Gideon Pogrund

Rabbi Gideon Pogrund is the founding director of the Gordon Institute for Business Science (GIBS) Centre for Business Ethics (CfBE), and he is a GIBS adjunct faculty member. The CfBE's purpose is to explore and influence how South African business can respond more ethically to the country’s challenges, facilitating open conversations that build trust and helping to secure a more successful, sustainable future both for the business community and the country. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), a network of over 800 business schools from across the globe, has named the CfBE as one of its Innovations that Inspire.

Rabbi Pogrund conceptualised and established the Ethics Barometer for South African business, applying a Harvard Business School (HBS) research instrument, partnering with Business Leadership SA and surveying over 25,000 employees from 30 of SA’s leading companies.

He initiated a high-profile national conversation about ethics, hosting a series of public forums with many of South Africa’s most prominent leaders. In partnership with Bishop Paul Verryn, Rabbi Pogrund launched a dialogue initiative, convening and facilitating conversations between small groups of senior business, government, and civil society leaders about some of the toughest and most contentious issues facing the country.

With UK Government support and in collaboration with Nottingham Business School, he co-led a research-based project, engaging with some of SA’s most well-known whistle-blowers, to address speak out cultures and whistle-blowing practices.

Working with Harvard University public health and business ethics scholars, Rabbi Pogrund co-led a research project to develop a framework to address the legal, ethical and operational issues associated with Standard Bank’s Covid vaccination roll-out.

Rabbi Pogrund has been invited to speak at the Academy of Management (AOM) and at international business schools such as HEC Paris, Baruch College in New York and Nottingham Business School. He has participated in range of leadership forums including the World Economic Forum (WEF) Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI) in Geneva and the University of Stellenbosch/ Wittenberg Centre for Global Ethics Business Ethics Leadership Colloquium in Stellenbosch and Berlin. He is a member of the Council of Elders of the Institute of Stakeholder Relations Southern Africa (ISRSA).

He consults to corporations, helping them to improve their ethics management, and he has worked closely with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), Sanlam, FirstRand, Liberty, Discovery, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), Anglo American, Woolworths, Hollard, PwC, Growthpoint, Citadel, Nando’s and Google.

Rabbi Pogrund has contributed articles and been interviewed in various media outlets, including Business Day, the Financial Mail, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), eTV, Finweek, Carte Blanche, The Conversation, CNBC Africa, Thomson Reuters, City Press, IOL, 702/Cape Talk Radio, The Star, The Sowetan and News 24.

Qualifications

• PhD candidate (GIBS)
• MA (Trinity College, Cambridge University)

Core Discipline

• Business ethics

Work Experience

• Director: Centre (Gordon Institute of Business Science )
• Director: Centre (Gordon Institute of Business Science )
• Adjunct Faculty (Gordon Institute of Business Science )
• Consultant (Ethics Evolution)
• Rabbi (Ohr Somayach)
• Director of Education and Political Affairs (Office of the Chief Rabbi of South Africa)
• Rabbi (South African Union of Jewish Students)
• Commodities Trader (Louis Dreyfus Africa)
• Sales and Operations Manager (Gerber Foods)
• Export Manager (Gerber Foods)

Significant Achievements

• AACSB Inspirations That Inspire (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business)

Teaching/Coaching Experience

• Designed and developed an ‘Ethical Fitness’ interactive e-learning masterclass for GIBS. (Gordon Institute of Business Science )
• Designed & developed an ‘Ethical Leadership & Anti-Corruption’ interactive e-learning masterclass (National Business Initiative (NBI))
• Contemporary perspectives on racial justice (Academy of Management)
• Public lecture on Responsible Leadership hosted by Department of Religion Studies (University of Pretoria)
• Business Ethics lecturer to MBA students (HEC Paris)
• Business Ethics lecture to faculty and students (Baruch College)
• Keynote address at multi-sectoral roundtable (Nottingham Business School)
• Designed SAICA’s ethics curriculum for trainee accountants (South African Institute of Chartered Accountants)
• Lecturer on business ethics on +50 GIBS Executive Development Programmes including Barloworld; Discovery; AVI; Cell C; Sanlam; Absa; Vodacom; EY; PwC; AECI; Standard Bank; Supersport; Volkswagen; AngloAmerican; Massmart; Central Bank of Eswatini; Government Investment Fund of Namibia; Culture, Art, Tourism, Hospitality , and Sport Sector Education and Training Authority; and Transport Sector Education and Training Authority (Gordon Institute of Business Science )
• Public lecture on Theology (University of South Africa (UNISA))