INSEAD Has A New Dean From Imperial College Business School

After what it called “an extensive and rigorous dean search,” INSEAD today named the dean of Imperial College Business School as its new leader. Francisco Veloso will succeed Ilian Mihov, the longest serving dean at INSEAD, on Sept. 1. Mihov is stepping down after completing the maximum two five-year terms, overseeing the leading European business school for the past ten years.

In hiring Veloso, INSEAD will be getting an academic who has already led two business schools. In addition to Imperial, where he has been dean since 2017, Veloso also served as dean of Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics in Portugal for five years. With each new appointment, Veloso has climbed the deanship ladder, going to higher-ranked and more resource rich schools. INSEAD, with its multiple campuses in Fontainebleau, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, and San Francisco, boasts more than 166 faculty members from 41 countries and over 1,500 degree participants annually. The Financial Times most recently ranked INSEAD’s 10-month MBA program the second best in the world behind only Columbia Business School. Imperial’s MBA was ranked 37th, while the Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics was ranked 85th.

“I am honoured to have been chosen to take on the important role of Dean at INSEAD and express my gratitude to the faculty and INSEAD Board for placing their trust in me to lead the school into the future,” said Veloso in a statement. “I am excited to build upon the institution’s remarkable success and look forward to taking INSEAD to new heights.”

NEW INSEAD DEAN CALLED A LEADING AUTHORITY IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION

A leading authority in entrepreneurship and innovation,  Veloso is originally from Portugal. He holds a PhD in technology, management and policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as an MSc in Technology Management and an undergraduate degree in physics engineering, both from the University of Lisbon.  He developed most of his academic career at Carnegie Mellon University, where he retains an adjunct professor appointment.

During his tenure as dean at Imperial College Business School, Veloso has led the development of a 10-year strategy to bolster the school’s position as a prominent leading research business school, recognized for digital innovation as well as teaching and research that address critical challenges facing today’s tech-driven businesses and society. Beyond steering Imperial successfully through Covid with a much-celebrated hybrid learning model, with an Online MBA that ranked #2 in the FT last year, he also oversaw the launch of the Online version of the highly popular MS in Business Analytics, and the school’s first undergraduate business degree. Imperial is appointing its Vice-Dean of Research and Faculty Franklin Allen as interim dean. Veloso’s leadership helped steer the Católica Lisbon School to become an institution with international reach, multiplying international students numbers several fold and doubling the school’s research presence in top international journals.

In a recent CentreCourt fireside chat, Veloso discussed the need to cultivate “empathy, judgment and responsibility,” not merely technical skills for MBA students. “We have to shape business and society but also to prepare our students to drive that change for good,” he said.

“True to our founding global culture, a reflection of our inclusiveness and entrepreneurial spirit, the INSEAD faculty and Board have come together to appoint an inspiring future leader with a strong academic background,” says INSEAD Board Chair Andreas Jacobs in a statement. “I extend a warm welcome to Francisco Veloso. His inclusive leadership approach, encompassing INSEAD’s values, combined with his remarkable academic achievements, make him an ideal choice to guide our school into the next era. I look forward to working closely with him as we steer the school towards a bright future.”

WILL SUCCEED ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL DEANS IN INSEAD’S HISTORY

Veloso will be taking over from one of INSEAD’s most successful deans. Over his ten years as the school’s leader starting in October of 2013, Mihov has led the campus expansion in Singapore to meet the increasing demand of management education globally, helped to upgrade the MBA curriculum to better prepare students to build new businesses, and initiated an integrated digital strategy. The school has also seen a major increase in MBA applications and the highest-ever proportion of female students at a record 38% for the latest entering class.  He also has led INSEAD’s engagement in increased outreach and fundraising efforts.

When he opened a new San Francisco outpost for INSEAD three years ago, he announced a massive €100 million ($114 million) renovation of the Fontainebleau campus, the most expensive upgrade in its history. The school launched a new Master’s in Management program. He is in the middle of a capital campaign that as of November of last year raised a record €309 million, well above the €250 million goal by 2023.

Mihov also brought in the largest single gift in INSEAD’s history, €40 million from Class of 1990 alumnus André Hoffmann and his wife Rosalie to fund a Global Institute for Business and Society, expanded INSEAD’s faculty from less than 140 when he became dean in 2013 to the current 166, and built the school’s endowment to more than €369 million from €160 million. That sum exceeds expectations of a €320 million target by the end of the capital campaign. INSEAD had also become the second-largest provider of executive education programming in the world, behind only Harvard Business School.

DON’T MISS: Exclusive: INSEAD’s DEAN TALKS NEW ONLINE DEGREE, NEW MBA CURRICULUM & WHAT COMES AFTER COVID or OUR FIRESIDE CHAT WITH IMPERIAL COLLEGE BUSINESS SCHOOL DEAN FRANCISCO VELOSO

LISTEN: OUR WEEKLY BUSINESS CASUAL PODCAST ON THE NEW DEAN OF INSEAD