FROM THE CEO
THE REWARDS OF AWARD RECOGNITION AMBA & BGA CEO Andrew Main Wilson considers how being shortlisted for an award can provide a boost to a business school’s stakeholders and help institutions stand out from their competitors in a climate of continuing geopolitical and economic uncertainty
A fter another year of strong growth for both AMBA and BGA, it felt appropriate that we were able to welcome a record number of guests (almost 300 in total) to this year’s Excellence Awards and gala dinner in London. We also received the highest-ever number of entries – some 217 – across our 11 award categories, with our judging panels commenting that the quality of submissions this year was notably superior to what they had seen before. On the night, guests arrived not only from Europe, but also from business schools as far away as Colombia, India, New Zealand and Thailand. The atmosphere was electric and once again showed the value of building deeper customer relationships face to face, compared with the time-efficient, but much less engaging option of online video conferencing. In another year of geopolitical, economic and military unrest around the world, organisations will have to work even harder to promote their brands’ qualities and points of difference, versus their competitors. Winning an award
requirements and timings of next year’s awards will be posted on our website and emailed to our networks in April. Since writing my column for the previous issue of Business Impact , AMBA & BGA was also able to host its first in-person Asia Pacific Deans & Directors Conference in four years. The event was held in Bangkok and I would like to thank Thailand’s two highest-profile business schools – Chulalongkorn and Thammasat – for their outstanding support and generous hospitality throughout the conference. The atmosphere was excellent, as was the interacting and networking that took place between the 100-plus delegates, both during the conference and at the two delightful dinners. Since we held our last Asia Pacific Deans & Directors Conference in 2019, BGA has grown from a handful of member schools to more than 250 and 40 of those have already achieved BGA accreditation. In total, more than 100 AMBA schools have now taken up membership of BGA and many of those have also embarked on the route to BGA accreditation. It is evident that BGA’s emphasis on continuous impact, responsible management and lifelong learning is striking a relevant chord with business schools all over the world.
outright, being highly commended, or even shortlisted, can send a positive message to all business school stakeholders, from staff and students to prospective MBAs and employers. A proactive marketing team and, in particular, an expert social media team, can spread this good news extremely effectively. I notice a huge difference between those business schools that promote an active, continuous stream of good news and those that do not. I would therefore encourage all of you to consider which categories your school, faculty, students or graduates might consider entering in our 2025 Excellence Awards. Full details of the entry “I notice a huge difference between business schools that promote an active stream of good news and those that do not”
42 Business Impact • ISSUE 1 • 2024
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