Entrepreneur Phillip Di Bella, founder of Di Bella Coffee, has been named an Adjunct Professor of Griffith Business School.
The former commerce graduate will share the secrets of his success with postgraduate and undergraduate students teaching entrepreneurship at the school. The appointment will ensure that the course will have an experienced entrepreneur on hand to impart ‘real world’ wisdom.
“The question has always been are entrepreneurs born or can it be taught—the answer is both,” said Di Bella. “It’s about bridging and connecting students to workplaces by offering practical and tangible skills to the students.”
Di Bella says the Gen Y staff at his business has prepared him for the role. “The good thing is they keep up with the fast pace of change, but they also ask a lot of questions,” he said.
Vice Chancellor Professor Ian O’Connor said the school valued adjuncts for their industry input. “We’re deeply committed to being engaged with industry and the commercial space and adjuncts from industry make this possible,” he said.
Di Bella started Di Bella Coffee in 2002 with $5,000 and now employs 140 staff. The company went global this year, recently expanding into China and India.
