Professor Tom Cannon has been described as one of the country’s most influential speakers on entrepreneurship and innovation
14:50, 02 Feb 2026Updated 18:04, 02 Feb 2026
Professor Tom Cannon has died at the age of 79
Tributes have been paid to one of Britain’s most influential thinkers on entrepreneurship and innovation and a well known football finance expert who grew up in Kirkby and whose career took him to the highest levels of government and beyond.
The family of Professor Tom Cannon confirmed that he sadly died last week at the age of 79. The Kirkby-raised academic and lifelong Everton fan became a major figure in the world of academia, government, industry and the media, where he offered analysis on the finances of the game.
While his work took him across the UK and around the world, colleagues and friends say he never lost sight of the city that shaped him, returning to Liverpool in the final chapter of his working life to help strengthen its role as a centre of learning, enterprise and opportunity.
In a moving tribute, Maggie O’Carroll, co-founder and CEO of The Women’s Organisation, spoke about Professor Cannon’s life and how wherever he went, his Merseyside roots were always with him.
Born in Liverpool in 1945, Professor Cannon grew up in Kirkby at a time when, as Maggie puts it, “the town reflected both the promise and pressures of post-war Britain.”
She added: “Those early experiences left a lasting imprint on his thinking. Friends and colleagues often noted that, no matter how international his work became, he remained grounded in the realities of working lives, community and fairness.”
Educated at St Francis Xavier’s College, he went on to study at South Bank University before beginning his career in the private sector as a brand manager with John Player & Sons.
Maggie added: “That experience shaped his approach as an academic, giving him a strong belief that ideas about business and management had to work in practice, not just on paper.”
After moving into higher education in the 1970s, Professor Cannon built a distinguished academic career. He held posts at Warwick, Middlesex and Durham universities before becoming founding dean of the business school at the University of Stirling.
Professor Tom Cannon
There, he helped establish one of the UK’s most dynamic centres for enterprise education and co-founded the Scottish Entrepreneurial Foundation, influencing how entrepreneurship was taught and supported across Scotland.
He later served as director of Manchester Business School and went on to work at the highest levels of government, leading the Management Charter Initiative and the Management and Enterprise National Training Organisation. These roles placed him at the heart of national debates about leadership, productivity and skills, and earned him a reputation as an academic trusted by policymakers, civil servants and business leaders alike.
In 2008, Professor Cannon returned to his home city to join the University of Liverpool Management School as professor of strategic development. Liverpool proved to be his final academic home.
There he combined teaching, research and public engagement, later becoming professor emeritus, and helped shape the school’s applied focus on entrepreneurship, innovation, sport and public policy.
One of his most visible and lasting legacies at the University of Liverpool was in sport and racing education. Professor Cannon played a central role in developing pioneering MBA programmes focused on football, sport management and the thoroughbred horseracing industry.
These programmes were among the first of their kind in the UK and reflected his belief that sport was not only a cultural passion but a serious economic sector capable of sustaining jobs, skills and regional identity when managed well.
Maggie added: “He was equally committed to women’s economic empowerment. Professor Cannon was an early champion of women’s entrepreneurship and co-authored one of the first major UK studies of female business owners.
“In Liverpool, that commitment took practical form through his involvement in shaping the business case for the creation of the first international centre for women’s economic development, based at 54 St James Street in the Baltic Triangle, now home to The Women’s Organisation.
“At a time when women-led enterprise was often overlooked, Professor Cannon helped articulate why investing in women’s economic participation was essential not just for social justice but for the economic future of cities like Liverpool. That work helped give the organisation both a strong local foundation and an international outlook.”
Beyond academia, Professor Cannon was a familiar voice in the media, contributing to radio and television and writing for national newspapers.
Through his consultancy and advisory work, he supported cities and governments across Europe, Asia, Australia and North America, developing the influential idea of “cities of ideas” places where culture, knowledge, talent and entrepreneurship combine to drive sustainable growth.
Maggie added: “Despite his global reputation, he remained proudly local. A lifelong Everton supporter, he wore his allegiance with humour and loyalty, and those who worked with him recall a man who combined intellectual rigour with warmth, generosity and a deep concern for opportunity and fairness.”
He married his wife Fran in 1971, and family life remained central throughout his career. He is survived by Fran, their children Rowan and Robin, and his six grandchildren.
Concluding her moving tribute, Maggie added: “For Liverpool, Professor Tom Cannon leaves more than titles or publications. He leaves strengthened institutions, expanded opportunities, and a powerful reminder that world-class ideas can grow from local roots and return home to make a difference.”