Nene right man to reclaim status
The appointment of former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene as its interim director could give Wits Business School (WBS) the breathing space it needs to make the correct full-time appointment that will allow it to continue its recovery and reclaim its place among SA’s elite business schools.
Even by its own historically rapid rate of leadership change, WBS has been busy in the past four months. Early in March, the school announced that then director Steve Bluen, having spoken enthusiastically of consolidating the changes he had implemented during his three years in charge, had decided to resign. Such was the general confidence of his continued leadership that Bluen had recently been appointed president of the South African Business Schools Association.
Alison Sinclair, the school’s administrative director, was named acting head while WBS sought Bluen’s replacement. But she barely had time to familiarise herself with the director’s office suite before WBS announced Nene’s appointment last Sunday. He took up his new role on Monday and will remain in charge until Bluen’s permanent successor is installed.
Prof Imraan Valodia, dean of Wits University’s faculty of commerce, law and management, of which WBS is part, hopes that will happen in time for the start of the 2018 academic year. But having someone of Nene’s stature in charge means there is no need for a rush appointment.
University vice-chancellor Adam Habib spoke glowingly this week of Nene’s “business acumen and intellect” but it’s his political credibility that will do most good.
Nene’s sacking as finance minister by President Jacob Zuma in 2015 for refusing to bow to the president’s selfserving economic views will have earned him a reputation as someone of principle and with the country’s best interests at heart.
It’s a reputation that has followed him even after leaving active politics and entering the private business sector, most notably as resident adviser to Thebe Investment.
His presence at WBS is likely to reassure corporate clients and sponsors that the school is not about to embark on another period of uncertainty — despite the recent resignations of academic head Chris van der Hoven and executive education head Devan Naicker.
Apart from a couple of periods of calm over the past decade — notably during the leadership of Bluen and Zimbabwean academic Mthuli Ncube — WBS has struggled to retain school heads. A couple of supposedly full-time appointments that turned out to be ill-considered, fleeting relationships, have been interspersed with a variety of temporary stand-ins. A common frustration has been the relative lack of operational and budgetary autonomy enjoyed by WBS, compared to business schools at other universities. The perceived lack of leadership stability has hurt the school’s reputation. There was some recovery during Bluen’s time in charge, but the school no longer enjoys the unquestioned academic and business-education leadership role it once did. Other schools have challenged, and in some cases overtaken, WBS in the corporate confidence stakes.
Valodia said this week that the school was ready to start the search for a permanent school head. The post would be advertised both locally and internationally. Nene would also be part of the selection panel, he said.
Nene has no previous academic relationship with Wits University or the business school. He earned his BCom (Honours) degree from the University of the Western Cape and has gained further qualifications from the University of London and University of SA (Unisa). Only recently, he was extolling the virtues of the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business when he spoke at the launch of its Sandton campus.
Given that his WBS leadership tenure may last only a few months — although he will remain involved afterwards as an honorary professor and scholar-in-residence — Nene won’t sweep in with a new broom. “We don’t expect him to come in and make changes,” Valodia said.
“He brings strategic thinking. He has experience at the highest level, at the top of the economy. We see this as a partnership with him and the business community.
“This school’s main relationships used to be with the likes of Anglo American. Now we have to build relationships with new business groupings.
“We want WBS to be more than just a site to teach students. We want to influence business and society. Nene’s appointment is part of taking us along that path.”
HAVING SOMEONE OF NENE’S STATURE IN TEMPORARY CHARGE MEANS THERE IS NO NEED FOR A RUSH APPOINTMENT