The school's dean, Jonathan Foster-Pedley, tells us more about what makes Henley so special.
With only days left before the inaugural HR Indaba, the anticipation from partners is palpable. In this article, we speak to Jonathan Foster-Pedley, the dean of Henley Business School, about why he is looking forward to the event.
Tell us about Henley Business School?
"It is the oldest business school in Europe. We are the only international business school accredited in South Africa and have been here for 7 years. We are among only 1 percent of business schools in the world that are triple-crown accredited. We are ranked number one in Africa and 33 in the world according to the Financial Times' ratings for executive education. We've also just been ranked by PMR as the number one MBA business school in South Africa, up from being ranked at around eighth place about six years ago. Our alumni network is ranked number in the world by The Economist for 'potential to network' and we run an international MBA at the same cost as a local MBA programme here. We have grown by 900 percent in the last seven years because we are a business school that knows how to do business. In that time we've gone from having five full-time employees to 70. We did this with no external investment, solely through our entrepreneurial ability. Mind you, we have managed to remain profitable throughout each of those years, so we know what we're doing when it comes to business."
What is it about Henley that differentiates it from other business schools?
“Well, aside from the aforementioned facts, it is because people who get an MBA with us get an international qualification that is recognised in all parts of the world as being an elite business qualification. Also, we are very strong in the way we design our programmes. We do customised education for executives that goes into great depth. We also have a focus on innovation and have a strong social entrepreneurship initiative called MBAid wherein we work with over 300 NGOs and which is the largest MBA scholarship programme on the continent.”
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Why have you decided to partner with the HR Indaba?
“It's really important for us to work closely with the leading advocacy bodies for talent, transformation and growth in South Africa and we have a lot of respect for what the HR Indaba promises to achieve. We also want to motivate people to really believe in African talent and, more importantly, for African people to believe in themselves, get over the effects of colonisation and understand that they have all the tools and skills they need to lead the continent towards a better future.
“We believe that, in order to build a better tomorrow, we all need to be good citizens, but good citizenship doesn't come without a cost. The cost of that is hard work, discipline, commitment to fairness and reducing poverty. South Africa has the second-highest Gini coefficient in the world and, in order to deal with that situation, we have to create leaders who are going to be visionaries. They must make decisions that go beyond the needs of exclusive groups of people and take into consideration the needs of future generations.”
What would you say is the biggest challenge facing the HR profession at the moment?
“I think HR needs to move from being a corporate job to being an activist movement that is driven to transform South Africa. It is a little idealistic but if HR professionals viewed themselves as activists, they would understand that their role is so much more than a job. I think that shift in mindset is necessary in order to effect the changes we need to see in all spheres of society.”
