Hamzah Ansari is a Lecturer in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Brown University’s School of Engineering and Director of PRIME@Work, a career development and corporate engagement initiative within the Master’s in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship (PRIME).
Hamzah has devoted his career to building, supporting, and guiding ventures with the potential to create meaningful impact. His teaching and advising span undergraduate and graduate courses, as well as applied commercialization and venture development projects. In 2023, he served as Director of Breakthrough Lab (B-Lab), Brown’s flagship startup accelerator. During his tenure, he worked closely with 14 early-stage ventures focused on solving big problems and scaling their impact. Hamzah’s work, both in and beyond the classroom, explores how new ideas evolve into impactful ventures through the support of collaborative ecosystems.
In addition to his work at 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 advisory services to 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.
