OPINION
Riding the waves OF UNCERTAINTY
EDITORIAL Editor and Director of Marketing and Communications David Woods-Hale d.woods@associationofmbas.com @davidpaulwoods Art Editor Laura Tallon Content Editor Tim Banerjee Dhoul t.dhoul@associationofmbas.com Insight and Communications Executive Ellen Buchan e.buchan@associationofmbas.com CORPORATE Head of Commercial Relations Max Braithwaite m.braithwaite@associationofmbas.com Commercial Partnerships Manager Emily Wall e.wall@associationofmbas.com
‘Problem solvers, agents of change, and lifelong learners’
I n May, leading thinkers and practitioners from across the higher education and business arenas joined AMBA & BGA at its first ever virtual Global Conference to tackle the issues most prevalent to Business School strategy. I’m pleased to bring you some highlights from the conference programme in this month’s edition of Ambition . While speakers and panellists presented on a wealth of topics, from sustainability and diversity to student recruitment and employment – as well as igniting innovation in terms of lifelong learning –the common thread connecting all the sessions was that Covid-19 has taught us that we cannot predict the future. As a global community, we’re entering an era of sea changes; we will have to ride the waves and embrace the uncertainty. However, despite this unpredictability, there are some trends that are set to impact all aspects of life radically in the short term. Amy Brachio, EY Global Business Consulting Leader (featured on page 23), described a sense of optimism and opportunity. She addressed MBA cohorts directly, urging them to be ‘problem solvers’, ‘agents of change’ and ‘lifelong learners’. These points were echoed by Ignacio de la Vega, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, Faculty and Internationalization at Tecnológico de Monterrey, and Andrew Burke, Dean of Trinity College Business School, both of whom proposed that Business Schools have a role in reshaping market forces to put ethics at the heart of competition and innovation, teaching, researching and practising ethical leadership. They argued that business educators must have a purpose, in order to make an impact on societies and communities through technology, science and research, while keeping up to speed with trends, to build the leaders of the future. The challenge now is to keep this thirst for further change at the forefront of students’ minds and to infuse
Conference Producer Paul Thurston
Events Manager Abigail Burke
Marketing and Communications Executive Edward Holmes
Marketing Executive Edward Jacques Membership Manager Tariro Masukume
it into the DNA of Business Schools. David Woods-Hale , Editor, Ambition
Head of IT and Data Management Jack Villanueva HR and Employer Relations Manager Aarti Bhasin Finance and Commercial Director Catherine Walker
THE AMBITION PODCAST
joined us to help demystify the future. He took us though some of his predictions, as well as giving us some insights from his new book Future Tech. This episode is a must-listen for those who want to be prepared for the changing nature of work. The podcast is available on Amazon Music, Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Google Podcasts, and Deezer. Just choose the platform you prefer, subscribe to the podcast, and never miss an episode. www.associationofmbas.com/podcast
Coming up with an organisational strategy in an economic climate characterised by disruption is challenging enough. But how can organisations ensure it is disseminated to all business areas? Costas Markides, a professor from London Business School, has written a book on just this: Organizing for the New Normal . Costas took part in our podcast to provide advice on ensuring people not only know your strategy, but actively work towards it, while creating a constant sense of urgency. Additionally, self-confessed ‘Jack of all trades’, author, entrepreneur and futurist Trond Undheim
Chief Executive Officer Andrew Main Wilson
Executive Assistant to the CEO Amy Youngs a.youngs@associationofmbas.com ACCREDITATION ENQUIRIES accreditation@associationofmbas.com
Copyright 2021 by Association of MBAs and Business Graduates Association ISSN 2631-6382 All rights reserved. Material may not be reproduced without the permission of the publisher. While we take care to ensure that editorial is independent, accurate, objective and relevant for our readers, AMBA accepts no responsibility for reader dissatisfaction rising from the content of this publication. The opinions expressed and advice given are the views of individual commentators and do not necessarily represent the views of AMBA. Whenever an article in this publication is placed with the financial support of an advertiser, partner or sponsor, it will be marked as such. AMBA makes every opportunity to credit photographers but we cannot guarantee every published use of an image will have the contributor’s name. If you believe we have omitted a credit for your image, please email the editor.
Ambiti n
6 |
Ambition | BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online