INSEAD's De Meyer mulls ranking surge for Cambridge Judge Business School

Cambridge-bound: Arnoud De Meyer

To many people, strong academic credentials do not necessarily translate to a knack for business. Arnoud De Meyer, recently appointed director of the Judge Business School at Cambridge University, has already challenged this view in Singapore. Now he is planning to do the same in Cambridge.

De Meyer was the founding dean of INSEAD’s Singapore campus in 1999, at time when international offshoots of highly reputable educational institutions were virtually unheard of. Through De Meyer and his team’s effort, the Singapore INSEAD has since become an integral part of the famous French institute, helping to keep it on top of “best business school” lists in Europe.

In 2002 De Meyer returned to France, becoming the deputy dean and dean of administration and external relations posts at the parent school. Then last month Cambridge University announced it is to hire the self-proclaimed “academic entrepreneur” as the new director of its Judge Business School, starting in September 2006. He will succeed Sandra Dawson, who has led the school since 1995. Dawson will remain a professor at Judge Business School and Master of Sidney Sussex College.

“The personal reason is, I am 52 years old and I look forward to another 10 to 15 years of work. You think to yourself, “When can I do something new? And what is the new challenge?” said De Meyer in an interview.

“Cambridge has a great brand. Especially if you are in science and engineering - it is one of the top universities in Europe and in the world. The business school in a place like this could have links to the engineering and the medical schools. That would generate very interesting research ideas. I just couldn’t refuse. It looks so exciting.”

Objective

De Meyer has already set out the first objective of his six-year tenure – to significantly raise the UK school’s global ranking. The Financial Times 2005 global league table of MBA schools has the Judge Business School languishing at 42nd. On the same list INSEAD is 8th. Meanwhile, the Economist Intelligence Unit places the British school at 20th and INSEAD at 11th.

“Ranking of course is but one way of assessing the qualities of a school. I will definitely not deny its value, especially given the methodologies behind the FT or the Economist Intelligence Unit lists,” said De Meyer. “But strategy cannot be driven by rankings.”

Given the overall standing of Cambridge University, and the magnet that it is for students worldwide, the lowly position of the Judge School looks anomalous, to say the least.  

“No doubt, there’s a great opportunity to improve the ranking. And that’s one of the exciting elements for me. I think in the coming two to three years we can significantly improve the position.”

De Meyer intends to encourage more PhD students to study at Judge, and will “keep an eye” on the economics department and the engineering department for possible collaborations.

Inspiration

Since joining INSEAD in 1983, De Meyer has racked up 16 years in management roles. His pioneering work in establishing the Singapore campus has been an inspiration for universities around the world seeking to boost their presence by forming alliances or establishing overseas networks.

“The experience was a very unique and exciting,” remembers De Meyer. Not to mention challenging. “The difficulty was when you arrive - you have one secretary and one other member of staff and you are thinking to yourself, ‘How the hell I am going to get 60 MBA participants and convince them this is as good as the French school?’ ”

A further challenge came from his European counterpart, who insisted on conducting video conferences in the afternoon European time, keeping him awake until the middle of the night in Singapore.

INSEAD is yet to decide on a successor, but De Meyer advises whoever takes over his post to beware the increasingly fierce competitive environment that business schools face.

“Business schools are probably the most exposed to competition from non-academic institutions,” said De Meyer. “They are competing with the top consulting firms, organisations that provide business training and companies that train in-house. The market for business research and for business education will become even more competitive and will change quite a lot of in the coming years. So my advice is to pay a lot of attention to new competition.”

De Meyer, a Belgian who has lived in the US, Japan and Singapore, is looking forward to embracing an English lifestyle in Cambridge.

“Cambridge is a great place and I will relish discovering a new country and environment – and building up a new network,” said De Meyer. “I look forward to living in Cambridge and to enjoying the life of a Cambridge professor.”