Gordon Institute of Business Science

GIBS was established in January 2000 following a contribution by Sir Donald Gordon, the founder of Liberty Life and Liberty International, and a major investment by the University of Pretoria following discussions that started in 1998.[4][5] The business school follows on the university's Graduate School of Management's long tradition of MBA tuition. Founded in 1949,[6] the GSM MBA was the first MBA programme to be launched outside of North America.[7] The GSM, as of January 2008, was formally replaced by the Gordon Institute of Business Science.[8]

GIBS is situated in a greenfield campus on Illovo Boulevard, a mixed-use commercial node between the suburbs of Rosebank and Sandton in Johannesburg,[9] with a satellite inner city campus on Pritchard Street.[10] Accommodation is provided on the Illovo campus by the on-campus Illovo Hotel. The Illovo campus is served by the Rosebank Gautrain station, with a nearby Gautrain bus stop, and the inner city campus by the Johannesburg Park Station.

Sir Donald Gordon

Sir Donald Gordon (24 June 1930 – 21 November 2019) was a South African businessman and philanthropist. He was educated at King Edward VII School in Johannesburg[11] before doing his articles to be a Chartered Accountant at the firm Kessel Feinstein (now Grant Thornton).[11] He founded the Liberty Life Association of Africa in 1957,[12] out of which he formed Transatlantic Insurance Holdings plc, now Liberty International (a property portfolio of £6.2 billion (2009)) and Liberty Holdings Limited (total assets of R449 billion (2011)).[12] He was a co-founder of the British company Abbey Life. In June 2005, he was awarded a British knighthood in recognition of his services to the arts and business.[12]

In 2021, the school had 35 permanent faculty members, 29 adjunct faculty members, 11 international faculty members, 8 extraordinary professors, and 1 honorary professor (80% of faculty members hold a doctorate[13]). Past and present faculty members include Gill Marcus (ninth Governor of the South African Reserve Bank) and Nick Binedell.

Company-specific programmes clients include Standard Bank, Anglo American PLC, ABSA, SABMiller, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the South African National Treasury. The company-specific programmes have been delivered in 22 countries and include certificates in senior management development, wealth management, middle management development, and foundation management development.[15]