2014 news lloydsceovisitcjbs

António Horta-Osório, Lloyds Banking Group: In defence of business schools

13 February 2014

The article at a glance

The Chief Executive of Lloyds Banking Group rejects criticism that business schools produced people who were too focused on technical aspects of …

Mr Horta-Osório with Professor Christoph Loch and Dr Simon Learmount
Mr Horta-Osório with Professor Christoph Loch and Dr Simon Learmount

The Chief Executive of Lloyds Banking Group rejects criticism that business schools produced people who were too focused on technical aspects of finance and who all thought in the same way.

The accusations were made in the wake of the financial disaster which forced many banks to rely on the taxpayer to keep them afloat.

In an interview for the Cambridge Judge Business School website, António Horta-Osório said he believed strongly that there should be a clear differentiation between technical and management careers. He does not consider himself to be a banker, rather a manager specialising in the banking sector.

[soundcloud id=’134573548′]

I believe that business schools have a huge role in fostering people’s development in terms of leadership, in terms of seeing the bigger picture, in terms of strategy – which people do not learn in their roles in their companies.

I’m a strong believer that you should differentiate between the technical career and the management career, and in banks and other companies the role of the business school is absolutely crucial.

Mr Horta-Osório delivered a Leadership Series Lecture to past and present Executive MBA students giving insight into the strategy the Lloyds Group is pursuing to recover from the financial crisis.