The team

Here, you will find information about all of the academics working within the Centre for Brexit Studies.

The Centre boasts staff from across the University, displaying the cross-sector impact Brexit will have on the UK, Europe, and the world.

Centre Director

Alex de Ruyter is a professor at Birmingham City University and serves as Director of its Centre for Brexit Studies. He brings a wealth of research experience and academic engagement in the areas of globalisation, regional economic development, labour market and social exclusion issues. He has published over 60 academic outputs in leading national and international economic journals and has been the recipient of research funding, including being an investigator in an ESRC funded study on the effects on subsequent employment experience of workers from MG Rover after plant closure in 2005.

Professor de Ruyter has undertaken numerous media interviews and is currently researching on the likely impact of Brexit on the UK automotive supply chain in addition to exploring working in the "gig economy". He is also a Board member of the Regional Studies Association.

Professor David Bailey

Visiting Professor

David Bailey is Professor of Business Economics at Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham. He has written extensively on industrial and regional policy, especially in relation to manufacturing and the auto industry. His recent research has been funded by a number of state and private organisations. He is now...
Gill Bentley

Visiting Senior Fellow

Gill Bentley, Visiting Senior Fellow is a former lecturer at the University of Birmingham, has published widely on economic development, policy and governance issues, at local, regional, national, and EU spatial scales. Having a particular interest in the automotive industry, she worked with Prof Alex de Ruyter and the team...
Ferry Biedermann

Visiting Fellow

Ferry Biedermann is a journalist and foreign correspondent interested in international relations and political trends, particularly concerning issues such as populism and migration. He has reported from Europe on a broad range of issues, from arts and culture to socio-economic issues and international politics. He has...
Professor Les Budd

Visiting Professor

Leslie Budd is Reader in Social Enterprise at the Open University Business School. He is an economist who has published extensively on urban and regional economies in relation to the European Union, digital social inclusion, and global financial markets.
Sir Vince Cable

Visiting Professor

Sir Vince Cable was named Leader of the Liberal Democrats in July 2017 after a career in politics spanning over 20 years. He read Natural Sciences and Economics at Cambridge University, where he was President of the Union, followed by a PhD at Glasgow University. In 1981 he joined the Social Democratic Party (now the...
John Clancy

Visiting Professor

John Clancy is the former Leader of Birmingham City Council (2015-2017), the largest local authority in Europe, based in the U.K.’s second biggest city. He oversaw an annual revenue budget of over £3 billion, and over £6 billion in assets. He has been a Labour councillor for Hodge Hill ward initially and then Quinton ward since...
Lucy Fellows

Events and Marketing Assistant

Lucy Fellows is currently undertaking an events and marketing part time role with the Centre for Brexit Studies. She is also a Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations student at Birmingham City University, graduating in 2023. Her role at the Centre consists of supporting the Communications team with a variety of jobs,...
Dr Arantza Gomez Arana

Visiting Fellow

Arantza enjoys engaging in academic discussions with undergraduate, postgraduate students and colleagues, through the development of critical thinking in Social Sciences.
Ian Henry

Visiting Professor

Ian Henry is the Owner and Managing Director of AutoAnalysis and Visiting Professor at the Centre for Brexit Studies.
Tom Leeson

Visiting Professor

Thomas (Tom) Leeson, MSc is Senior Industry Marketing Strategist for the Global Manufacturing sector at OpenText. Tom is an Engineer by trade, a Mathematician by education. He has over 40 years of experience working in the manufacturing sector. First within Aerospace, Automotive and Discrete Manufacturing companies...

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