François Ortalo-Magné
François Ortalo-Magné © Bryce Richter

London Business School has appointed François Ortalo-Magné as its dean. He joins from Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US, where he has been at the helm since 2011.

The professor will not take up the role until August 1 2017, and incumbent Sir Andrew Likierman will see out his tenure.

During his time at Wisconsin, Prof Ortalo-Magné has “demonstrated an ability to grow and strengthen faculty, raise substantial funds, improve the student experience and enhance the organisation’s brand,” said Apurv Bagri, chairman of London Business School’s governing body and managing director of Metdist Group.

The UK capital city’s prominent financial sector makes LBS attractive for students and staff, but one challenge facing the new dean will be to ensure that a more restrictive immigration policy — promised by Theresa May’s government following the UK vote to leave the EU — does not harm its business model. The school attracts students from 130 countries and has 157 academic staff from 50 nations.

Another task will be to maintain the school’s position as one of the world’s best for business education. It was ranked third in the FT Global MBA Rankings this year, and it was best in Europe in 2015.

Sir Andrew, who has been dean since 2008 and has raised £100m for an additional campus building at Marylebone Town Hall, is due to return to his previous role as a member of faculty.

Prof Ortalo-Magné is a graduate of Ecole Supérieure d’Agriculture de Purpan in Toulouse and has a PhD in economics from the University of Minnesota. He was professor of real estate at Wisconsin before his appointment as dean.

As well as its London campus, LBS has sites in New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Dubai.

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