Changing Lives Through Innovation, An Interview with Dean Moez Limayem

This narrative profile of Moez Limayem, Dean of the Muma College of Business, was developed using the thematic narrative research method, which included three exploratory interviews. The initial interview on which this narrative is based focused on the formative experiences that shaped Dean Limayem's life and career up to the present day. The objective was to derive the meaning of Dean Limayem's lived experiences through his storytelling. Based on initial research, the interviews were framed under the central theme of innovation. However, early into the interviews, the theme of innovation proved too narrow and was expanded to include the themes of relationships and changing lives. These themes revealed that innovation is not Dean Limayem's end goal but rather a means to the end of his true mission of changing lives. Utilizing existing frameworks found in the literature, we identified the construct of servant leadership as a model to evaluate the interview. Two dimensions of servant leadership, relationships, and helping subordinates grow and succeed, contribute to this research by exploring the lived experience of Dean Limayem based on the antecedents and outcomes of his success.