Abstract

Professor Steven J. DeKrey, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Management and Honorary Fellow at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s School of Business and Management, impacted the development and global reputation of the university’s business programs. His influence also extended to business schools across the USA, Thailand, Greater China, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Italy.

He initiated and implemented pioneering Joint MBA, Executive MBA (Kellogg HKUST-EMBA), MBA, DBA, and other business education programs which endured until today, 2025. How did a PhD in Educational and Sports Psychology, and an MBA, born in rural America, become an academic pioneer and entrepreneurial leader, and manage to establish global recognition for relatively new business schools?

Learning Objectives

1. Examine the dynamics of the entrepreneurial management of nascent business schools as they develop and establish a global reputation.

2. Analyze the influence of a non-academic leader with extensive experience in admissions, recruitment, program design and management, administration, teaching, and impacting university leaders, faculty, and students worldwide.

3. Enable students to embrace learning agility, equipping them with the adaptability and skills needed to excel in evolving careers.

4. Determine management skills between leaders in academia versus leaders in the business world ̶ identify opportunities for mutual learning and growth.