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Deans Counsel

Deans Counsel

Written by: David Ikenberry / James Ellis / Ken Kring
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Being a Dean in today’s modern university is without a doubt one of the most challenging jobs in higher education. With ever changing tensions and pressures from conflicting constituencies, the job can be both overwhelming yet intensely invigorating at the same time. However, by design, it’s also one of the most lonely jobs in the Academy. Where can one turn for confidential advice? In this podcast we interview Business School Deans peer-to-peer to hear their perspective on a wide variety of pressing issues. Please join your panelists Ken Kring, Senior Client Partner in the Philadelphia office for the search firm Korn Ferry and Co- Managing Director of their Global Education Practice, Jim Ellis, former dean of the Marshal School at the University of Southern California and Dave Ikenberry, former dean of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder for this latest edition of ….. “Deans Counsel.”Copyright 2023 Deans Counsel Careers Economics Management Management & Leadership Personal Success
Episodes
  • 93: Anne-Marie Croteau (Concordia) on Succession Planning
    Aug 7 2026

    Our guest today is Anne-Marie Croteau, Dean of the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University in Montreal. She is the first woman to serve in this position.

    She has more than 30 years of experience in teaching and research, as a full professor and researcher specializing in strategic management of information technology. Her highly cited work has been published in renowned international scientific journals and has been the recipient of numerous awards. For seven consecutive years, she was named one of Concordia's most popular professors by Maclean magazine.

    In this illuminating conversation focused on bringing experienced academics into academic leadership roles, Anne-Marie brings her considerable experience to bear on such topics as:

    • Succession planning

    • Intentionally preparing faculty for academic leadership

    • Leadership development and practices

    • Building a team of associate deans

    Learn more about Anne-Marie Croteau.

    Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note.

    Thanks for listening.

    -

    Produced by Joel Davis at Analog Digital Arts

    --

    DEANS COUNSEL: A podcast for deans and academic leadership.

    James Ellis | Moderator | Dean of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (2007-2019)

    David Ikenberry | Moderator | Dean of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado-Boulder (2011-2016)

    Ken Kring | Moderator | Co-Managing Director, Global Education Practice and Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry

    DeansCounsel.com

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    37 mins
  • 92: Vickie Antolini (Korn Ferry) on The Dean's Job Market
    Jul 24 2026

    Our guest today is Vickie Antolini, Senior Client Partner, Global Education Practice at Korn Ferry, a major consultancy specializing in Academic Leadership Search. Vickie specializes in the recruitment of Presidents, Provosts, Deans of professional schools, with an emphasis in business education, as well as senior level functional administrators in finance, operations, human resources, and compliance.

    Vickie has completed leadership engagements for such prestigious institutions as Johns Hopkins, Penn, Columbia, UCLA, Duke, Cornell and many others. With a professional and personal interest in the promotion and advancement of female leaders, Victoria was a panelist and featured speaker for the 2020 Johns Hopkins University Mary Elizabeth Garrett Executive Leadership for Women Faculty seminar.

    In this timely discussion, Vickie brings us up to speed on current trends in academic executive search, touching upon many topics including:

    • Getting into the search process

    • Interviewing tips

    • Working with a search consultant

    • Understanding search committees

    • Changing expectations

    • Why you, why now, and when them?

    • Standard interview questions a prospective dean may encounter

    Learn more about Vickie Antolini.

    Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note.

    Thanks for listening.

    -

    Produced by Joel Davis at Analog Digital Arts

    --

    DEANS COUNSEL: A podcast for deans and academic leadership.

    James Ellis | Moderator | Dean of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (2007-2019)

    David Ikenberry | Moderator | Dean of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado-Boulder (2011-2016)

    Ken Kring | Moderator | Co-Managing Director, Global Education Practice and Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry

    DeansCounsel.com

    Show More Show Less
    38 mins
  • 91: Lily Bi (AACSB) on The Past, Present and Future of AACSB
    Jul 11 2026

    Our guest today is Lily Bi, the President and CEO of AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) International, the world’s largest business school association and global accreditor; she's been in the role for nearly three years.

    With more than 30 years of experience in strategy, global growth, internal audit, and technology innovation, Lily has held senior executive roles with organizations such as The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), the Internal Audit Foundation, and Kirin Holding Company across the United States, Japan, Singapore, and China.

    Lily is a proponent of lifelong learning. After earning her bachelor’s degree in China, she returned to school to earn her MBA from the University of Texas at Dallas. A decade later, she again returned to school and earned her Ph.D in Business Administration from the University of South Florida.

    Today, Lily shares with us the evolution of AACSB over its 110-year lifespan. Historically, AACSB has been thought of as an organization with a primary focus on accreditation. However, we’ll learn in this episode that this was not always the case, and with Lily’s leadership AACSB's mission will continue to evolve.

    In this illuminating discussion, we glean Lily's thoughts on a number of topics, including:

    • Teaching students to leverage AI

    • The need to solve the research gap with practice

    • Understanding corporate hiring needs

    • The major trends she sees affecting business education

    • The issues deans should be addressing as they lead their respective organizations

    • Questioning the b-school’s traditional reliance on discipline-oriented structures

    Learn more about Lily Bi.

    Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note.

    Thanks for listening.

    -

    Produced by Joel Davis at Analog Digital Arts

    --

    DEANS COUNSEL: A podcast for deans and academic leadership.

    James Ellis | Moderator | Dean of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (2007-2019)

    David Ikenberry | Moderator | Dean of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado-Boulder (2011-2016)

    Ken Kring | Moderator | Co-Managing Director, Global Education Practice and Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry

    DeansCounsel.com

    Show More Show Less
    37 mins
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