LBS Opens New Sammy Ofer Centre Expanding Its Teaching Space by 70 Percent
On September 26, the London Business School opened its new, state-of-the-art teaching hub: the Sammy Ofer Centre. Located in Old Marylebone Town Hall, the new center will increase teaching space at LBS by 70 percent. It includes 37 seminar rooms, six new lecture theaters, a new library, and multiple breakout areas. The center also features a mix of classical 1920s structure with the latest in architectural design for a beautiful aesthetic.
Of the new center, LBS Dean François Ortalo-Magné said in a press release: “The school’s London location puts us at the heart of the world’s financial and business community and has shaped our character and success since the early 1960s. The Sammy Ofer Centre embodies the quality of the LBS brand and promotes an exciting future for the school.”
The opening of the Sammy Ofer Centre was made possible due to a fundraising campaign that raised more than £125 million, a portion of which was used to develop the new facility. During the campaign, LBS also received its largest gift ever, a £25 million donation from the Idan and Batia Ofer Family Foundation. Thanks to that generous gift, the new center was named in honor of the late Sammy Ofer KBE, an entrepreneur and philanthropist.
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As for the motivation behind the £25 million donation from the Ofer Family Foundation, Idan Ofer was an MBA graduate from LBS and wanted to give back to the school that helped shape him.
“Seeing the new center with my own eyes has brought alive to me the tremendous spirit of this institution and why it deserves its reputation,” Idan Ofer said in a press release. “LBS is rightly considered among the best in its class, renowned for nurturing the entrepreneurs and leaders of tomorrow, something which has always been close to my heart. I am confident that this wonderful new building will ensure the school is fully equipped to serve the next generation of students and to remain at the front rank of business education worldwide.”
Many school officials and influencers attended the official September 26 opening ceremony for the Sammy Ofer Centre. Among them were Idan and Batia Ofer, the Hon Apurv Bagri, chairman of LBS’s governing body and managing director of the Metdist Group of companies; LBS Dean François Ortalo-Magné, and former LBS Dean Sir Andrew Likierman.
For more on the much-anticipated new addition to the LBS campus, click here.
This article has been edited and republished with permissions from Clear Admit.
London Business School Welcomes New Dean Ortalo-Magné
The London Business School newest dean has arrived, heading to London from Wisconsin.
Dean François Ortalo-Magné will be the school’s ninth dean. He previously served as dean at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 2011 to 2017, according to a press release. Now, he’ll be embarking on a tenure with the London Business School.
“In a challenging world, LBS has the opportunity to show the way,” he said. “I am excited for the journey.”
While at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ortalo-Magné built the university’s faculty, raised money, and improved the school’s brand. Inclusion and diversity were some of his key pillars as dean. Though Ortalo-Magné was previously based in the United States, his career actually began in London, attending the London School of Economics and Political Science in the mid-90s. He taught at the London Business School for six months as a visiting research scholar as well.
The previous dean, Sir Andrew Likierman, leaves his eight-year position, but he’ll continue teaching at the London Business School as a professor of management practice in accounting. Ortalo-Magné is excited to follow in his foot steps.
“I feel particularly grateful for the opportunity to succeed Sir Andrew, who has created such great momentum in the school,” Ortalo-Magné said. “I am energized by how engaged everyone is: our alumni, students, staff, and faculty members. They are all ambitious for the school, and this makes it an inspiring place to be.”
However, the new dean isn’t the only one excited about this change. So is the school’s Governing Body Chairman Apurv Bagri.
“François is ideally placed to take us forward and build on the great work carried out by Sir Andrew,” Bagri said. “The school goes from strength to strength, and I’m confident that François will continue to enhance its reputation for academic excellence and the delivery of world-class degree and executive education programs.”
London Business School Announces New Dean
London Business School announced the appointment of its ninth dean on July 25, 2016.
François Ortalo-Magné will become the first non-British European to hold the position in the school’s history. His appointment will be made official when he assumes the deanship in August of 2017.
London Business School Held Third China Business Forum
London Business School’s Chinese student community is growing every year and for this, the third China Business Forum they lined up a panel that included authorities on finance, trade and government.
The School’s Dean, Professor Sir Andrew Likierman, said greater ties were needed: “We need only to see the effect on stock markets round the world when the estimate of China’s growth rate is changed (as it has been recently) to see just how central China is to the world economy.”
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