In a management education landscape increasingly shaped by AI, automation and shifting employer expectations, what does it truly mean to prepare someone for leadership? In this exclusive PaGaLGuY Director Interview series, Rev. Dr C. Joe Arun, SJ, Director of LIBA Chennai, makes a compelling case that the future belongs to emotionally intelligent, ethically grounded and creatively capable managers.
He states that knowledge alone is becoming commodified, and what differentiates humans from machines is the ability to feel, imagine, relate and transform. Through stories, philosophies and practical examples, Fr Joe describes how LIBA has redesigned its entire system, from learning spaces to AI integration, around the transformation of the whole person.
Q & A — Rev. Dr C. Joe Arun, SJ, Director, LIBA
Q — What was the turning point in your career that led you to take on the role of Director at LIBA?
“Teaching should spark inner transformation — mind, heart and character.”
A — I consider myself a change agent. One defining moment came early in my teaching career when a former student found me at an airport and thanked me for changing her life. She said a lesson on consumer behaviour had altered how she saw relationships and choices. That encounter made me realise that teaching can do more than transfer facts, it can spark inner transformation. Since then I have shaped my career around enabling that transformation: as a teacher, researcher and administrator my aim has been to help students change not just intellectually, but at the level of habit, identity and conscience.
Q — Jesuit education emphasises forming “persons for and with others.” How do you embed that ethos in a generation driven by speed and personal ambition?
“If you say today ‘I don’t care’, a time will come when the world won’t care about you.”
A — Context matters. Students today are digital natives; so you enter through their world and invite them into conversation. Conversation itself is an instrument of change, it opens minds and builds long-term understanding. Practically, we make care habitual: simple campus practices like a “wall of kindness” for donations and an honesty shop where students self-pay for items teach generosity and integrity. In classroom content, even in technical subjects like marketing or sales, we consistently weave in concern for others and the planet. The idea is accompaniment: we walk with students so their growth includes responsibility and solidarity, not only success.
Q — Management education is shifting from knowledge acquisition to capability creation. Which capabilities should define the next-generation manager, and how is LIBA redesigning learning around them?
“Knowledge is ubiquitous; the real task of an institution is to build capabilities”
A — Knowledge is ubiquitous; the real task of an institution is to build capabilities, rational – emotional and moral. Rational skills are learnable independently; emotional capabilities (self-awareness, crisis resilience, relational judgment) require guided practice and accompaniment. Moral capability – ethical discernment, must be cultivated deliberately. At LIBA we run a Personal Growth Lab, a wellbeing department and practice-based learning spaces that focus on competence: the ability to respond well in real situations, professionally and humanely, rather than simply owning declarative knowledge.
Q — With AI and LLMs taking over analytical tasks, what uniquely human skills must an MBA cultivate to remain indispensable?
“Please don’t teach what Google can teach better. Build capabilities instead.”
A — Creativity, imagination and the capacity to pose the right questions. AI can process data and automate routine work; it cannot originate the imaginative leaps that create new meaning. So we emphasise creative problem-solving, innovation (combining disparate ideas to make something new), emotional intelligence and ethical judgement. The skill of framing the right questions, and then synthesising human insight with machine output will be the premium competence.
Q — How is LIBA responding to AI — are you going all-in, building “cyborg” graduates, or taking a more cautious approach?
“An institution must move from assistive AI to autonomous systems — or it won’t survive the next 20 years.”
A — We’re proactively integrating AI across operations and learning. I’ve undertaken formal training in machine learning; LIBA has developed its own app (Ignite) and a Centre for AI. Our aim is to progress from assistive uses (tools that help) to augmentation and autonomy (agents that can run processes when humans aren’t present). Autonomous agents can scale learning and campus operations, but the human work like mentoring, moral formation, creative leadership, shall remain central. Preparing students to collaborate with agentic systems is the pragmatic path forward.
Q — As companies deploy autonomous agents that can work 24/7, how should organisations and educators respond to rising productivity expectations?
“Machines will automate tasks. Humans must imagine, create and ask the right questions.”
A — Routine and repetitive tasks will be automated. Organisations must value and hire for imagination, judgement and creativity and for capacities machines cannot fully replicate. Education must therefore produce graduates who can ask sharper questions, design systems and lead ethically. Skills of persuasion, communication and value creation will distinguish human contributors. Institutions should pivot to creating these high-leverage capacities.
Q — Consulting, BFSI and ITES still dominate placements. Which emerging career paths will matter for LIBA graduates over the next 5–10 years?
“Life is selling – not commercially, but humanly. To be human is to sell.”
A — Regardless of sectoral change, one core human skill remains indispensable: the ability to sell – broadly understood as persuading and mobilising people. Sales is the art of influencing, whether you’re pitching products, ideas or yourself. Complementary strengths include motivational leadership, eloquent communication and conversational skill. These foundational human competencies will allow graduates to adapt to varied and evolving pathways.
Q — What is the most uncomfortable but necessary question every MBA aspirant should ask before joining a school?
“Don’t ask where you’ll get a job. Ask whether you’ll get a joyful, meaningful two years.”
A — Ask whether the programme will give you a joyful, growth-filled two years, not just a job. Students should evaluate whether the campus will let them explore, uncover talents, join clubs, and build a meaningful life beyond the classroom. If a school can offer a fulfilling, low-stress ecosystem for two formative years, career outcomes will follow. Prospective students must be honest: do I want only placement metrics, or do I want a future that includes joy and personal formation?
Q — Finally, one piece of life advice for the next generation — not about careers, but about becoming a better human being?
“Vulnerability is the birthplace of longing, creativity, love and innovation.”
A — Embrace your vulnerability. Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s the birthplace of longing, belonging, love, creativity and innovation. When you accept your brokenness you become humble and grateful, and those virtues lead to authentic leadership. My life from leaving home at 14 to studying and teaching internationally – taught me that acknowledging limits and turning them into strengths is the foundation for lasting fulfilment. Students who internalise this will find that gratitude and humility open doors to everything they desire.
Closing reflection
Education that merely transmits facts will be outpaced by machines; but an education that shapes how we feel, decide and relate will remain irreplaceable. Dr Arun’s prescription is strikingly simple: teach students how to ask better questions, to create rather than consume, to serve rather than merely succeed, and to own their vulnerability as the seed of resilience. For aspirants choosing a B-school, his challenge cuts through hype: choose a place that will change who you are, not only what you know.
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