Said Elfakhani is a Full Professor of Finance, the Academic Director of the Executive MBA, and the Director for both MBA and online MBA programmes at the Suliman S. Olayan School of Business at the American University of Beirut. We spoke to him to find out more about his role and his thoughts on the future of the MBA. 

Having already served as the Associate Dean for Programmes, as well as the Associate Dean of Executive and Continuing Education Programmes, Elfakhani has a rich background in business education. He has occupied the Harvey R. Wickes Chair in International Business at Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan, USA, has taught at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, and held visiting appointments at Indiana, Saudi Arabia and Texas, amongst other positions.

He has also published 41 papers in major international refereed journals, five book chapters, 20 papers in international proceedings, and seven published abstracts. His current research interests include emerging markets performance, Islamic finance, market anomalies and disturbances, portfolio performance, mutual funds’ performance, dividend policy, and financial reporting and corporate governance in accounting – but let’s take a closer look at his role in the School of Business today…

What do you enjoy most about your role at the American University of Beirut?

My role as Director of many graduate programs is multifold. I put together the course offering program for each semester. In this endeavor, I take the input of our faculty members and most importantly our students. Students plan their schedule in preparation for their graduation and I like to interact with our students to ensure no interruptions or delays. Hence, we normally survey students’ preferences, especially of elective courses, so we plan accordingly. Another aspect of my role is to work with my colleagues on updating our curriculum to remain abreast with best curricular business practices.

On another front, I enjoy building strong connections with the business community and area leaders as well as the School’s alumni. In addition, I propose, from time-to-time, partnerships with other universities including signing MOUs to establish cooperation at the level of master degrees and exchange programs with international universities.

Why do you think an MBA is relevant in today’s business landscape?

The MBA program is the flagship of business education. The program is designed to provide learners with leadership skills, especially those focused on empathy, strategic leadership, and employee development, which are all vital. The dynamic changes in macroeconomic conditions and emerging technologies remain a challenge to all MBA candidates who are to assume managerial positions once graduating.

Nevertheless, I believe that the need for hybrid graduate programs involving both on-campus and online courses are, and will continue to be, on the rise. This implies that there should be close communication and coordination lines between in person and online directorship. The management of each type should not be separated as they present the same curriculum, same course, and even same instructors.

What are your hopes for the American University of Beirut graduates?

Together with my colleagues, the ultimate goal is for our graduate students including MBAs to have exposure to best business practices through our curriculum. Completing an MBA degree is truly a team effort. It requires a lot of support from so many different people.

Our MBA graduates are our ambassadors to the business community and corporate sector. It is our wish that they would deliver the best and most complete tasks representing OSB and AUB in their continued or future jobs. We wish our graduates all the successes in the world throughout the years to come. As I conclude, I could not help but think of how many people made this a reality. With that, I want to take a moment to personally thank all our MBA alumnus who pushed our MBA ranking in the Middle East region.

How do you think the MBA might evolve in future?

I predict that over the next decade ALL AUB programs (and other educational institutions, for that matter) will become more hybrid. As a case in point, in our EMBA; the online portion in our EMBA is about one third, while two thirds are in-class. Another case in point is our MBA; we have an in-person MBA and an OMBA which is 100% online.

The demand for cybersecurity and data analytics skills are surging, with half of the top tech skills listed being in these domains. Another important emerging trend is the need for more ethical leaders, especially that many scandals in various industries and countries have come to light in the past two decades. Nowadays, more people are questioning the way we do business, and hence there is much room for improvement to create workplaces that can reduce unethical practices. The unethical behavior of the few is reflecting negatively on many corporations, and the maintenance of ethical leadership is crucial to realize fundamental changes. MBA programs are the right forums to nurture better corporate governance.

On another front, business skills, particularly in digital marketing and customer experience, are among the fastest-growing. The growth in the marketing and advertising industry and heightened customer expectations highlight the importance of these skills.

Hence, the future MBA programs should provide students with cybersecurity and business analytics skills, adequate training on ethical leadership behavior, and proper comprehension of the value of digital marketing.

For additional insights, trends and perspectives about MBA programmes, visit the conversation here.