EDITOR’S LETTER
EDITORIAL
Content editor Tim Banerjee Dhoul t.dhoul@amba-bga.com Head of editorial Colette Doyle c.doyle@amba-bga.com
CAREFUL COLLABORATION A considered and intentional approach is the bedrock of effective partnerships and relationship-building both at home and overseas, as a series of insights in this issue demonstrates
Art editor Sam Price
Sub-editor Heather Ford
T he practice of partnerships is as old as business itself and there are numerous ways in which they can add value to a business school, when done right. A trio of features in this issue of Business Impact explores some of the benefits available and crucially, delves into the details of what’s required to ensure a collaboration’s enduring success. In our interview with Audencia dean Sébastien Tran, we learn about the benefits of the school’s series of “collaborative campuses”, formed from partnerships with local providers. Perhaps the most crucial ingredient is that these locations use a mix of operational models to suit the individual country context. Tran emphasises the importance of agility in its strategic approach here, arguing that it gives Audencia “the ability to modify and to change” in an uncertain geopolitical climate. Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Business dean Joep Konings, meanwhile, looks at the recipe for a successful collaboration between schools, in a case study of its relationship with the US-based Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Konings highlights the relationship’s “deliberate design around clarity, trust and adaptability, with both institutions agreeing on a defined objective and timeline from the outset.” He adds how “regular engagement and transparent dialogue allowed the partnership to grow stronger over time.”
Insight, content & PR manager Ellen Buchan e.buchan@amba-bga.com CORPORATE Membership director Victor Hedenberg v.hedenberg@amba-bga.com Head of membership Debbie Kemp d.kemp@amba-bga.com
We then take a look at things from a careers perspective to explore the importance of building and maintaining effective relationships with government stakeholders, given the centrality of geopolitics in today’s business world. In our article from ESSEC Business School, Srividya Jandhyala runs through the skills needed for an increasingly vital aspect of management, as she advocates for teaching corporate diplomacy at business school. “It is a strategic, financial and operational imperative,” she states. Elsewhere, the necessary ingredients for cross-cultural collaboration between East and West are revealed by LSE’s Catherine Hua Xiang, with a particular focus on China. Xiang’s guest column underlines the importance of “understanding how people in other cultures communicate” when seeking to establish lasting links. Rounding off the issue, AMBA & BGA membership director Victor Hedenberg implores schools to focus on the substance of partnerships, rather than to be lured into them purely for the sake of prestige. For Hedenberg, this entails engaging in a process of due diligence around potential partners and examining exactly how they will contribute to a school’s offerings and student experience.
BGA accreditation manager Richard Turner r.turner@amba-bga.com Senior marketing executive – digital lead Shareen Pennington s.pennington@amba-bga.com Membership administrator Georgia Herbert g.herbert@amba-bga.com Commercial relations director Max Braithwaite m.braithwaite@amba-bga.com
Head of marketing & communications Leonora Clement l.clement@amba-bga.com Finance & commercial director Catherine Walke r
Director of accreditation & director of BGA services Mark Stoddard
Tim Banerjee Dhoul Editor , Business Impact
Chief executive officer Andrew Main Wilson GENERAL ENQUIRIES bga-membership@amba-bga.com
Copyright 2025 by The Association of MBAs and Business Graduates Association . 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, BGA 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 BGA. Whenever an article in this publication is placed with the financial support of an advertiser, partner or sponsor, it will be marked as such. BGA 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.
Business Impact • ISSUE 5 • 2025 5
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