Learning and Leading Globally: An Interview with the 2024 AIB Educator of the Year Frank Bournois

Frank Bournois, Dean, China Europe International Business School and former Dean, ESCP was the recipient of the 2024 AIB Educator of the Year Award. This article provides excerpts of an interview with Dean Bournois conducted by a colleague at CEIBS and long-standing AIB member. At least three important lessons for international business scholars are offered. First, it is vital to balance and synergize knowledge creation and dissemination. Second, fostering cross-culturally intelligent talent for international organizations needs to be a priority for business schools and academics. Third, in the current geopolitically fraught times we face, it is vitally important for international business schools and scholars to facilitate the building of bridges between East and West by mobilizing multiple stakeholders representing business and non-market organizations actors. A key overarching theme, as explicitly noted in the conclusion, is the inextricable link between learning and leading which needs to be intentionally nurtured.