DBU's New Director of the MBA - Dr. Jonathan Wilson

“The path the Lord has set me on has been like an African safari, starting in the jungles of the commercial world, through the foothills of secular education and onto the highest plains of Christian servant leadership in an academic mission field that is white unto harvest." 

This analogy is a natural one for Dr. Jonathan Wilson, having grown up the son of Baptist parents in the south-central African country of Zimbabwe. Along with being an avid rugby, cricket, and horseback rider, Jonathan grew in his walk with Christ while attending youth camps.  

Dr. Wilson’s career in business started in the capital mining equipment manufacturing industry in South Africa where he moved through managerial and financial accounting roles. He completed a degree in International Finance at the University of Durban, South Africa, followed by an MBA from Cape Town University.

Dr. Wilson then moved to London to work with PricewaterhouseCoopers as a management consultant on projects such as corporate take-over fraud investigations on the London Stock Exchange, as acting financial director for the start-up satellite television broadcasting company BSkyB, on the transformation of the Panasonic global supply chain (Osaka, Japan), the consolidation of the Land Rover European supply chain (Birmingham, UK), and corporate portfolio management for IDRO (Tehran, Iran).

In the U.K., Jonathan achieved a Master’s in Global Supply Chain Management from the University of Cranfield, and following his work with PricewaterhouseCoopers, he started his Ph.D. at the University of Surrey. Appointed as its MBA program director, he negotiated agreements with global partners in Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Mauritius, Barbados, Tehran, Greece, and Lebanon. Dr. Wilson also contributed to launching the first online MBA program at a British school of business.

Dr. Wilson left the British Isles for the French Riviera to serve as the International Development Director for Euromed Marseille (now renamed Kedge Business School), with responsibility for developing a portfolio of English based MS programs focusing on the international market.

After successfully launching these residential programs, Dr. Wilson was invited to teach the capstone strategic management course in the Foster Business School at the University of Washington in Seattle. “My wife and I were delighted at the opportunity to relocate to the USA and become citizens of this great country,” he says.

From the Pacific Northwest, Dr. Wilson migrated south to Texas after he was employed by Abilene Christian University as Assistant Dean and Program Director to launch their on-line MBA based out of Dallas. 

This made it an easy transition when a position to lead DBU’s MBA program became available this spring. While serving as the new Director, Dr. Wilson also teaches a course on Operations and Supply Chain Management within the context of wealth creation. “Seeing students grasp the essentials of how to be wealth creators not for its own sake but as a means to supporting whatever God has for their lives is my motivation.”

Viewed through a biblical lens, the application of the Christian faith to the field of business reminds Dr. Wilson of Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. “The link between the Christian faith and business lies in the question, ‘Where did the coins in the Good Samaritan’s pocket come from?’ This simple question relates to both how new wealth is created and the choices to be made by which that wealth is spent.”

“The acquisition of wealth is not in itself greedy or immoral,” he continues, “but the means by which it is acquired may be. Students need to explore this distinction. If the Good Samaritan had no coins in his pocket, then he would have had no means by which to demonstrate the grace of God. His compassion for the roadside victim would have had no tangible result and would have remained only as ineffective goodwill. Therefore, business students need to take the process of creating wealth and the development of the relevant business skills as foundational to their ability to be a blessing to others in need. How that wealth is created and spent needs to be seen through the eternal lens of the Christian faith.”

Dr. Wilson is married to his wife Muriel with two children. They attend First Baptist Dallas. From Zimbabwe to Texas, Dr. Wilson brings a wealth of global experience and business insight to the MBA program, positioning the University for a great future ahead in one of DBU’s most sought after degrees.