Quelch Abruptly Leaves Deanship of CEIBS

CEIBS dean John Quelch explains how he plans to turn the relatively young Shanghai-based business school into a research powerhouse.

It was with great fanfare that Harvard Business School professor John A. Quelch was announced as the new vice president and dean of the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) less than two years ago.

When he arrived at the Shanghai-based school in February of 2011, he immediately began to speak of bold changes and the ambitious goal to some day turn CEIBS into one of the ten best global business schools in the world.

Today, however, the school announced that Quelch “has successfully completed his tenure and will return to Harvard Business School at the end of January, 2013.” No reason was given for his decision to go back to Harvard where he has taught marketing for years. Sources said the decision was made for family reasons.

A SETBACK FOR CEIBS

His abrupt departure, for whatever reason, is a setback for the school which named the former dean of INSEAD’s Singapore campus and a professor, Hellmut Schutte, as Quelch’s successor.

In a statement, CEIBS Executive President Professor Zhu Xiaoming said “we are saddened by his decision to return to Harvard Business School after the successful completion of his tenure. We have urged John to stay in touch and support CEIBS’ further development, and he has graciously agreed.”

In a news release announcing the changes, CEIBS said that Dean Quelch’s decision to leave “had not been easy. It’s been a privilege to help CEIBS which is truly a unique institution. I’ve learnt much about China, especially from my Chinese colleagues. While family considerations require me to return home, no one is indispensable and I’m sure the school is on the path to continued greatness.”

WAS IN THE JOB ONLY 18 MONTHS

During the 18 months of his deanship, a new CEIBS position statement, “China Depth, Global Breadth” was developed to strengthen the school’s differentiation and competitiveness; a new part-time finance MBA program was launched; an International Advisory Board was established to further support the school in its quest for global impact and recognition; a CEIBS Visiting Leader program was launched to bring senior executives to the school; several new research centers have been funded and a new IESE-CEIBS coordinated Ph.D. program has been launched to underpin CEIBS’ greater emphasis on research; new coordinated Masters degree programs have been set up with the Fletcher School at Tufts University and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health; and a global partnership agreement has been signed with the World Economic Forum.

During Prof. Quelch’s tenure, CEIBS also accelerated its recruitment of full-time faculty. In addition, several new academic positions have been created to strengthen the academic leadership and to support the faculty and their research.

“I have worked closely with John and appreciate his initiatives and his energy. His achievements are important steps along CEIBS’ path of becoming a leading international business school,” said Helmut Schütte, who currently teaches management and is the European Chair for Global Governance and Sino-European Business Relations at CEIBS. His appointment as dean becomes effective Feb. 1, 2013.

NEW DEAN IS A MANAGEMENT PROFESSOR WHO HAD BEEN DEAN OF INSEAD’S SINGAPORE CAMPUS

He is also Emeritus Professor of International Management at INSEAD. He teaches and does research in the area of international business with a special focus on Asia and Emerging Markets. Professor Schütte obtained his doctorate from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. He worked as an executive in the area of marketing and investment banking for 11 years. During his academic career at INSEAD, he was visiting professor at the University of Tokyo, visiting professor at Boston University, and visiting scholar at Harvard University. Until the fall of 2006, Professor Schütte was the Dean of INSEAD’s fast growing Asia Campus located in Singapore. 

China is the tenth country in which Professor Schütte has lived and worked. He has taught in seminars in another 40 countries all over the world.

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