Rory Ridley-Duff

Rory is an educator, writer and composer.

Born in Sussex, England in 1962, Rory graduated from London University in 1986 with a music degree. His postgraduate studies culminated in a PhD from Sheffield Hallam University where he completed research on intimate relationships and democratic governance. He lives in Yorkshire with his wife, Caroline, and his two children, Natasha and Bethany.

Rory developed his early career throughout the 1990s in London, firstly as Data Centre Manager at Procter & Gamble HABC, then as a software developer and worker-director of Computercraft Ltd. He moved to Yorkshire in 1998, and in 2001 became MD of First Contact Software Ltd where he won a DTI Smart Award for contributions to innovation in database design. In 2002, he won a Hallam PhD Studentship that enabled him to establish a new career as a university lecturer/researcher focussing on governance in cooperatives and social enterprises. He is now Reader (Associate Professor) in Cooperative and Social Enterprise at Sheffield Hallam University and Chair of the PRME Group in Sheffield Business School.

Professional Interests

Since 2009, he has been recognised by Marquis's Who's Who in the World in 2009 for his contributions to music and knowledge. He became an UnLtd/HEFCE Ambassador for Social Enterpreneurship in Higher Education in 2010, and also member of the editorial board of the Social Enterprise Journal. His active research interests cover Governance, Gender Relations, Cooperatives and Social Enterprise. In 2010, he established the MSc Social Enterprise and Business Democracy at Sheffield Business School and is now working to replace this with a new MBA Co-operative Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship course in partnership with the Co-operative College (Manchester. England) and Sobey School of Management (Halifax, Canada).

His writing on gender issues is reflected in the book Emotion, Seduction and Intimacy. In November 2010, he published the third edition with Libertary Editions (based in Seattle, USA). Libertary also published Rory's first novel, Friends or Lovers, written to explore aspects of his PhD study that were difficult to discuss openly in a university setting.

His writings on workplace democracy have also developed in recent years. His second novel, 'The Dragons' Apprentice: a social enterprise novel', was published with the FairShares Association in 2014. This was followed by a non-fiction work 'The Case for FairShares' in 2015, launched at the 2nd FairShares Conference, held at Sheffield Business School.