Leonard Waverman
Dean, Haskayne School of Business

Leonard Waverman, a world-renowned expert in international telecommunications and resources management, joined the Haskayne School of Business as dean in January 2008. He came to the U of C from the London Business School, where he was chair of economics.

What interested you in coming to the Haskayne School of Business and the University of Calgary?

What interested me were the global opportunities that exist at the university and at Haskayne because of the strength of the energy and natural resources sectors in the province. Global firms are here and we can push Haskayne to be a global business school. My vision is for Haskayne to become a pre-eminent business school. To do that, we have to rely on the law of comparative advantage, which says we not only do what we are good at, but we should be good at the things that will help our community.

One of your research areas is global resources management. What opportunities do you see for Haskayne in this area?

We can focus more on natural resources management issues and develop a vision for a Centre of Natural Resources Management. The management issues are diverse and crucial: risk assessment, sustainability, human resources engagement, finance, strategy—the issues that drive teaching and research at Haskayne. The centre can work with the business community to identify the issues and then do the research and bring it back to the classroom and into firms.
  
What do you think is the role of a business school at a university?

Many professional faculties struggle with the issue of being a legitimate university institution. There was a big debate at universities in England and there was a lot of opposition to business schools. U.K. universities are ancient institutions, but the sentiment is common. Although we are a professional school and train MBAs and undergraduates, we also do fundamental research in the issues of business. The role of the business school at the university is to push the frontiers of education and knowledge and to work with the business community to make a better school, a better province and a better Canada.

How can the business school best prepare students for their future roles in business?

We can prepare students best by giving them the tools they need to go into business, but we also need to give them more. They need to know what their responsibilities are as managers and leaders. We will be focusing more on areas of individual development and understanding social responsibility. We are here to produce the leaders that this generation demands.