Dr Ryan Handley

Dr Ryan Handley is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) and Deputy Head of the Marketing, Management and Business Strategy Subject Group at the University of Hull Business School. He is a Chartered Manager and Member of the Chartered Management Institute (CMgr MCMI) and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). Prior to entering academia, Dr Handley held a number of senior managerial roles in industry, where he developed extensive experience in leadership, organisational performance and people management. Following this successful professional career, he completed a fully funded PhD at the University of Huddersfield, examining the life satisfaction and subjective wellbeing of older adults using advanced quantitative methods.

Dr Handley teaches across both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, with particular expertise in the design, delivery and leadership of modules in Organisational Behaviour, Human Resource Management and Business Management. His teaching is characterised by a strong emphasis on applied learning, inclusive practice and student engagement, and he is widely recognised for his teaching excellence, consistently receiving outstanding feedback from students across all levels of study.

His research interests lie at the intersection of work, wellbeing and talent management, with a particular focus on ageing workforces, multigenerational teams and the strategic management of older talent, especially within SMEs and regional labour markets. Alongside this, he is actively engaged in pedagogic research in business and management education, exploring inclusive teaching approaches, student voice and personalised interventions designed to support diverse student transitions and enhance academic success. His research has been disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, book chapters and presentations at national and international conferences, and is supported through collaborative projects addressing themes such as workforce diversity, regional skills development and the future of work.