Hamzah Ansari is a Lecturer in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Brown University’s School of Engineering and the Director of PRIME@Work, a corporate engagement and career development initiative within the Master’s in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship (PRIME). A proud graduate of the PRIME program himself (Class of 2009), Hamzah brings to the classroom firsthand experience, institutional knowledge, and deep relationships with PRIME alumni around the world.
At Brown, Hamzah teaches ENGN2160: Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization II (Fall), ENGN2180: Globalization Immersion and Entrepreneurship Laboratory (Spring), and ENGN1010: The Entrepreneurial Process. ENGN2160 holds particular significance for Hamzah, as it was the class in which his first venture, Accelereach, a health and wellness coaching platform, was conceived while he was a PRIME student. He co-founded the company shortly after graduation with fellow PRIME alum Adam Emrich. Accelereach grew to serve thousands of users nationwide and became a springboard for Hamzah’s continued work in innovation and business-building. Shortly after, he was recognized by the Rhode Island Tech Collective as one of the top 10 IT entrepreneurs in the state.
Outside of Brown, Hamzah is the founder of Grosvenor Investments LLC, a Providence-based real estate investment and development firm, and Excelerate Advisory, which provides innovation consulting and commercialization strategy for medium- and large-sized corporations His professional experience directly informs his pedagogy, allowing him to anchor classroom learning in real-world examples of market validation, business model design, and strategic growth.
Active in the community, Hamzah serves as a Trustee (and former President) of the Brown Club of Rhode Island, the largest Brown alumni-affinity group globally. He also serves on the Board of Governors of the University Club of Providence, and on the Advisory Board of the Social Enterprise Greenhouse of RI, where he supports local ventures committed to social and environmental impact.
Hamzah earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Nottingham (BEng, Electronics and Communications Engineering, 2006), a Master’s from King’s College London (MA, Digital Culture and Technology, 2008), and a PRIME Master's from Brown University in 2009.
