Paper chase: Andrew Rose, dean, NUS Business School

PROFESSOR Andrew Rose doesn't believe in having academic visions. The dean of NUS Business School, who assumed the role in mid-2019, says he "came here explicitly without a strategy", believing it's "completely inappropriate" for an "outsider" like himself to bring one.

"My view is, either it's really obvious what your strategy is, in which case, there's no reason to because it's obvious, or it's something we're not doing already, in which case, why would you imagine we have a comparative advantage in it?" says Prof Rose.

As he developed his strategy for the school in the initial weeks that followed, one of his first challenges was how to chart a sustainable way forward for the school, which he said had been struggling with finances.