Family Enterprise and Business Education with Hakim Meshreki

Family Enterprise and Business Education with Hakim Meshreki

Family businesses are distinct from other organizations in both structure and behavior. They are the backbone of many economies worldwide, but are rarely centered in management education. In this episode of The Global Exchange, we hear from Hakim Meshreki, Associate Professor of Marketing at the American University of Cairo and Commercial Director of Menatec, a family-owned adhesives company his father and uncle started in a garage in 1972. Drawing on this rare dual role, Hakim explores the characteristics of family businesses: the blending of family identity and business values, the "patient capital" mindset that prioritizes generational wealth over quarterly returns, and the succession planning challenges being reshaped by AI and shortened business model lifecycles. He outlines the ways in which traditional MBA programs fall short of meeting the needs of family business leaders and previews a promising response to that gap: a MENA Family Enterprise Hub being developed in partnership with GBSN. View a transcript of the episode. [https://gbsn.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/TGE-Hakim-Meshreki-Transcript.pdf]

Business and Biodiversity with Ximena Rueda

No business operates independently of nature. This interconnectedness is too often overlooked in business and business education, but understanding it can open up powerful new opportunities. Our guest on this episode of The Global Exchange is Ximena Rueda, Dean of the School of Management at Universidad de los Andes and visiting professor at Stanford's Center for Food Security and the Environment. Ximena shares insights from her three years as co-chair of the IPBES Business and Biodiversity Assessment [https://ict.ipbes.net/ipbes-ict-guide/data-and-knowledge-management/citations-of-ipbes-assessments/business-and-biodiversity-assessment#full-report], a landmark report that offers a framework for how companies can measure and manage their impact on the natural world. The conversation covers the economics of ecosystem services, why biodiversity is far more complex to measure than carbon emissions, and how businesses should approach community engagement. From rethinking value chains and supplier relationships to unlocking new business models rooted in sustainability, Ximena walks through the actions available to businesses today and reflects on the importance of recovering a sense of societal purpose for the next generation of business leaders. View a transcript of the episode. [https://gbsn.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/TGE-Ximena-Rueda-Transcript.pdf]

AI and Business Schools with Tawnya Means

How is AI reshaping teaching and learning? And is business education keeping up? This episode of The Global Exchange features a rich conversation with Tawnya Means, founder and principal at Inspire Higher Ed, co-founder of AdvancAI Higher Ed, and co-founder of AI Convergence — ventures collectively focused on helping higher education institutions lead AI transformation. Drawing on a multi-year study of nearly 50 institutions, Tawnya unpacks the magnitude of the transformation that's underway and discusses how to use AI "as a learning machine, not an answering machine." The conversation covers the difference between cognitive offloading and cognitive surrender, how AI can support business faculty with instruction and pedagogy, and why the single most critical success factor for schools navigating this moment isn't just the technology, but the faculty development and leadership surrounding it.

The Global Exchange: A Conversation with Margaret Andrews

What does it really take to become a better leader? According to leadership expert Margaret Andrews, the answer starts not with managing others, but with managing yourself. In this session, Margaret and Dan will explore how personal experiences, values, and worldview shape your leadership style—and how self-awareness can be your most valuable leadership tool.

The Global Exchange: A Conversation with Ronit Avni

Ronit Avni, CEO of Localized, and Dan dig into the growing imperative for “carbon intelligence”—a baseline fluency in sustainability and climate-aware decision-making that is becoming increasingly important to workforce development. But that’s just one piece of what Ronit calls the “skills triad”: green literacy, virtual fluency, and AI competency.