Dezsö Horváth: The Insider Interview
TheInsider’s Miriam Amdur recently interviewed Dezsö J. Horváth, the dean of the Schulich School of Business. Here, some of the manymilestones from his career are highlighted, and the value of a Schulicheducation is explored.
Sitting in a conference room outside hisoffice, Dean Dezsö Horváth is eloquent when he speaks about many of the ordinary andextraordinary parts of his life. His enthusiasm for global business, innovation,and management education are made clear through the success of the Schulich ofSchool of Business, where he has served as dean for nearly 30 years now.
He is quick to admit that he never planned to be an academic,originally studying electrical engineering and then pursuing a career inresearch and development at the Swedish multinational ASEA (now ABB). He explainsthat “ABB and I agreed that Ineeded to go back to school and learn more about management,” which eventuallyled him to writing his MBA thesis on a major project for the company. A numberof opportunities in academia soon followed: “WhenI was close to finishing [the MBA], the dean asked me to stay to teach. Firstundergraduate, then increasingly higher up.” During this time, he workedtowards his management degrees in Sweden, at the Licentiate and PhD level.
Upon finishing hisPhD, “a field started emerging that wasn’t around before—strategy,” saysHorváth. This led to himgoing back to ABB to write one of the first theses on strategy, and theacademic advances continued, “so I became an academic,” he says. It was a goodfriend at York University whom Horváth had helped with his thesis, who broughthim to York’s business school, then known as the Faculty of AdministrativeStudies. One of the most important reasons for his arrival was to expand on theexisting strategy education. “I arrived in late January and was given anundergraduate and graduate class…I told them I’m going to change the courseoutline.” Due to personal reasons, he returned to Sweden, only to be visited bythe associate dean in 1976, who convinced him to officially join York’sbusiness school faculty.
Horváth says helping todevelop a strategy curriculum was one of his earliest and most importantcontributions to the business school. “It was a new and very importantfield…and I taught many of our graduates from the late 1970s and early 1980s,who now have senior positions.” Some of those graduates include JaniceFukakusa, former CFO of Royal Bank and now Chair of the Canada InfrastructureBank, and Ron Mock, CEO of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
In 1988, when Horváthbecame dean, he adopted a strategy of globalization and program innovation forSchulich. He explains the development of his unique strategic approach tomanagement education through an analogy with famed Russian chess player Garry Kasparov: “We had to playany other game with Kasparov but chess. If we wanted to compete with Harvardand Wharton, we couldn’t play on their terms.”
The internationalmake-up of Toronto, which Horváth found to be very attractive, was ideallysuited for the global orientation he implemented at Schulich. “I liked Torontowhen I arrived, it was perfect for my background, having many cultures andlanguages behind me,” he reveals. His research background in multinationalcorporations and globalization also proved crucial. “We emerged in the early‘90s as the global leaders [in international business] … well before the Americansand the Europeans.” According to Horváth, the school adopted a three-prongedstrategy that focused on being global, innovative, and diverse. “Thisinnovative stance creates all major programs for us. Some of the new Masterdegrees and MBA specializations we launched are one of the only ones in theworld.” That early focus on international business helped make the School muchmore global in outlook and composition. “We increasingly have a much morediverse faculty and student body…70-80 nationalities, speaking over a hundredlanguages. We train you for an environment you have to live with…one requiringmore judgment capability.” Horváth remembers Schulich’s founding dean, Dr.James Gillies, once stating, “I founded the School, but you took the Schoolglobal.”
Horváth’s ability toposition Schulich ahead of the curve has allowed the School to create programsthat capitalize on new developments in business and new market opportunities.“We were one of the first schools to develop a program in businessanalytics…and this year we just launched a new degree in infrastructure,” says Horváth.However, it is the School’s commitment to responsible business education thatmany find admirable. That commitment was initially made possible through theErivan K. Haub Program in Business and Sustainability, established in 1992after a $1.5 million donation from Erivan and Helga Haub. The program hasdeveloped and delivered Schulich graduate sustainability courses for the MBAspecialization in Business & Sustainability, and elective courses for bothgraduate and undergraduate students. Since then, the School has addedspecializations and courses in business ethics, corporate social responsibility,and corporate governance. The more recent establishment of Schulich’s Centre ofExcellence in Responsible Business has also sparked interest in sustainabilityresearch from students and faculty alike.
Schulich has always beenknown to have a student body appreciative of various fields both within andoutside the business world. Horváth details the story of MBA graduate HanaZalzal, who received her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering: “Shethought why not capitalize on my interest in chemistry and my interest incosmetics… she started her own business [Cargo Cosmetics], which became thefirm globally for movie stars.” Zalzal went on to sell her business and hassince engaged in other exciting opportunities in the movie industry. Just asunique is the story of IMBA grad Amanda Martinez, who chose to pursue a musiccareer, receiving praise for her songs from Grammy-winning producers. Horváth says Amanda also guest stars at variousSchulich events, including the School’s 50th Anniversary Gala lastyear, making it apparent that applying one’s passions is always a possibility.
In a big way, it is thecommunity at Schulich that opens the minds of students and allows them toexplore different opportunities in business. Horváth says, “It’s not enough tohave good grades... all our most successful graduates are well-rounded people,not too narrow in their orientation, people-people.” He encourages students tosimply learn as much as they can by staying on top of their studies andparticipating in extra-curricular activities. He also holds that Schulich’sundergraduate students are among the “top echelon” in the world, as evidencedby the success of the School’s undergraduate teams in various global case competitions.
The graduate andundergraduate programs at Schulich require students to balance many aspects oftheir lives, but this is something that Horváth believes will help students in theircareers once they graduate. “You never have enough time to do everything. It’sabout how you create trade-offs and prioritize.” He assures that “it’s not soobvious now, but when you do your undergraduate degree, these are probably thebest four years of your life… so live, and I really mean live!” In fact, headmits that he would have probably participated in the IMBA or iBBA programshad he been a student now because of the opportunity to work in other parts ofthe world and to develop a more global outlook.
Horváth emphasizesSchulich’s forward-looking programs, created in response to this rapidlytransforming world, and recommends that students “look for jobs that don’texist today, in new and emerging areas and industries.” Further, he makes itclear that students should not pursue certain areas of business solely becauseof the financial rewards associated with them, arguing instead that they shouldremain curious to find out what truly fascinates them. “If you are passionate,you will succeed,” he says.
In a sense, it is hispassion for education that has allowed him to bring the School to the top,ranking #1 in Canada in a number of recent global MBA surveys, including Forbesand CNNExpansion, andamong the top five EMBA programs in the world in the most recent Economistranking. Horváthexplains the philosophy the School has developed: “If we have great studentsand great faculty, this is a guarantee for success.” What’s more, his bestadvice to students is to never give up on education. “Education is the solutionto a great future. Think beyond… don’t stop learning, even if it be throughself-learning.”
Horváth maintains thatbecause of his passion for the work he does, he believes that he has never hadto work a day in his life. “I feel young with all the young students… thestudents don’t let us get old.” Every year at Schulich’s convocations, theSchool graduates more than 1000 students, changing their lives througheducation. This, he says, makes him most proud to work at Schulich.