What kind of skills do you think are necessary nowadays in order for MBA graduates to become effective and productive leaders? “MBA graduates need to be skilled at managing dilemmas in a post-complexity world that is characterised by deep uncertainty and elevated self-interest. This means that they will have to be as skilled at navigating ethical dilemmas as they are at analysis and synthesis. “Our alumni need to manage multiple time horizons – the now and the next. The now is often high velocity and chaotic; the next is always unclear. How they navigate this is something they should be able to look back at with pride – this is where the ethical dimension of management and leadership will be critical.”
home and organisational contexts and these impact how they show up in the classroom. “Moreover, providers of management education are under-resourced compared with their peers in the Global North. This is further exacerbated by overseas students preferring to pursue their international exposure in the Global North, due to their socio-economic advantages. All these challenges are real and, at times, debilitating. “However, operating in the Global South has its advantages because our contexts expose students to a wide variety of managerial challenges with varying degrees of complexity. In short, and in my view, the advantages of the variety and complexity of managerial challenges far exceed the obvious liabilities of operating in the Global South.”
We hear so much nowadays about diversity and inclusion, as well as the concept of ‘belonging’; how can schools best train the next generation of managers and entrepreneurs to implement DE&I practices in a responsible manner? “GIBS has three strategic imperatives aimed at amplifying the best of Africa to the world. The one relevant to diversity and inclusion involves nurturing our students to become humane-centred leaders. Given our history in South Africa, this is achieved through ensuring that DE&I is embedded in both the informal and formal curricula of our MBA. “Informally, diversity
What has becoming AMBA-accredited meant to your school? “International accreditation is a mark of quality for our institution. We are especially proud of our AMBA accreditation because it was the first such validation afforded to our school’s flagship qualification. Prior to that, GIBS was only known in its immediate vicinity. “Naturally, since the initial accreditation in 2007, GIBS has been of interest to students and employers across our region and, latterly, at a global level. This means we have been able to attract students from throughout our country and beyond from the
GIBS has attained the highest levels of global accreditation and attracts students on both a national and international level
and inclusion as a topic is operationalised through our norms, values and socialisation mechanisms. Formally, it is mainly embedded in core MBA courses such as Business in Society, Organisational Behaviour and Strategy. We induct our students into this approach at the start of their MBA journey, enabling us to embed responsible management education approaches throughout their stay at GIBS. “Our active engagement in the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) and the Responsible Research in Business Management (RRBM) communities also contributes to our formal curriculum. Our approach to teaching DE&I practices is grounded in respect, humility and willingness to be vulnerable.”
leading companies with interests in Africa. Consequently, the GIBS MBA is one of the most sought‑after in the whole of the region.” The management education sector is truly international, but what do you feel are the challenges specifically affecting Africa and the Global South? “On the one hand, I could regale you about the difficulties in balancing the interests of both local and international students. For example, in local markets the need for higher management education outstrips the supply. Also, the cost of such education is prohibitive for most students in the Global South. Many of the students operate in complex
14 Ambition • ISSUE 1 • 2025
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