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62 BizEd MAY | JUNE 2015 Ironically, his career path eventually led to roles that didn't involve practic- ing accounting at all. For the last eight years, he has worked at the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia, first as its head of educational content; then as its man- aging director of education; and finally as its managing director of the Americas, the institute's largest market encom- passing the U.S., Canada, and Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition to his primary responsibil- ities, he oversaw the CFA Institute's Key Stakeholder Services Division, which provides services to its membership. Most recently, he co-sponsored its Fu- ture of Finance Initiative, a long-term ef- fort that aims to bolster the integrity and social focus of the entire finance commu- nity. "My job didn't involve accounting, but it involved everything that I would have learned in an MBA program—orga- nizational behavior, team development, strategic planning," he says. "Over the last eight years, I feel as if I've e"ectively earned an MBA!" Now, Robinson embraces his next big challenge—as of May 1, he becomes the CEO of AACSB International, headquar- tered in Tampa, Florida. He succeeds John Fernandes, who is retiring after 15 years in the role. For Robinson, the tran- sition from the CFA Institute to AACSB seems like a natural next step. "I've had experience in practice, I've had expe- rience in academe, I've had experience in not-for-profit organizations. AACSB focuses on all of these things, for all of management education," he says. "Every- thing has come together to prepare me for this new role." BizEd recently spoke to Robinson about his approach to leadership. He also shared his love of teaching, his passion for linking academia to practice, and his excitement about making an impact as AACSB's next leader. What lessons do you take away from your years at the CFA Institute that you think will best serve you as AACSB's CEO? I came from an academic background, so when I first started at the CFA Institute, I would go into meetings knowing what the answer was. I would be very quick to pro- vide an answer or solution. Since then, I've learned to take a step back and look at the bigger picture, especially when I'm thinking about how to do strategic planning or develop teams. It's important to sit back, listen, and ask questions. My leadership style is now more about facili- tating the conversation to help the group reach a conclusion, rather than providing a conclusion myself. I really view an organization as a partnership. Everyone in the organiza- tion is an equal partner who is invested in pushing the organization's vision forward. It's important to make sure ev- eryone has an opportunity to contribute. What do you think you most need to learn on the job at AACSB? I think I'm going to be drinking from a fire hose! I've read the new accreditation standards, and I need to spend more time with them. I've participated in the accreditation process from the faculty perspective, but I now need to learn more about it from AACSB's perspec- tive. I plan to go on an accreditation vis- it, so I can see how that process works. In my first six months, I think there's going to be a lot of listening and learning. What do you view as the association's most important priorities? That's what the board of directors' visioning process is all about—they are asking how AACSB will add value to its member institutions. The association's 2020 Committee is just now wrapping up its report, which looks at where we are today and where we want to be. There are big trends a"ecting business schools right now—globalization, rapidly changing technology, shifting student demographics. AACSB needs to help business schools deal with those chal- lenges and opportunities. What excites you most as you assume your role at AACSB? What excites me most is the opportunity to have an impact on business educa- tion that's much broader than I could have at the CFA Institute. I've always been interested in the nexus between practice and academe—in making sure that what's being taught in the uni- versity is based on what's going on in practice, while simultaneously creating knowledge that will improve practice. At AACSB, we can add value to our member schools by providing a very close con- nection to what's going on in business. What do you want to carry over from the association's last 15 years, and what do you hope the association will look like five years from now? In the late 1990s, AACSB had only a handful of member schools outside North America. Today, it's a truly global organi- zation, with its second o¢ce in Singapore and now its new o¢ce in Amsterdam. There's also a great culture among the sta" in Tampa, who make a fun team. I want to keep that momentum going. What do you most want AACSB's member- ship to know about you? I'm born and raised in Miami, so I'm thrilled to be coming back to Florida. One of my passions is fishing, and the fishing is a lot better in Florida than it is in Virginia! I also love to teach, and in my travels around the world with the CFA Institute, I had opportunities to guest lecture at many universities. That's something that I'd like to contin- ue to do with AACSB. "EVERYONE IN THE ORGANIZATION IS AN EQUAL PARTNER WHO IS INVESTED IN PUSHING THE ORGANIZATION'S VISION FORWARD."