School Executive to be the new Dragon in Den
James Caan, Entrepreneur in Residence at London Business School, to join BBC's Dragon's Den
James Caan entrepreneur-in-residence at London Business School has been appointed as the new dragon in the BBC’s Dragon’s Den programme.
Caan, who is also a member of the Enterprise 100 Group at London Business School, a group of nearly 100 active angel investors who meet quarterly at the school, performed his entrepreneur-in-residence role as mentor on the Developing Entrepreneurial Opportunities course at the school this year. The course, one of the only compulsory courses on an MBA looking at entrepreneurship, seeks to provide students with the skills, tools and mindsets to discover commercial possibilities and turn them into strong business opportunities.
Commenting on his signing to the Den, Caan said, “I’m thrilled to be invited into on eof the highly coveted ‘Dragon’ positions. In business I make a point of investing in people. I’m a great believer that it is people who create the success of a business through their passion and conviction.”
Caan has been creating, building and selling businesses for over 20 years. In 1985 he set up the Alexander Mann Group, one of the UK’s leading outsourcing companies, achieving a turnover of £130m before selling it to a private equity firm in 2002.
James is also founder and CEO of private equity firm Hamilton Bradshaw, through which he has invested millions in both start-ups and mature businesses in sectors ranging from retail and leisure to financial services and technology. Caan can be seen on the new series of Dragon’s Den airing this autumn. Perhaps someday, one of our London Business School students will be pitching to him in the Den.