GIMPA Business School Dean: 'Coaching Is the Human Bridge Between AI and Business Leadership
GIMPA Business School Dean: 'Coaching Is the Human Bridge Between AI and Business Leadership
Story by Fada Amakye
The Dean of GIMPA Business School, Prof. Bernard Acquah Obeng, says coaching has become indispensable in management education as artificial intelligence reshapes the business world. Speaking during the second day of the school’s 5th Business Week celebration, Prof. Obeng stressed that while AI is here to stay, it cannot replace core human capabilities developed through coaching.
The Business Week, themed _“Shaping Future Leaders: The Role of AI, Industry, and Business Schools in Enterprise Development,”_ kicked off with the Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series. The keynote speaker highlighted AI’s growing power in business, with consensus that business schools must integrate AI into their curricula. “Whether we like it or not, AI has come to stay,” Prof. Obeng said.
On day two, GIMPA partnered with the International Coaches Federation (ICF), Ghana Chapter, to host Campus Coaching Day under the theme _“Celebrating the Power of Coaching and Exploring Its Role in Personal and Professional Growth.”_ Addressing the link between coaching and the wider Business Week theme, Prof. Obeng described coaching as the “human mechanism that connects AI, industry, and business schools.
“AI can crunch numbers, automate processes, and even draft events faster than we can say ‘deadline,’” he noted. “But coaching develops the distinct human capabilities that technology cannot replace — critical thinking, ethical judgment, creativity, emotional intelligence, and adaptive leadership. AI gives us the data, but coaching teaches us what we do when the data disagrees with you.
Prof. Obeng argued that coaching is no longer a luxury but a necessity in business. “It is the bridge between knowledge and transformation, between potential and performance,” he said. For that reason, GIMPA Business School will continue partnering with ICF Ghana to build coaching capacity among faculty. He added with humor, “After all, even the best business models need a coach to remind them that cash flow is not the same as cash.
He expressed gratitude to the president of ICF Ghana Chapter and her team for making the session possible, and urged participants to not only listen but also practice coaching skills. “The future belongs to leaders who can combine the power of AI with the vision of human insight,” Prof. Obeng concluded.
The session aimed to equip participants with sharper leadership skills, practical strategies, and tools to unlock potential and build resilience in a rapidly changing world.
