At the biannual Executive Club of the MBA Programs for Executives at the Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management GGFBM, BGU, approximately 140 students crammed into the lecture hall for a special lecture of guest Hon. Mayor Ruvik Danilovich meeting, hanging on every word of the Mayor's talk.
Dr. Yotam Lurie, Academic Head of the MBA Programs for Executives at the GGFBM describes: “With personal modesty and strong faith in the future of Beer Sheva, Mayor Ruvik Danilovich outlined his vision of leadership."
“Leadership," exclaimed Mayor Danilovich, “is not necessarily a matter of IQ, but of EQ - emotional intelligence. Leadership requires high interpersonal skills."
Mayor Danilovitch went on to describe how the many diverse populations make up the city of Beer Sheva: young high school students, university and college students and graduates, engineers. “Beer Sheva produces the highest number of engineers in Israel," stated the Mayor, and went on, “the elderly population and people with special needs. All contribute to the growth and prosperity of the city." The combination of a technological vision of a city at the forefront of entrepreneurship and innovation on the one hand, and on the other, the cooperation and empowerment of the various populations, creates an eco-system that combines local government, industry and academia with the population in a unique way."
“Mayor Danilovich is a brilliant and charismatic orator, and this was a fascinating and inspiring lecture, especially for students like me," says Yossi Bahir, a student in the MBA Programs for Executives. He adds: "Mayor Danilovich captivated the audience, telling how the world has changed, that control is no longer in the hands of political leaders, but rather in the hands of the leaders in science, technology, culture, sports, etc. The Mayor told us: 'What remains for leaders at the municipal or national level is to shorten bureaucratic processes and to create WIN-WIN partnerships in which the entities involved will give up the ego-system to create an Eco System, and he concluded with an impotant tip for the audience: In order to realize projects like our hi-tech park, our Silicon Wadi: Believe, dare and do.'"
Right after the Mayor's lecture, the students returned to class, “all lit up and excited," laughs Dr. Sharon Barkan, the class lecturer. “A few students even told me that that Mayor's talk actually makes them want to move to Beer Sheva!"
The Executive Club is an initiative launched in 2013 by students in the MBA Programs for Executives at the GGFBM. The club meets once a semester with guest lecturers, prime leaders from industry and government. The goal of the club is to create a professional network of contacts that will serve the students and graduates of the Executive Programs.
Dr. Lurie notes the importance of the Executive Club, which emerged from within, “with students asking for more!" beyond their full study load, "the Club is also a golden opportunity for the executive students and grads to meet and network, and the Mayor's lecture on Thursday is exemplary of just the right portion of inspiration they crave."
