Dr Richard Busulwa

Biography

Richard researches and teaches in the Business School at Swinburne University of Technology, home to the Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship (AGSE) and Australia's first fully immersed industry 4.0 facility (Factory of the Future). His teaching and research interests are in strategy, digital business, entrepreneurship and accounting. His most recent books are Strategy Execution and Complexity: Thriving in the Era of Disruption [Routledge] and Startup Accelerators: A Field Guide [Wiley].

He previously worked in the IT, Electronics and Telecommunications industries as a Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer; first within early stage, and then established medium sized firms. Earlier, he worked in middle management as a divisional manager within the healthcare sector at Flinders Medical Centre, Noarlunga Hospital and the Repatriation General Hospital. Prior to this he worked in a range of financial management, marketing management, operations management and sales leadership roles within the IT (Adelaide based distributor), telecommunications (SingTel Optus, Telstra) and hospitality (Hilton International) sectors. Before entering general management, he trained and worked as a systems accountant, business analyst, financial analyst and operations accountant. He is cofounder of DigitalKeys.Io, the world's first NB IoT smart locks platform. He is also a senior partner at Novus People, one of Australia's leading sales and service team management advisory firms. 

Richard's strategy research explores the effects of complexity and volatility on strategy execution, on the different types of strategy execution processes, and on the effectiveness of these processes at realising deliberate and emergent strategies in different settings. As an extension to this, he explores the role of alert strategic leadership in optimising the simultaneous pursuit of efficiency, differentiation, adaptability, and agility - which are essential to surviving and thriving in increasingly complex environments. In relation to this, he contributes to www.strategyandcomplexity.guide, a resource guide to strategy execution in complex settings.

His digital business research explores different digital technology advancements, how they drive disruption, and their implications for particular industries, business functions and professions. Extending this, he explores the role of strategic leaders in preparing future workforces to get on the front foot of disruption. Related to this, Richard’s accounting research explores digital transformation of the accounting profession. Specifically, he investigates how advancements in digital technologies are set to disrupt accounting services, processes, workflows and the very nature of the accounting value proposition. He unpacks the critical implications of such disruption for accounting education and for strategies to prepare the future accounting workforce for the era of disruption.   

Finally, Richard’s entrepreneurship research explores entrepreneurial learning, entrepreneurial well-being, the startup evolution process, and strategy for startups. In relation to this, he contributes to www.accelerators.guide, a resource guide to the new startup growth and corporate innovation institution.

Education
PhD (University of South Australia)
MBA (University of South Australia)
Master of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (University of Adelaide)
Bachelor of Information Systems (University of South Australia)
Bachelor of Accountancy (University of South Australia)

Professional Associations
The Executive Connection (TEC), Alumni, Key 113
The CEO Institute, Alumni, Southern Adelaide Chapter
Australian College of Health Service Management, Associate Fellow
Australian Institute of Management, Associate Fellow
Australian Computer Society, Member
Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and Newzealand, Member
Strategic Management Society, Member