provides evidence-based scenario planning workshops and M&A advice to both large corporates as well as growing SMEs.

Neil’s work has a tangible and visible impact beyond academia. Neil has contributed expert insights to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Management, directly helping to shape national policy recommendations. Neil has also designed and delivered bespoke strategy workshops for senior leaders at major multinational corporations, and Neil has led on high-profile executive education programmes including the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Programme and the government’s Help to Grow scheme.

Qualifications

• PhD
• MSc
• BSc
• PGCert
• SFHEA

Professional memberships

• SFHEA
• Chartered Accountant (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales)