As Jens Wüstemann concludes his 15-year tenure as President of Mannheim Business School (MBS), we speak with him about what he has achieved for the School over the years, the future of business education, and his advice for other business school leaders.

When you first started as President of Mannheim Business School (MBS), what was your vision for its future, and how has that evolved over your tenure?

When I assumed the presidency, MBS was still a relatively young institution. From the outset, I saw it as my responsibility to bring to fruition the strategic aspirations defined at its founding: to establish a strong strategic and operational framework that would enable the University of Mannheim to deliver management education of the highest international calibre, grounded in the principle of lifelong learning; to develop leaders who act with responsibility and integrity; and to enhance the global standing not only of the University of Mannheim but also of German higher education as a whole in the field of business administration. While these were undeniably ambitious goals, I am proud to say that today we have firmly realised the School’s foundational vision.

MBS is now established amongst the top European business schools. It has been said that many experts had considered this ‘impossible’ due to the complicated legal restrictions that state universities in Germany are subject to. Can you explain a bit more about what these legal restrictions are? How did you overcome these difficulties to ensure the success of MBS?

As many will know, until the implementation of the Bologna Process, the German higher education system held something of an “outsider status”: it produced excellent research output, yet awarded degrees that were largely unknown internationally, and was characterised by only a handful of small private institutions that, despite ambitious goals, often struggled financially and disappeared after a short time.

For the dominant public universities like Mannheim, it was – and in many respects still is – either not permitted or only allowed to a very limited extent to charge tuition fees at internationally competitive levels, to exercise autonomy in the use of self-generated funds, or to operate in an entrepreneurial manner. Yet these are precisely the conditions required to establish and successfully run a business school.

We addressed this challenge by developing a legal and organisational framework that ensures close integration with the University of Mannheim – and in particular with the business faculty – while at the same time creating the entrepreneurial flexibility necessary to succeed in the global marketplace. We also benefited from being part of a comparatively compact university with a strong focus on business, economics and the social sciences, and with a long-standing openness to reform and innovation.

Looking back, what achievements are you most proud of from your time as President?

As I have already mentioned, I take particular pride in the fact that, during my presidency, we successfully delivered on all of the objectives Mannheim Business School had set for itself at its founding. But allow me to highlight three achievements in particular. First, despite the sceptics in the early days, we built a highly profitable institution that not only generates strong returns but also contributes significantly to the further development of the University of Mannheim.

Second, during my tenure, we created a state-of-the-art study and conference center in the former coal cellar of Mannheim Palace – the very building that houses much of the University. This facility embodies our identity, combining tradition and innovation in an exemplary way, and, notably, it was realised without a single cent of public funding.

Finally, I am especially pleased that we have succeeded in building a truly fully-fledged business school: after initially focusing on the establishment and expansion of our degree programmes, in recent years we have seen remarkable growth in executive education, and particularly in our portfolio of open-enrolment courses.

What trends in business education do you think will shape the sector in the immediate future?

Naturally, any discussion of the future of business education today must begin with the topic of AI. We live in times in which it is often exaggeratedly claimed that everything we learn at school and university is now available at the touch of a button. To put it provocatively, the question for us as business schools is whether we and our programmes are still needed in an era when enormous amounts of data can be used to generate highly accurate market analyses within seconds, or when systems significantly simplify and accelerate processes. My clear answer, however, is: Yes, we are needed more than ever!

Some time ago, we conducted interviews with numerous distinguished alumni of our programmes to explore how we might adapt our teaching concepts and curricula to the demands of digital transformation. In the majority of cases, the response was remarkably concise: “Please don’t change anything fundamental!” At first glance, this may seem surprising. Yet our alumni offered strong reasoning for this view. An advanced management programme of course provides new knowledge. But, they argued, that is not its primary purpose.

With respect to our teaching approach, they emphasised the importance of content and experiences that cannot be acquired from books, podcasts, or videos: working in teams, benefiting from diversity, resolving conflicts, fostering innovation, embracing responsibility, making decisions in complex situations, and asking the right questions.

More abstractly, they highlighted empathy, communication skills, emotional intelligence, flexibility, creativity, and a clear set of values. This is precisely where artificial intelligence — however powerful — currently reaches its limits, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. And this is exactly the domain in which business schools play a vital role: by developing and educating individuals who possess not only knowledge but also the sense of responsibility and innovative spirit necessary to shape the society of tomorrow.

What’s next for you — and what excites you about this new stage?

Following my scheduled departure as President, I will not be stepping away from Mannheim Business School entirely. For example, I will continue to serve as member of the Presidium of the School. And I am also looking forward to dedicating more time to research at my chair in business administration, accounting and auditing.

What will the leadership of Mannheim Business School look like now?

Mannheim Business School will be led by a five-member executive board, all of whom already hold leadership responsibilities within the School of Business Administration. The chair of this board and President of MBS will be the Dean of the Mannheim Business School, Joachim Lutz.

I consider this an exceptionally smart solution for two reasons: first, because it further strengthens the Mannheim brand in management education; and second, because following the School’s tremendous growth in recent years, leadership responsibility is now distributed across multiple shoulders.

What advice do you have for business education leaders just starting out?

Too often, we focus on the past. My advice to emerging leaders in business education is simple: embrace the future. Don’t discard the past, but don’t let it hold you back. Change is a uniquely human virtue. Think less about what has been, and more about what could be and then move boldly in that direction – because business schools must both be and develop thought leaders.

For additional insights, announcements, and perspectives, visit the conversation on business school leadership.