Associate Professor Owen Skae, is the Director of Rhodes Business School, at Rhodes University. An acknowledged expert in corporate governance and ethical leadership, he has written widely about and is frequently called upon to comment on matters about it, especially in the realm of the public sector.

He served as the President of the South African Business Schools Association (SABSA) from 2014 to 2016 and is a former Non-Executive Director of the PWC Business School. He currently serves as the Non-Executive Chairman of GBS Mutual Bank, is a Non-Executive Director of the Good Governance Academy, and is a member of the Institute of Directors South Africa.

He is the Chair of the Makhanda Circle of Unity, a collaborative forum established for the fulfilment of an inclusive and purposeful approach to the socio-economic development of Makhanda and its surrounds, which aims to bring together all relevant and interested voices, communities and stakeholders in a spirit of problem-solving, partnership and civic participation.

Before being appointed Director of Rhodes Business School, he worked for the Geneva-based, International Trade Centre, the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations, its main goal is to help developing countries achieve sustainable human development through exports. In this former capacity, he advised numerous countries on priorities for raising overall levels of competitiveness and assisting in the formulation of national and sector export strategies.