Dr Christos Pitelis, outgoing Director of Cambridge Judge Business School’s Centre for Business and International Management (CIBAM), believes the School has made ‘extraordinary progress’ since it was founded.
Reader in International Business & Competitiveness, Dr Pitelis was the first non-engineering appointment at the then Judge Institute of Management Studies (JIMS).
“it was a bit of a shock because Engineering was number one in the world and JIMS was a start-up.
“This start-up has made extraordinary progress. We are now a top established school; one of the leading schools. In many respects I think that the MBA rankings underestimate the contribution and the vibrant, extraordinary environment of Cambridge.”
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Dr Pitelis feels that the rankings do not recognise the unique environment of the University of Cambridge, with its collegiate system and the cluster of successful hi-tech companies surrounding it.
“There are always more things to be done. One that is a bit of a challenge in Cambridge and places like it is to convince people that a business school is a place with a unique ability to create and capture value that can then be served around the University as a whole and thereby may deserve special treatment.”
Of CIBAM, Dr Pitelis says the selection of topics discussed at symposia and conferences over the years can be attributed to the Global Advisory Board comprising leaders from the business community and policy-makers.
“The topics have been selected by the business people because business people are on the ground. They have an incredible capability to actually identify the topics of the future.”
CIBAM, he adds in an interview for Cambridge Judge Business School’s website, discussed the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) economic success long before the acronym was invented. Globalisation and recession was suggested and debated as the global financial crisis manifested itself.
Dr Pitelis is leaving to take up a new position as Professor of Sustainable Global Business at the School of Management, University of Bath.