Former Henley Business School Dean offers business leaders a manifesto for change during valedictory lecture
"Corporations will only exist successfully if they can put more people into leadership positions who understand the difference between right and wrong." This is the view of Professor Chris Bones who recently stepped down as Dean of Henley Business School at the University of Reading.
Professor Bones was speaking at his valedictory lecture held at the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) in London earlier this week.
The event was attended by over 200 high-profile and influential figures from business, government and the public and voluntary sectors.
Chris became the first Dean of Henley Business School at the University of Reading, now one of the top business schools in the world. He oversaw its smooth creation from the merger of Henley Management College and the University in 2008. The Economist recently ranked Henley number one in the world for the quality of its MBA students placing us 17th in the world for full-time MBA programmes.
During his lecture Professor Bones also described how businesses will only thrive 'if they have developed their understanding through experience, have the relational skills to work effectively across many cultures and perspectives and who can see the wider global context within which they are operating and through which their reputation will be built or destroyed'.
University of Reading Vice-Chancellor Professor Gordon Marshall welcomed the audience and said: "Chris' professional experience and wisdom, coupled with his drive and passion for the vision of what the Henley Business School could become, the merger was not just successful it was extremely successful. Chris became an invaluable member of the University's senior management team and I valued his insight tremendously."
Mr Paul Walsh, Chief Executive of Diageo, chaired the event and his successor as Dean of Henley Business School, Professor John Board introduced the lecture.
He said: "Since joining Henley almost six years ago, Chris has led colleagues and programme members alike in developing a business school brand which, today, ranks among the very best in the world. As a prominent and much sought after thought leader in organisations and organisational change, he steered the Henley Management College through the most significant period of change in its history."
Chris Bones' book titled 'The cult of the leader, a manifesto for more authentic business' is to be published by Wiley in the new year.