Former Viacom Chief Named Dean of Pace B-School

Posted by: Louis Lavelle on June 24, 2010

Pace University has named Neil Braun, former chief executive of Viacom Entertainment and president of NBC Television Network, to be dean of the Lubin School of Business (Lubin Full-Time MBA Profile), the school announced today. Braun will start July 1 when the current dean, Joseph R. Baczko, returns to the business world after five years in academia. Before coming to Lubin, Baczko founded Toys “R” Us International and ran Blockbuster Entertainment.

In the press release, Braun said he wants to provide students with “strong fundamentals in the business disciplines and the ability to nimbly apply them.” He cited emerging markets, new types of media, and the diminishing supply of natural resources as some of the forces that will shape the future of business.

“As the new dean, [Braun] will add industry dimension and vision to Lubin’s
expertise and innovative programs,” Aniello A. Bianco, chairman of Pace’s
Board of Trustees, said in the press release.

Braun is the second business leader to be tapped to run a b-school in recent days. Boston University’s School of Management (BU Full-Time MBA Profile) announced Tuesday that its next dean would be Kenneth W. Freeman, former chief executive at Quest Diagnostics. Wake Forest University School of Business (Wake Forest Full-Time MBA Profile) and INSEAD (INSEAD Full-Time MBA Profile) also have deans from outside of academia.
—Zachary Tracer