July 4, 2024. Seoul – Frank Bournois, CEIBS Vice President and Dean, has been awarded the International Educator of the Year 2024 by the Academy of International Business (AIB), a leading global organisation of international business scholars and professionals, at the academy's annual international conference in Seoul today.

The award is conferred annually to recognise leaders in business education who have developed exceptional international business programs, recruited and supported international business faculty, and provided students with real-world connections through courses, internships, and international experience.

Speaking during the award ceremony, Prof. Bournois thanked the AIB community and the selection committee for honouring him with the award. He further reflected on the meaning and role of an educator in international business.

“When I hear the word 'educator’, I immediately think of two different Latin roots of the English word ’education’. One is educare, which means to train or to mold; the other is educere, meaning to lead out,” he said.

Drawing on his diverse international background and experience across France, the UK, and China, Prof. Bournois shared six categories of characteristics that he believes future international leaders must exhibit: Intellectual, Interpersonal, Adaptive, Executive, Digital, and Environmental.

“The idea of intellectual is to develop international managers with vision, and the so-called helicopter view; interpersonal is about team management, especially multicultural teams and the management of global and national networks; with adaptive, we have something very subtle about demonstrating political sense and the ability to execute a plan or a project without resistance to change; executive style then refers to achievements, energy and style with a preference for modesty; digital transformation, led by artificial intelligence, will very much be sought after; and environmental aptitudes allows one to focus on sustainable development while integrating the interests of all stakeholders,” Prof. Bournois explained.

Quoting Coco Chanel, who said that “Success is most often achieved by those who don't know that failure is inevitable”, Prof. Bournois then identified some key practices for deans to succeed in international business schools amidst global uncertainties, including monitoring future trends, operating with a differentiation strategy, ensuring diversity in faculty and students, connecting with international companies, and embracing digital transformation.

“In today’s fast-changing world, there will always be a need for international managers, and we, as deans of international business schools, must avoid pitfalls to drive impact in a rapidly evolving business environment,” he concluded.

Prof. Bournois joined CEIBS in April 2023 after serving as Executive President and Dean of ESCP Business School since 2014. In addition to his academic background, he is also an expert in corporate governance and how large firms identify, manage and develop their future leaders.

July 2, 2024. Shanghai - This week, CEIBS received official re-accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). This accomplishment highlights CEIBS' ongoing commitment to maintaining the highest standards of excellence in management education and reaffirms its status as one of the world's leading business schools.

“CEIBS has always adhered to its unique positioning of "China Depth, Global Breadth" and has focused on promoting high-level, high-quality and high-impact development; the school’s re-accreditation by AACSB is a recognition of the school's continued maintenance of the highest global standards of school management as well as the school's achievements in leading innovation, improving teaching quality, and cultivating business leaders with a sense of social responsibility,” CEIBS President Wang Hong says. “Under the guidance of the school's Eight Strategic Initiatives, and in the year of our 30th anniversary, CEIBS will continue to actively play the role of a think tank and make policy recommendations for China's economic development. At the same time, we will continue to enhance our international influence and promote the deepening of cooperation and exchanges between China and foreign countries."

This year’s re-accreditation represents the first time that CEIBS has been accredited under AACSB’s 2020 standards. These standards consist of three sections: (1) Strategic Management and Innovation, (2) Learner Success, and (3) Thought Leadership, Engagement, and Societal Impact. In evaluating business schools within these parameters, AACSB considers financial models and strategies, quality of faculty and professional staff, diversity, innovation and quality in course delivery, utilization of current emerging technologies, and the quality and social impact of the school’s thought leadership and intellectual contributions, among other factors.  

CEIBS President (European) Dominique Turpin said, “In today’s complicated world, the education of responsible global leaders is more important than ever; our re-accreditation by AACSB demonstrates that CEIBS continues to lead the way in nurturing the business talent of tomorrow, cultivating a new generation of figures with a uniquely diverse and international mindset.”

Founded in 1916, AACSB is the oldest and one of the most authoritative certification bodies in the world of management education. Through the organisation’s mandate of fostering engagement, accelerating innovation, and amplifying impact, AACSB accreditation has come to serve as a banner for academic excellence in the minds of students, faculty, and business leaders worldwide.

“CEIBS remains at the forefront of management education in many aspects,” said CEIBS Vice President and Dean Frank Bournois. “This is exemplified by our research agenda, case production, and Executive Education programmes with both international and Chinese companies, as well as our tireless commitment to opening discussions on disruptive fields such as AI and ESG and connecting our participants to real life business practice beyond the classroom.”

CEIBS has consistently been accredited by AACSB since 2008 and was the first business school on the Chinese mainland to have been accredited by both AACSB and the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS); its last re-accreditation by AACSB was in 2019, while it was most recently re-accredited by EQUIS in 2022.

CEIBS Vice President and Co-Dean Zhang Weijiong said, “Our reaccreditation by AACSB demonstrates CEIBS’ continued commitment to providing the highest level of management education. CEIBS will continue to maintain its international positioning, actively promote the creation and dissemination of management knowledge, promote the combination of cutting-edge theories with practical Chinese corporate practices, and contribute Chinese wisdom to the development of global management education.”

This re-accreditation from AACSB comes as CEIBS prepares to celebrate its 30th anniversary, representing three decades of excellence in management education and an important milestone in the school’s journey toward becoming one of the most celebrated business schools in the world.