University of Pretoria appoints Dr Morris Mthombeni as Interim Dean of Gibs

Mthombeni has a PhD in corporate governance from the University of Pretoria, an MBA in finance from Manchester Business School and an LLB, B. Proc, B. Juris from the University of South Africa. He has a wealth of corporate experience with a cumulative 28 years in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Gibs in 2014, Mthombeni held several leadership positions at Liberty Life and Momentum, culminating in a four-year tenure as chief executive officer at Momentum Investments and as an executive director of MMI Holdings Limited. Mthombeni has also held roles in several public and private boards over his career. He was recently appointed as a non-executive director at Investec Bank Limited.

In addition to his leadership work, Mthombeni is a passionate academic and has received accolades from students and academics, both from within and external to Gibs. On academic programmes his primary focus has been the PhD and DBA programmes as well as the masters programmes where he lectures in the areas of corporate strategy, corporate governance, environment of business, and innovation. He also lectures on Gibs’ flagship Global Executive Development Programme, Board Leadership Programme and the Harvard Senior Executive Leadership Programme for senior managers and executives.

“I am humbled and honoured to serve Gibs in this role, as the school continues to navigate its way through the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. I look forward to working with the Gibs executive team to maintain the high standards established by the former dean, Prof. Nick Binedell, and enhanced by the current dean, Prof. Nicola Kleyn. Having worked under the leadership of Professor Kleyn for the last six years, I have great admiration for what she has achieved during her tenure as dean. She has been a remarkable leader and I wish her the best in her time at RSM,” said Mthombeni.

Outgoing dean of Gibs, Professor Nicola Kleyn, said: “I would like to congratulate Morris on his appointment. It is comforting to know that Gibs will be led by an individual with such a distinguished record including service to the Gibs community. I believe his leadership with the support of a strong executive will guide the school during these globally challenging times.”

Gibs which was recently ranked as the top African business school for executive education by the London Financial Times for the 17th consecutive year. The school’s flagship MBA is also one of the most sought after MBAs in the country.

Vice-chancellor of UP, Professor Tawana Kupe, said: “I would like to thank Dr Mthombeni for his willingness to serve as the interim dean of Gibs whilst the university is busy with the recruitment and selection processes for the dean’s position. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the outgoing dean, Professor Kleyn, for her dedicated and noteworthy service to the university.”

For further information, contact:

Luleka Mtongana
Communications Manager
Gordon Institute of Business Science
Tel: +27 (0)11 771 4377/ +27 (0)72 273 2249
az.oc.sbig@lanagnotm

About Gibs:

Founded in 2000, the University of Pretoria's Gordon Institute of Business Science (Gibs) is an internationally accredited business school, based in Johannesburg, South Africa's economic hub. As the business school for business, we focus on general management in dynamic markets to significantly improve responsible individual and organisational performance, primarily in the South African environment and increasingly in our broader African environment, through the provision of high quality business and management education. In May 2020, the annual UK Financial Times Executive Education rankings, a global benchmark for providers of executive education, once again ranked Gibs as the top South African and African business school. This is the 17th year running that Gibs has been ranked among the top business schools worldwide. In October 2019 the Gibs MBA was ranked among the top 100 business schools globally in the prestigious Financial Times Executive MBA Rankings. Gibs is one of two business schools in Africa to appear in this ranking.

Gibs is accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA), the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the Council on Higher Education (CHE) and is a member of the South African Business Schools Association (SABSA), and the Association of African Business Schools (AABS). For more information, visit www.gibs.co.za