First Singapore visit by Dean launches leadership programme

The Singapore events included the Dean’s launch of a new flagship Cambridge and National University of Singapore (NUS) Global Leadership Programme: Navigating Future Trends, which is jointly offered by Cambridge Judge and NUS.

The Singapore visit, Gishan’s first official trip there as Dean, was aligned with the Singapore Grand Prix, ahead of a 12 November panel discussion at Cambridge Judge that will focus on high performance and featuring the participation of James Vowles, Principal of the Williams Formula 1 racing team who is an honorary Ambassador for Cambridge Judge Business School.

“The events in Singapore reflected many of the core values and aims of Cambridge Judge – including global impact, engaging with our alumni network around the world, and partnerships with leading universities and businesses to train leaders in navigating the world’s many challenges in a way that best serves society,” said Gishan, who became permanent Dean of Cambridge Judge in December 2024 following a time as Interim Dean. “It was fantastic to meet with so many Business School alumni who live and work in Singapore and other parts of Asia, and whose participation underlines a keen commitment to support the Business School and its values for which we are very grateful.”

Showcase event reflects global reach of Cambridge Judge alumni

The Alumni Showcase event on 6 October was held at the 121-year-old Eden Hall, the official residence of the British High Commissioner to Singapore, H.E. Nik Mehta OBE, who welcomed guests to the magnificent building designed by the same architect, Regent Alfred John Bidwell, who designed Singapore’s fabled Raffles Hotel, where the Singapore Sling drink was invented.

The 100 people participating at the Alumni Showcase event included Cambridge Judge alumni working at many global companies and other organisations including Fujitsu, Visa, Google, Standard Chartered Bank, Aon, the World Bank and Procter & Gamble.

Other Cambridge Judge programmes represented among such alumni included the Master of Finance, PhD, Executive Master of Accounting, Master in Entrepreneurship, MPhil in Finance, Management Studies Tripos, MPhil in Management and MPhil in Technology Policy.

“The Eden Hall event reflected the deep expertise and global impact of Cambridge Judge alumni and programmes in Asia and beyond,” says Allison Wheeler-Heau, Director of Executive Education at the Business School, who was part of the Cambridge Judge delegation in Singapore. “The memorable evening was a terrific way to inaugurate the new leadership programme offered by Cambridge Judge and the National University of Singapore, which is an exciting and timely Executive Education leadership development programme for senior management.”

Following the reception, the Dean’s business leaders roundtable dinner focused on innovation and entrepreneurship. The guest of honour was Jim Glasheen, CEO of Cambridge Enterprise, which helps turn innovative ideas and promising startups at the University of Cambridge into successful companies.

Gishan also met with British Chamber of Commerce to deepen relations with the UK Business Community in Singapore, and held a question-and-answer event with alumni from the Oxford and Cambridge Society. In addition, Gishan visited the Cambridge Research Centre in Singapore and met with the Sovereign Wealth Fund’s Temasek Foundation to explore future collaboration areas.

Executive Education leadership programme focuses on management in uncertain times

The Cambridge and NUS Global Leadership Programme focuses on key trends in geopolitics, technology and sustainability, and aims to equip participants with tools to navigate complex and uncertain times in a way that creates lasting impact within their companies and other organisations.

The programme, delivered in a hybrid manner, is divided into 3 modules:

• Leading in a complex world, held in Singapore
• Translating global trends into strategic impact, held online
• Leading in a fragmented world: advanced strategies for global impact, held in Cambridge

The programme’s Academic Programme Directors are Stelios Kavadias, Margaret Thatcher Professor of Enterprise Studies in Innovation and Growth at Cambridge Judge, and Professor Johan Sulaeman of the National University of Singapore. Others teaching on the programme include Hwee Hua Lim, Rector of Tembusu College, National University of Singapore, a former member of Parliament and minister in the Singapore government, and Cambridge Judge faculty Kishore Sengupta, Professor of Operations Management, Christos Genakos, Professor of Economics, and David Stillwell, Professor of Computational Social Science.

Looking ahead to high-performance discussion at Cambridge Judge

The 12 November event at Cambridge Judge focusing on high performance includes, in addition to James Vowles of the Williams F1 team, the scheduled panel-discussion participation of Sir Ben Ainslie, the British sailor who won gold medals at 4 consecutive Olympic games.

“We very much look forward to the event at Cambridge Judge focusing on high performance,” says Gishan. “The emphasis on performance and collaboration in Formula 1 chimes with what we are focusing on at Cambridge Judge. Like F1 racing, excellent business education is based on research-driven innovation, international networks and responsible leadership.”