Cass Bayes Business School: Rebranding Due to Slavery Links

Abstract

Abstract Interview with Caroline Wiertz, Professor of Marketing and Deputy Dean, Bayes Business School The killing of George Floyd by a police officer in June of 2020 led to an outcry in the U.S. and across Europe and put the spotlight on brands with any history of racial injustice. One of these brands was Cass Business School, part of City, University of London, and named after the Sir John Cass’s Foundation when it made a gift in 2002. It turns out that the Foundation’s, and thus the school’s namesake, Sir John Cass was a 17th Century merchant and a major proponent of the slave trade. He was involved in the Royal Africa Company and had direct contact with slave agents in Africa and the Caribbean. A high-profile debate ensued, pitting those who considered the name change a moral imperative against others who feared the change would dilute the school’s brand value. The university’s Council ultimately decided to drop the name, and the school is now rebranding as Bayes Business School, named after Thomas Bayes and his famous theorem. In this interview, Caroline Wiertz, Professor of Marketing and leader of the name change project group, gives an insider view of how Cass used an open innovation process to manage the highly complex task of rebranding a premier institution.