Singapore, 1 September 2021 (Wednesday) – The Singapore Management University (SMU) announced today that it has appointed Professor Bert De Reyck as the Dean of Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB).  He takes over the helm from Professor Gerry George who served as Dean from 2015 – 2021 and will assume the role for a five-year term.  Professor George has moved to Georgetown University and will continue his association with SMU as a Visiting Professor.

SMU Provost Professor Timothy Clark said, “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Professor Gerry George for his outstanding leadership and tremendous contributions to SMU and LKCSB, and the strong legacy he leaves. I am confident that Professor De Reyck, with his prior leadership experience and outstanding research and teaching achievements, will be able to build on this legacy and significantly contribute to LKCSB’s success as a leading provider of high-quality business education and propel it to greater heights of excellence globally.”

Professor De Reyck’s appointment was very strongly supported by the SMU Board of Trustees, President, and other key internal and external stakeholders, and resulted from an extensive and rigorous global search that started in May 2020.

Professor De Reyck brings to his role a rich repository of academic and research achievements. He earned his BSc in Applied Economics, MSc in Information Systems Engineering and PhD in Operations Management from the University of Leuven, Belgium. He is the Founding Director of the UCL School of Management at University College London. Before joining UCL, Bert held positions at London Business School, the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the Rotterdam School of Management. He has also taught at Columbia University, Hong Kong University, and CEIBS. He has been the recipient of several teaching and applied research awards.

An accomplished scholar, Professor De Reyck’s research activities focus on decision analytics, artificial intelligence, and project management. His award-winning research is published in numerous academic and professional journals and it has seen applications in a wide variety of companies in the life sciences, aerospace, and transportation industries. He has also secured several research grants, industry sponsorships and projects with organisations such as Eurocontrol, the UK Department for Transport, Network Rail, Heathrow Airport, The Noble Group, Dunlop Aerospace, Eaton Aerospace, the New York Transit Authority, Pfizer, Merck, Roche, Novartis, Sanofi-Aventis, and Shire.

Professor De Reyck enjoys the reputation of being a dedicated educator, an inspiring leader and an able administrator who is highly respected by his colleagues. In accepting the appointment as the Dean of LKCSB, he said “This appointment is a real honour. I have followed the developments at SMU closely since its establishment twenty years ago and have always been very impressed by its accomplishments in such a short timeframe. Despite their short history, SMU and LKCSB have already established themselves as one of the leading institutes in Asia, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute to continuing that trajectory. I am also very much looking forward to working with the fantastic group of faculty, administrative leaders, students and alumni across LKCSB and SMU.”