The University of the South Pacific’s (USP) Graduate School of Business (GSB) organised an Alumni lecture evening for its 2019 Master of Business Administration graduates at the Statham Campus on 20 March.

Professor Gurmeet Singh, Head of the GSB and MBA Programme Director, warmly welcomed everyone to the event and extended a special acknowledgement to the Chief Guest, Mr Arif Ali, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji who was alumni speaker for the evening.

Professor Singh also congratulated three MBA graduates Moreen Monika Nanad, Krishneel Ravinesh Reddy and Alamgeer Shah who were conferred gold medals for outstanding academic performance.

He said GSB was pleased to host the event and especially honored and humbled to have Mr Ali present despite his busy schedule.

While addressing the graduates, Mr. Ali congratulated them for successfully completing the MBA programme.

“You have put in the hard yards, some of you may have literally burnt the candle well past midnight. You need to pat yourselves on the back for your achievement,” he commented.

Mr Ali reminded the graduates that “The journey may not have been smooth, but I am sure that the fruits of your hard work and labour will be sweeter”.

Sharing his childhood experience, Mr. Ali noted that he was never a leader in school.

“My late mother taught me to be humble and have patience and my late father inculcated in me and my siblings about being honest and that there is no substitute for hard work,” he said.

The 2019 MBA graduating class with Mr Ali, Professor Gurmeet Singh (sitting, middle) and members of the GSB academic staff.

Mr Ali further stated that “The key to personal development is that we do not learn from experience, rather we learn from reflecting on it and we do not learn from history, but from reflecting as well, just like we learn very quickly when we make mistakes,”

Emphasising a few thoughts on leadership, Mr Ali said that learning never stops.

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other, it is about serving, it is a responsibility and it is about listening and seeking good counsel,” he said.

He further stressed that “Leadership requires making tough decisions, it is a deep challenge – its goal is diversity in counsel; unity of command”.

Mr Ali, also an alumni of the GSB programme, told the graduates to “plan for what is difficult while it is easy and do what is great while it is small”.

Furthermore, Mr. Ali reiterated the importance of passion for work; teamwork; leadership with fervor; working smarter and raising analytical competence; effective communication and building for the future.

Mr Ali, who has experience working in Economics, Financial Markets and Financial Institutions, joined the RBF’s Research Department in 1992 and was appointed Governor in September 2017.

The event was part of the GSB’s new initiative where successful alumni will be invited to talk to new graduates every year.