CentreCourt MBA Festival June 2023 — The Future Of Business Education

If you missed the second of three CentreCourt MBA Festival events for 2023, don’t worry — you can still listen to fireside chats from CentreCourt co-founders, John A. Byrne and Matt Symonds as they talk with more than 20 top business school leaders about what is in store for the business world in the future. You can also hear insightful in-depth panel discussions from MBA Deans, Directors, Professors, and Career Services on the following topics: The Enduring Value Of An MBA, Developing The Next Generation Of Business Leaders, and The Future Of Work. See videos below!

Developing The Next Generation Of Business Leaders: A Global Perspective

From Berlin and Barcelona to Hong Kong, leaders from the MBA programs at IESE, ESMT Berlin, and HKUST share insights on effective strategies for career planning, the impact of technology and innovation on the business landscape, the development of ethically responsible leaders and much more.


The Enduring Value Of The MBA With RSM, IMD & McGill

Listen in for a thoughtful international perspective as we hear from RSM, IMD and McGill University to help you determine your personal MBA values. Areas discussed were the importance of focusing on self, ROI, academics, positive sustainable change, the future employer market, challenges and opportunities to changing the world through business, and so much more.


The Future Of Work With Emory Goizueta, Michigan Ross & Case Western

Join John A. Byrne as he discusses the MBA and the future of work with career leaders from Emory, Michigan and Case Western. They cover topics on professional and personal development skills, how global trends of uncertain times play a role, competition, diversity and inclusion, the value of the MBA, and sustainability among other hot topics.


Developing The Next Generation Of Business Leaders With Notre Dame Mendoza, Indiana Kelley & Florida Warrington

Do you have what it takes to embrace the ever changing MBA process? Join Directors from Mendoza, IU Kelley, and Warrington as they share how they prepare MBA students to becoming future business leaders through global immersions, ethical leadership, evolving personal and professional experiences, navigating uncertain times, AI and the future of technology, plus more.


The Future of Work: A Global Perspective

Leaders from the MBA programs at Imperial, Cambridge Judge & Asia School of Business, join John A. Byrne in a wide ranging conversation. They cover the ever changing impact of technology on the business world, the hybrid work model, sustainability, the idea of anti-leadership, and much more!


The Enduring Value Of The MBA With INSEAD, UC Berkeley Haas & Yale SOM

Join leadership at Yale, Haas, and INSEAD as they delve into the tangible and intangible, short and long term investments of an MBA such as life-long learning, networking, leadership skills, career trajectory, ROI, and more. Through this transformative journey authentic human connections top the list to defining success as an important long term value of the MBA, and a start of the best years of your life.


MBA Story Spotlight – An Insider’s Guide to Standing Out In The MBA Admissions Race

Join Petia Whitmore, a former Dean of MBA Admissions and Founder of My MBA Path, to get fully updated on what it takes to find and tell an MBA story that wins you an admission in the 2023-2024 admissions cycle. In this spotlight you will learn what differentiating yourself looks like, the exact steps successful MBA admits use to create cohesive and powerful MBA stories, plus how to do it all without the soul-crushing question “Is my MBA Story Good Enough?”


The Enduring Value Of The MBA With HEC Paris, London Business School & Chicago Booth

Leaders from HEC Paris, London Business School, and Chicago Booth join Matt Symonds as they discuss the value of the MBA. Return on objective and return on investment are equally important to set you up for a trajectory to fit personal and professional goals. In addition, the life long investment toward learning will help you gain a broad set of transferable skills such as networking, opening doors to employers, alumni connections beyond graduation, and so much more. This session will provide you needed answers to determine what values are important to you as you consider an MBA.


The Future Of Work With Texas McCombs & UCLA Anderson

Career service leaders from Texas McCombs and UCLA Anderson discuss the future of work with John A. Byrne. Hear their perspectives on how the evolution of business, and differing generations are entering the workplace, and how employers/industries are shaping them. Also gain insight on how an MBA brings needed resilience and becomes an accelerator through ever-changing global events, technology/data, and navigating their networking communities to develop people into transformative leaders.


Fireside Chat With Columbia Business School Leadership

Get real business world exposure and a global perspective as Matt Symonds chats with Samantha Shapses from Columbia Business School. Hear more about the exciting, robust, and vibrant local and global community of their Manhattanville Campus. Get an inside look at how a CBS MBA grounds students through their core value/curriculum as the foundation to what you are looking for, but also with the additional space to explore, and push yourself out of your comfort zone. This interview will set you on the goal focused path to determine why CBS.


Fireside Chat With MIT Sloan Leadership

Join Jake Cohen, Senior Associate Dean of Masters Programs at MIT Sloan as he chats with Matt Symonds. Among topics covered is the Sloan Fellows Program, their strong global partnership with Asia School of Business, business leadership skills, the mind and hand action learning options, its diverse inclusive community, and their desire to help students find a balance between online and in-person learning. Sloan’s MBA value proposition is for you to decide on a school where you plan to build your goals and success not only for the short term, but for a lifetime.


Fireside Chat With UC Berkeley Haas Leadership

Listen in as Jamie Breen, Assistant Dean of MBA Programs at Haas talks with John A. Byrne. Hear about their hallmark strong sense of community and defining leadership principles which include confidence without attitude, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Valued student area such as connections, opportunities toward personal leadership, student led and school supported experiences, academics and rigor in general business management, alumni network, California tech and AI connections, and more were also covered. This interview will help you to determine if UC Berkeley Haas should be included on your short list.


Fireside Chat With UCLA Anderson Leadership

Listen in as Gary Fraser, UCLA Anderson Associate Dean of Full Time MBA Programs discusses Los Angeles and their offerings. Hear about a hallmark benefit of being in California by offering practitioners from the sports, entertainment, real estate and technology industries. Also outlined is the sunny student experience, leadership building, ongoing career path discussions, faculty and world of work connections, plus so much more. This interview will provide you the unique and different MBA experience you can potentially receive at UCLA.


Fireside Chat With Emory Goizueta Leadership

Emory’s Brian Mitchell, Goizueta Global Strategy & Initiatives and Head of Full-Time MBA Programs talks with John A. Byrne. This engaging interview will provide you details about global immersions, leadership, program options and structure, the student experience, career outlooks, the new digital age, plus more. As you are researching your own MBA plans and options this is an interview you will not want to miss.


Fireside Chat With Michigan Ross Leadership

Join Sharon Matusik, Edward J. Frey Dean as she outlines how the Ross MBA sets up students for success to become leaders of the future. Hear the details of their hallmark action based learning curriculum which is parallel both inside and outside of the classroom, along with a deeper dive into the specifics of the academic excellence impact on community, sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion, the value of the MBA, and so much more. This interview will help you to determine if this top MBA program is a match.


Fireside Chat With IU Kelley Leadership

John Hill, Faculty Chair of the MBA Program summed up the IU Kelley MBA in one word — Collaboration. Listen in as John A. Byrne digs deeper into the Kelley integrated core curriculum upcoming changes and their advantages, their domestic and international experiential learning opportunities, the academy, faculty collaboration, and the Me Inc. personal development program among other topics. This interview will help you to determine if the IU Kelley MBA ranks on your own personal short list.


Fireside Chat With RSM Leadership

RSM Academic Director Jochem Kroezen describes their value of an MBA cohort as to encourage, stimulate, and challenge to make the world a better place. International collaborative learners live in a world of transition through inclusion and diversity that allows them to do great things. From day one you will be challenged to hold a mirror to yourself, to bring out your strengths with opportunities to shape your own journeys of self discovery. Your goals will offer a sense of purpose and hope through human connections byway of personal development. This interview will help you realize an RSM MBA is not a transaction but a transformation.


Fireside Chat With INSEAD Leadership

Ilian Mihov shares INSEAD’s accomplishments of its solution to the broader sustainability picture in all its core courses and capstone projects. He touts them as a complicated business school providing magical moments in so many ways, through bringing together people from various cultures to build harmonious experiences. Synergy between research and teaching through faculty is an important and vital part of their MBA curriculum. MBA students are provided strong personal development skills through self awareness, empathy, inclusiveness, along with core competencies, to develop managers and executives for the future.


Fireside Chat With HEC Paris Leadership

Top ranked HEC Paris Dean of MBA Programs Kristine De Valck shares her leadership role with Matt Symonds. Entrepreneurial doers is a strength and additional value of the HEC community. She highlights their 16-month program which allows self exploration through knowing yourself, knowing the market, and matching yourself to the market. Leadership skills are challenged through a transformative journey to determine a good match. As part of their natural DNA, HEC diversifies their pool by welcoming those from differing backgrounds to join the school to become “whoever you want to be” through equal educational opportunities for everybody.


Fireside Chat With Texas McCombs Leadership

Lillian Mills shared Texas McCombs all gas, no brakes approach of an MBA with John A. Byrne. She shares MBA stories of the need for diverse skills to build a person into new interesting roles through their personal experiences. Also hear about a new Business of Sports Institute Program bringing some exciting names and sports analytics approaches to their campus teams and beyond. The hot topics of Business Analytics, Sustainability, Diversity, Inclusion, and AI are all also covered in this interview. Human center and future focus, from one connection to another with integrity and character is an important factor to guiding you to choosing the right program.


Fireside Chat With Florida Warrington Leadership

John Gresley Director and Assistant Dean at Warrington is charged with bringing excellence to their MBA program through innovation. Leadership skills are learned through professional development not only in the classroom, but beyond as well. You will quickly learn that flexibility is a key focus at Florida through their vast offering options, and at a great value. Business Analytics, Sustainability, Diversity, Inclusion, and AI are broadening their MBA experiences to meet the changing world demands. Whether you live in Florida or outside the state, hear about the many accelerated vs. full-time intake options and what it takes to get in.


Fireside Chat With Cambridge Judge Leadership

Cambridge Judge Conrad Chua shares the MBA story byway of a thoughtful conversation with Matt Symonds. He shares how diversity provides a richer MBA experience and environment to help students become effective leaders. Discipline, support, creative thinking, and embracing a work in progress attitude toward a global community are important aspects at Judge. Also discussed in this interview is the increasing acceptance and value of online learning. Through your journey, expect a transformational experience by being able to learn to roll with the punches, and finding out what makes a school tick.

Fireside Chat With Imperial Leadership

Vice Dean Leila Guerra shares how important impact is in her role at Imperial. She shares insight into their large MBA portfolio as an effort to personalize every students journey, so they can be a driver to shaping their own future, as well as the future of the business school. Imperial has taken the lead with digital learning, and in this interview with Matt Symonds hear how it has evolved over the years. Also gain insight into their LEADS program offering diversity to the student body and how it fits into the enviroment they are working toward, not only in the classroom but beyond. Explore what Imperial has to offer you in their vibrant MBA community.


Fireside Chat With London Business School Leadership

Vice Dean & Professor of Strategy Julian Birkinshaw at London Business School has a thoughtful and enlightening conversation with Matt Symonds. They discuss exciting things happening at LBS including key strengths of the various MBA options, how their students change the world for the better, lifelong learning opportunities, extracurriculars, and the profound impact on how the world does business, plus so much more. In the interview, hear how becoming a great leader goes beyond learning in the classroom, but also through their global experiences.


Fireside Chat With Hong Kong University of Science & Technology Leadership

Professor Stephen Shih, Associate Dean MBA Programs at Hong Kong University of Science & Technology discusses their MBA programs and options. In this interview, hear his perspective on what makes a great leader, industry trends, the international cross cultural learning experiences, the schools entrepreneurial environment, extracurriculars and more. Learn how HKUST can be part of your MBA journey in reaching your personal and professional goals.


Fireside Chat With IESE Leadership

IESE Associate Dean Marc Badia shares the exciting MBA happenings in Barcelona. During this interview you will get greater insight into the personal journey of a student through responsible leadership, career outlooks, global perspective, faculty initiatives, elective options, diversity, human connections, and more. Also hear the meaningful importance and the evolution toward service to others, trust, humility, networking, skill set toward personal and professional goals and values.


Fireside Chat With Asia School Of Business Leadership

Asia School of Business Sanjay Sarma, Chief Executive Officer, President and Dean shares the newest MBA offerings with John A. Byrne. Listen in as they discuss ASB’s connection to MIT Sloan and their global focus in Asia and beyond, faculty, research, leadership student experiences, program opportunities, career outlook, cultural connections, and so much more. This interview will provide you all there is to know about what the student experience to help you determine if ASB is the right fit for you.


Fireside Chat With ESMT Leadership

Hear from Rebecca Loades, Director, MBA Programs at ESMT Berlin, #1 ranked business school in Germany by the Financial Times. This small boutique school has emerged as a big player in the european MBA scene that allows personalization in an environment that deeply cares about their students. This interview will provide you all there is to know about being a successful international student in an exciting and energetic city, and provide you answers toward a business path to who you are and what you want to be.


Fireside Chat With Notre Dame Leadership

Join Matt Symonds for a thoughtful interview with Martijn Cremers, Dean and Professor of Finance at Notre Dame Mendoza. Hear about what a Mendoza MBA can offer a student through gifts of dignity, solidarity, and becoming the best version of yourself. You will further learn about their committed personal, smaller community approach toward building empathetic community business leaders byway of the three C’s — Contribute, Cooperate and Compete. Determine if Notre Dame is the right place to put you on a path to who you are, and who you want to become.


Fireside Chat With McGill Leadership

Listen in as Matt Symonds has a thoughtful discussion with John-Paul Ferguson, Academic Director of MBA Programs as they discuss why McGill avoids tradition and focuses on intelligent management for the future. Students often describe McGill as a swing school, specializing in making big transitions at their most internationalized MBA in Canada. Hear about program length options, the small cohort profile, leadership behavior, performance outcomes, and shaping engaging interpersonal interactions, plus so much more. This session will provide you meaningful personal and professional aspiration advice toward an MBA at McGill.

Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below.