Scott Hessell

Scott currently serves as Strategic Partnerships and Innovation Officer for the W.A. Franke Honors College at the University of Arizona. This role has two primary objectives. First, he is leading efforts in establishing and managing strategic partnerships with industry, government and non-profits to support key academic programs within the college. Second, he is overseeing the development and implementation of a college-wide innovation ecosystem that includes a diverse set of co-curricular, student-facing programming and industry engagements.

Scott brings a highly diverse professional background to this new role that includes senior positions within industry and higher education. Scott was the Director of the Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing (TJLC) and Terry J. Lundgren Eminent Scholar for over eight years. TJLC serves as an important bridge between the university’s academic program in retailing and consumer science, students interested in roles in this dynamic industry and leaders of the retailing and brand industry. He also served as an Associate Professor of Practice within the academic program teaching courses such as retail business analysis, supply chain management, and retail innovation and entrepreneurship.

Prior to starting a career in higher education, Scott served in a variety of roles in industry. He was the Chief Operating Officer of an innovative medical device designer and manufacturer and consulted with a wide variety of companies on business development, marketing and operations from Fortune 100 companies to pre-market startup companies. He has also been a co-founder or early-stage principal in five startup companies in the biotechnology/medical device and educational technology industries.

He has his Master of Business Administration from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and Master of Arts in International Relations from the University of Kent in Canterbury, England. He also received the Cours de Civilisation Française from the University of Paris – Sorbonne.