Dr Danny Buckley

Profile

Dr Danny Buckley is Director of Studies for Executive and Professional Education at Loughborough Business School. He leads the school's post-experience portfolio of MBA, degree apprenticeship, professional and executive education programmes, and is responsible for its direction and growth, including long-term partnerships with employers. 

Danny came to higher education in 2016 after more than twenty years in sales, marketing and commercial leadership in the automotive, fashion and sports sectors, including running his own businesses. That background informs how he shapes the portfolio, with a focus on programmes that make a practical difference to how people lead at work. He is a Chartered Manager and a Senior Fellow of Advance HE, reflecting his standing in both management practice and higher education teaching.

Before joining Loughborough in December 2024, he held senior academic positions at Leicester Castle Business School, where he led the school's apprenticeship and executive education portfolio, including government-funded programmes such as Help to Grow: Management. He was also the school's strategic lead for engagement and societal impact, building partnerships with local councils, chambers of commerce and community organisations that widened access to management education for small businesses.

Danny holds a PhD in Organisational Behaviour, and his research focuses on small businesses and entrepreneurship, particularly cash-in-hand businesses operating in the informal economy, alongside work-based learning and reflexivity. This work is published in leading academic journals and contributes to policy debate, including through written evidence that the House of Commons Business and Trade Committee published as part of its small business strategy inquiry. 

His work has been featured in The Guardian, and he regularly writes for The Conversation. He is an invited speaker at national and international events and contributes practitioner articles on leadership and work-based practice, including for the Chartered Association of Business Schools. He has also contributed to UNITAR's international Academic Leadership Framework White Paper.

Danny welcomes conversations with employers about leadership and management development, and with media on small businesses and the informal economy.

External activities

Editorial and review

• Associate Editor – International Journal of Organizational Analysis (2022–2024)
• Peer Reviewer – Work, Employment and Society, Entrepreneurship & Regional Development;
• International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research

External examining

• External Examiner – Leeds Trinity University
• External Examiner – University of the Highlands and Islands, 

Policy and public engagement

• Written evidence – House of Commons Business and Trade Committee, small business strategy inquiry (2025)
• Contributor – UNITAR Academic Leadership Framework White Paper (2026)
• Invited Speaker and Practitioner Contributor – Chartered Association of Business Schools

Professional recognition

• Chartered Manager (CMgr) – Chartered Management Institute
• Senior Fellow of Advance HE (SFHEA)

Key publications

• Buckley D, Vershinina N and Cook J (2026) The reflexivity paradox in work placements: How institutional pressures shape agency and decision-making among business students. Management Learning. Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print.
• Buckley D, Vershinina N, Thompson E (2026), "From opportunity to entrapment: path dependency of informal enterprise". International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print.
• Buckley, D., Vershinina, N. and Rodgers, P. (2025) ‘Exploring informal work: gaining legitimation through nudging’, Work, Employment and Society, 39(2), pp. 267–289.
• Buckley, D and Vershinina, N. (2026) ‘How cash‑in‑hand businesses can get stuck in the informal economy’, The Conversation.
• Buckley, D and Vershinina, N. (2026) ‘The UK’s small businesses should be fuelling the country’s growth ambitions. Here’s why that’s not happening’, The Conversation.
• Buckley, D. (2025) ‘The UK’s latest compromise on workers’ rights will not fix its labour market problems’, The Conversation.
• Buckley, D., Vershinina, N. and Rodgers, P. (2025) ‘The UK’s small businesses should be fuelling the country’s growth ambitions. Here’s why that’s not happening’, The Conversation.
• Buckley, D., Vershinina, N. and Rodgers, P. (2025) ‘“I was left with nothing”: why apprentices are being pushed into the informal economy’, The Conversation.