With over a decade of industry experience across telecommunications, banking, and consulting, Shan Rahman now brings real-world business experience into the classroom. We spoke to him about problem-solving, defining success, and why AI is a tool, not a threat.
“I have primarily worked in marketing analytics and designing marketing campaigns, focusing on how businesses can use data, statistics, and analytics to get incremental revenue.”
That industry experience now feeds into his teaching, research and consulting work. He recently co-authored a paper on Luxury Brands' Adoption of Metaverse Technologies with Dr Amer (German University in Cairo), Professor Baker (The University of Texas at Dallas), and Professor Ashill (VUW, NZ), and advises startup founders across digital, tech, and consumer research.
Shifting to teaching
You'll find Shan teaching a variety of students from our diploma level programmes through to our postgraduate and master's degrees. Shan is also responsible for teaching specific courses such as:
- Analytics and Data Science for Managers
- Artificial Intelligence for Business
- New Technologies and Digital Business Models
- Information Management
- Leadership, Management, and Social Responsibility
- Business Environments
- Business Planning
Shan has been teaching at Whitireia and WelTec for just over 18 months now, but before that he was a PhD candidate and tutor for over three years at Victoria University. His love for research and curiosity to find answers is what led him into teaching.
"I truly began to enjoy the classroom when I realised it was a space to interact with students, share real-world experiences, and collaborate to solve complex business problems. What better way to learn than to teach!”
Start with the problem
For Shan, good business thinking begins long before any strategy is written, with the right question.
“The most important part of a business strategy is still (and always will be) defining the problem well. Don't lose the significance of detailing under the guise of being creative. I suggest that business students should work on two broader fronts: (1) Being keen, thorough, and curious to identify the problem, (2) Being analytical, creative, and grounded to find the right solution.”
It's a mindset he encourages students to develop early. It's also one of the first things they'll practise in his courses, and one of the most transferable skills they'll leave with.
Make AI work for you
The range of industries a business graduate could enter is vast, and one change touching many of them is AI. As someone who teaches his students about disruptive technologies, we asked Shan for his advice for someone worried about how AI will change the workforce.
“We fear what we don't understand, so learning the facets of AI and how they apply to business should be our first step. But we must avoid the trap of the quick fix, the easy solution, or superficial research. Shortcuts might give us an instant answer today, but they harm our growth in the long run. Let's not compete with AI or see it as a threat to our intelligence. I find it funny when people challenge AI on intelligence. Do we try to outrun a Ferrari, a racing machine that humans built? Let's use AI as a tool to help us learn better, ask sharper questions, and build superior solutions.”
Redefining success
Shan doesn't believe there's a single formula for business success. Having founded his own company, worked in leadership roles within large organisations, and helped startups grow, he's seen success take many different forms.
Rather than focusing on a fixed set of traits, he encourages aspiring business professionals to first define what success looks like in a particular context. The qualities needed to lead a fast-growing consumer business, for example, can be quite different from those needed to run a small family company or launch a startup.
"It is more important to define what you mean by success before identifying the qualities needed to achieve it," Shan says.
It's the kind of experience that can't be taught from a textbook, and exactly what Shan draws on when helping his students.
Study Business with Whitireia and WelTec
It's this kind of analytical, problem-first thinking that Shan brings into every classroom. If you’re curious where a business qualification could take you, explore our range of business programmes, or chat with a member of our team.
