Professor Adrian Kuah

Qualifications

• Fellow, Royal Society of Arts, 2024
• Fellow, Chartered Management Institute, 2010
• Fellow, College of Preceptors, 2010
• Fellow, Higher Education Academy, 2003
• International Teachers Program, SDA Bocconi, 2007-2008
• Doctor of Philosophy, University of Manchester, 2000-2007
• Master of Business Administration, University of Strathclyde, 1997-1998
• Bachelor of Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 1991-1995

Click here for research interest and publications

Biography

Professor Adrian Kuah FRSA is a distinguished leader in the fields of strategy and sustainability. He sits on the Editorial Review Board of the US Thunderbird International Business Review and founded the Circular Economy and Sustainability program at JCU’s Cairns Institute in 2017. With 30 years dedicated to environmental sustainability, his career spans several continents, marked by notable achievements such as conceptualizing and implementing the $9 billion Deep Tunnel Sewerage System in Singapore and conducting competitiveness and service measurement research for the UK government. Throughout his tenure, he has held faculty positions at esteemed universities including Manchester, Bradford, Huddersfield, Nottingham Trent and at James Cook University where he is JCU's inaugural Professor of Strategy and Sustainability.

Beyond academia, Professor Kuah's influence extends to policy-making and standardization efforts to promote sustainable world trade. He has been a member of the National Committee for Circularity of Materials and headed its Delegation to several International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee 323 meetings in Rwanda and Brazil, In 2024, he was appointed ISO International Expert to advise circular economy transition in 13 developing countries in ISO Region 5 through its Action Plan for Developing Countries 2021-2025. His scholarly impact on the circular economy is also profound, evidenced by his authorship of nearly 100 papers and winning research grants totaling more than AUD 1 million from prestigious institutions such as EPSRC, ESRC, Fonds Pacifique, Enterprise Singapore, DFAT and DETINI. His ongoing research earned him recognition as one of the top 2.5% circular economy researchers globally by ScholarGPS.

At James Cook University, he leads the design and teaching of LB5113 Corporate Strategy while supervising several PhD, MBA, and BBus students in their research projects. He is passionate about enhancing student experience through his mentorship, teaching, and further preparing students to work in international bodies such as the ASEAN Secretariat. Professor Kuah is the HDR Advisor Mentor at JCU with several areas of expertise. He supervises 7 doctoral candidates at JCU over the past few years, where two of them have commenced their careers at leading universities. Prospective PhDs and post-docs are welcome to apply. For more information, you may contact him at adrian.kuah@jcu.edu.au

Research Interests

• Circular Economy comprising inter alia, remanufacturing, recycling, recovery, servitization, sharing economy and design for longevity
• Sustainability Grand Challenges including, inter alia, decarbonization, climate change transition and sustainable livelihoods