University at Buffalo School of Management

22 Buffalo Business Autumn 2023 22 Buffalo Business Autumn 2023 A s we reflect on a century of the School of Management, we asked two big thinkers in business — Richard Gold, adjunct profes- sor and recently retired president and chief operating officer of M&T Bank; and Ananth Iyer, dean and professor — for their thoughts on what lies ahead. Richard Gold: One of the biggest areas that will require a lot of focus will be to prepare leaders to oper- ate in an arena where their influence over behaviors and outcomes will be of paramount importance. Things are changing so quickly that we need lead- ers who can ensure that people are operating in a way that gets the right results the right way, because the right way is going to be everything in a world with artificial intelli- gence where a lot of the mechanics of business will happen much easier than ever before. Managers will need to coach their people to operate ethically, with great morals and with great concern for each other, because it's going to be extraordinarily difficult to lead organizations and individ- uals in that sort of arena. Ananth Iyer: Recently I was asked, "Will we even need managers in the future? And what will their role be if it's all about technology?" My answer to that is that manag- ers help make choices that mediate the use of technology for the benefit of their consumers, employees and stakehold- ers. Technology has all this capability, but to leverage it and use it to provide value and get the right metrics — that still needs a manager. Leadership isn't being the loudest voice in the room, it's about being the listener who helps everybody benefit. It's our job to help build the next generation of lead- ers through high-quality business school education. Gold: More than ever the leader is playing a particu- lar role, but not in the hierarchical sense that we've sort of grown up thinking about managers. Now, they have to be enablers. They have to create an environment where people can operate creatively, ethically and effectively in what are going to be much flatter organizations where the best Trending Topics FA C U LT Y E X P E R T S D I S C U S S C U R R E N T E V E N T S LOOKING AHEAD What do the next 100 years hold for businesses — and for business schools? BY K E V I N M A N N E Gold Iyer

• Cover