Muhammad Azzam Roomi Ph.D.

Program Director, Professor of Entrepreneurship

Background

Dr. Muhammad Azam Roomi is an enthusiastic entrepreneurship advocate, renowned for developing and delivering executive education programs globally. He directed prestigious programs at Cranfield School of Management and contributed significantly to the graduate program portfolio at the University of Bedfordshire. Dr. Roomi spearheaded research initiatives at the Centre for Women’s Enterprise, emphasizing women-owned business growth in the UK and across Asia and Islamic nations. His teaching and research interests encompass entrepreneurial leadership, venture growth, women’s entrepreneurship in Muslim countries, family business management, and Islamic entrepreneurship.

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Dr. Muhammad Azam Roomi has provided consultancy services to national governments, multilateral agencies, and private organizations worldwide. He held leadership roles in community development and entrepreneurship education organizations in the UK. Dr. Roomi is recognized by prestigious fellowships and accolades for his innovative teaching methods. He actively engages with charities and corporates to promote entrepreneurship

Function and Specialization

• Entrepreneurial Leadership
• Growth of Entrepreneurial Ventures
• Leading Family Businesses
• Corporate Entrepreneurship
• Islamic Entrepreneurship
• Entrepreneurship for Youth and Women
• New Venture Creation, Business Idea Generation, and Opportunity Recognition
• Creativity and Innovation for Entrepreneurial Ventures

Zeger Degraeve, Ph.D.

Executive Dean

Background

Dr. Zeger Degraeve serves as the Dean of Prince Mohammed Bin Salman College of Business and Entrepreneurship (MBSC). With over two decades of academic leadership and global executive education experience, Dr. Degraeve is recognized as an authority in decision-making, operations research, project portfolio management, and risk analysis. His academic career spans top institutions across Europe, North America, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Dr. Degraeve began his academic tenure as a Professor of Management Science at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium), before joining London Business School in 1999. There, he held several senior leadership roles, including Associate Dean of Executive MBA Programs (2002–2005) and Deputy Dean of Programs and Board Member (2005–2007). In 2011, he became Dean of Melbourne Business School and Co-Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Melbourne, following the formation of a landmark strategic alliance between the two institutions. In October 2019, he joined MBSC as Dean, bringing a wealth of international experience and institutional insight.

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In parallel with his academic roles, Dr. Degraeve has provided strategic consultancy in operations management, logistics, supply chains, environmental planning, and purchasing strategy. His clients have included the European Commission, Andersen Business Consulting, McKinsey & Co., and NERA.He has also led and contributed to executive development programs for leading multinational corporations such as HSBC, Shell, SABIC, BP, IBM, Merck Serono, Rio Tinto, Novartis, Majid Al Futtaim, and Dubai Holdings, delivering impactful programs across Europe, North America, Russia, and the MENA region.

Function and Specialization

• Decision Science and Risk Analysis
• Operations and Supply Chain Strategy
• Project Portfolio Management
• Strategic Decision-Making
• Executive and Organizational Development

Farzad Khan Ph.D.

Professor of Strategy

Background

Dr. Farzad R. Khan has taught for 25 years at leading universities in Canada, China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. He is presently a Professor of Strategy at the Prince Mohammad bin Salman College of Business and Entrepreneurship (MBSC).Dr. Khan graduated with a Ph.D. in Strategy and Organization from McGill University (Montreal, Canada) in 2005. His Ph.D. dissertation was co- supervised by Professor Henry Mintzberg, considered the top ten management thinkers alive by the Financial Times of London. While at McGill University, Dr. Khan received the “Teacher of the Year Award” from its Management Undergraduate Society. Dr. Khan also has a Masters in Economics of Developing Countries from the University of Cambridge (UK) and a Bachelor with Great Distinction from McGill University in Accounting and Finance

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Involved in consulting assignments as well as in executive development programs. Educated and coached executives in leadership-related skills from leading Saudi and international organizations such as Saudi Arabian Railways, Saudi Aramco

A guest speaker on many prestigious forums: Hanken School of Economics (Finland), Harvard Medical School’s Leadership in Healthcare Management Executive Program, the EMBA Program at Hult International Business School, and the National Institutes of Health Bio-Ethics Program for Aga Khan University. Published various research papers in: Leading academic business/management journals: Human Relations, Organization, Organization Studies, Journal of Business Ethics, and Journal of Change Management.

Function and Specialization

• Change Management
• General Management
• Leadership
• Organizational Behavior
• Strategy

James Ryan, Ph.D.

Professor of Organizational Behavior

Background

Dr. James is a management scholar with more than 20 years of international experience in teaching, research, and consulting. He specializes in issues relating to workplace behavior and people management. He holds a B.Sc. (Psychology) and M.A. (Social and Organizational Psychology) from University College Dublin, and a PhD (Business) from Dublin City University, Ireland.

Selected Professional Experience

Teaches across the OB and HR functions with interests in leadership, motivation, performance management, and staff hiring and retention challenges.

An editorial advisory board member of several academic journals and a Government of Ireland Scholar.

Published impactful research in leading academic journals such as Research Policy, Journal of Business Ethics, R&D Management, & Journal of Business Research, among others.

Worked in the Gulf region since 2008, as well as previously working with diverse populations in New Zealand and his home country of Ireland.

Awarded with several teaching and research awards at national, institutional, and departmental levels.

Function and Specialization

• Workplace Behavior
• Human Resource Management
• Conflict Resolution
• Organizational Culture
• Organizational Psychology
• Business Performance Management
• Philosophy