Associate Professor Benjamin Dehe

Deputy Head, Department of Management, Technology and Organisation

Associate Professor Benjamin Dehe joined AUT with a brief most academics don't get: design and launch a new programme from scratch. Originally from France and with more than 15 years of UK academia behind him, he made the move to Auckland deliberately – and found that here the distance between an idea and an industry partnership can be remarkably short.

What’s your role and how long have you been at AUT?

I’m an associate professor in supply chain management in the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law at AUT. I also currently serve as deputy head of the Department of Management, Technology and Organisation, one of the faculty's largest departments, spanning information systems, analytics, supply chain management, human resource and employment relations, management and sustainability.

I joined AUT in September 2021, before that, I was working in the UK at Manchester Metropolitan University, where I held different academic roles in operations and supply chain management. Making the move to Aotearoa New Zealand, and to AUT, was one of the most important decisions I've made in my career.

What made you choose AUT – and what made you stay?

My first interactions with AUT happened in Decembre 2019, during the COVID pandemic, when I started exploring the possibility of relocating from the UK to New Zealand, I’m French originally and lived in the UK for over 15 years at that time. Even through the constraints of remote conversations, I was struck by how welcoming and collegial people were in the AUT Business School. There was a friendliness and openness that came through immediately – it felt like a place where people looked out for each other and wanted you to succeed.

Professionally, AUT presented an exciting opportunity. I was invited to design and launch the Master of Supply Chain Management, a brand-new programme built from the ground up, and to lead the team delivering it. This kind of opportunity, where I could shape something meaningful and see it through from design to delivery, felt exciting. I could see enormous potential in it.

On a personal level, my family and I were keen to experience a different life outside of Europe, and New Zealand was our first choice. The lifestyle, the environment and the values of the country aligned with what we were looking for.

What has made me stay is that those early impressions have held true. The collegiality I felt at the outset is sincere. AUT provides the space and support to pursue ambitious ideas, and the people around you want to see those ideas come to life.

What has surprised you most about working here?

What surprised me most was how contained and efficient the professional ecosystem is here. New Zealand is a small country, and it can be leveraged. In Auckland especially, there is a capacity to bring people together across industry and academia in ways that could take longer in larger, more fragmented markets.

Within a very short period of time of settling in, I had connected with dozens of supply chain professionals and senior executives. Those relationships quickly translated into real opportunities for our students, taking the form of applied industry projects, guest speakers, company visits and meaningful networking opportunities. People here are open to collaboration, and the distance between having an idea and making it happen can be short. It's one of the things that makes our teaching and programme at AUT particularly rewarding, we could offer students something that feels real, practical and current.

When did you last think: this is why I do this job?

Honestly, it happens regularly, and it's almost always in the classroom. There's a moment, like for every lecturer, where I recognise that the ‘lightbulb go on’ in a student's mind. A concept lands, a connection forms and suddenly the discussion lifts to a different level. Students start challenging ideas, bringing in their own experience, pushing each other's thinking. Those moments remind me why I chose this career.

Through my work I continue to realise the importance of higher education. Inside and outside the classroom, we’re not just transferring knowledge, we're shaping how the next generation of professionals think, how they approach problems and how they make decisions. I hope this impact stays with them long after they graduate. They carry it into organisations, into leadership roles and into communities. Higher education matters profoundly at the individual level, but its ripple effect on society is what gives this work real meaning. That's why I do this job, for those moments where I can see, in real time, that what I’m doing matters.

What does working here let you do that you couldn’t do anywhere else?

As a researcher, I value the flexibility AUT gives me to pursue work driven by my curiosity, interests and real-world opportunity. It's what allows me to stay responsive to emerging challenges and technologies and follow ideas where they lead.

What I particularly enjoy is the ability to collaborate across boundaries, with fellow academics, but equally with industry practitioners. AUT actively encourages that kind of engagement, and the New Zealand ecosystem makes it achievable. I'm currently exploring a collaborative research partnership with a startup, and we're working towards a joint funding application with the potential for commercialisation. This journey, from academic insight to applied innovation to real-world impact, is exactly the kind of work I find rewarding, and AUT provides the environment and support to make it possible.