Professor Randall Carolissen (right) and Professor Lugile Ntsalaze are taking the JBS into a tech-centric direction. Photo: Karolina Komendera

Appointing a physicist as the dean of a business school may sound unusual, but that’s exactly why Professor Randall Carolissen is the perfect fit. Alongside Professor Lungile Ntsalaze – who was previously the acting executive dean at UNISA – Carolissen is taking what is the youngest business school in South Africa in a new, tech-centric direction.

The Johannesburg Business School (JBS) was initially focussed on enterprise development and had managed to make a name for itself within the SME space, but Carolissen wanted more. “I wanted to differentiate this new school from the 19 other business schools so that we could make a meaningful impact within South African society and on the African continent.”