CONNECTING the global community
Directors’ Club. This has the stated aim of building a community dedicated to empowering MBA directors to excel at managing their programmes, delivering meaningful value to the MBA community and enhancing professional growth. Here, Ambition editor Colette Doyle speaks to four members to find out how they are handling the formidable task of shaping the next generation of business leaders.
The MBA director’s role is uniquely challenging, requiring them to navigate the intricate demands of academic governance and global market competition, as well as the ever-evolving needs of students and industry partners, while ensuring the programme remains both financially viable and educationally transformative. To enable directors to fulfil the requirements of this taxing role to the best of their ability, last year AMBA set up the MBA
Looking at the global landscape of business education, what is a ‘best practice’ or new approach you’ve seen another institution adopt that has particularly impressed you? “One practice that stands out is the shift by some leading schools towards portfolio-based learning and assessment, where students graduate with a demonstrable body of work rather than just grades.” In the next decade, where do you see the MBA qualification heading? “Over the next decade, I see the MBA evolving from a degree that primarily signals competence to one that builds judgment. As AI commoditises technical knowledge, the differentiators will be ethical reasoning, systems thinking, emotional intelligence and the ability to lead in uncertain environments. The MBA will become more modular, more lifelong and more integrated with work, but its core value will lie in shaping responsible stewards of organisations and society.” Beyond managing the programme, what is the most critical function of an MBA director? “The most critical role of an MBA director is to act as a custodian of purpose and standards. This means holding the line on academic rigour, ethical clarity and student development – even when market pressures push toward shortcuts.”
on reflective leadership, ethical reasoning and experiential learning.” How are you innovating your curriculum to ensure it remains relevant in a rapidly changing world? “Our approach has been integration rather than proliferation. Instead of treating generative AI or sustainability as standalone add-ons, we are embedding them across the curriculum. For instance, AI is positioned as a decision-augmentation and governance challenge, cutting across analytics, HR, marketing and operations. “Pedagogically, we are moving towards studio-based learning, live industry problem- solving and interdisciplinary electives, so students learn to operate at the intersection of technology, society and markets.”
NAGA VENKATESH DEVAGUPTAPU Institution: Goa Institute of Management (GIM), India What is the most unexpected challenge you’ve had to navigate in your role as an MBA director? “One of the most defining challenges in recent years was navigating the post‑pandemic recalibration of management education. The real crisis was not operational continuity, but restoring meaning, engagement and trust among students, faculty and recruiters. “This forced us to confront questions such as what is the MBA preparing students for and what kind of leaders does society need next? The key lesson was that resilience in business education does not come from speed alone, but from clarity of purpose. We doubled down
How have the expectations of MBA students evolved?
“Today’s MBA students are more impatient with abstraction, more values-driven and more anxious about career volatility. While earlier cohorts prioritised linear career acceleration, today’s students seek optionality, meaning and adaptability. “We have responded by strengthening career sense-making, not just placement preparation. This includes deeper mentoring, exposure to non-traditional career paths and an emphasis on identity, ethics and leadership under ambiguity.”
24 Ambition • ISSUE 1 • 2026
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