Andrew Beleng’s rise through the ranks was rapid – and precarious. Starting out almost three decades ago, tracking down financial criminals with the Botswana Police Service to commanding operations at INTERPOL Gaborone, rising to the role of Director of Forensic Audit with the Office of the Auditor-General, all without any formal management training. He had to learn high-stakes leadership on the front lines.
Despite his innate abilities, he refused to rely on intuition alone, turning to Henley Business School Africa and signing up for the Postgraduate Diploma in Management Practice to secure the strategic mastery he felt he needed. The impact was immediate, transforming both his executive acumen and personal relationships.
The ultimate test arrived during high-pressure psychometric assessments for the Financial Intelligence Agency’s second-in-command. Leveraging Henley’s rigorous framework, he delivered the performance of his career, securing his appointment as Deputy Director General. Now, with forensic crime in his crosshairs and an MCom underway, he has his sights set on his next milestone: the Henley MBA.
Read his story in his own words:
When I joined the Botswana Police Service in 1999, my career as a civil servant began. I had a degree in economics and was there as a fraud investigator, looking into financial crimes large and small.
Every two or so years, I found myself being promoted – and so I had to learn to lead on the job. It felt almost precarious, going down the roads of leadership without a management qualification, but I managed. I reached the captain level, and then I moved to Zimbabwe, where I joined the INTERPOL Regional Bureau in Harare.
At INTERPOL, I enjoyed another leadership role. After six years as the regional coordinator for financial crime, I became the Commanding Officer at INTERPOL Gaborone. It was an honour, and I feel it gave me the experience I needed for the next step in my career – at the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA).
I did five years at the FIA as the Chief Financial Analyst, during which time I obtained my MSc in Forensic Accounting. I moved to the office of the Auditor General to operationalise its forensic audit unit. Even though by that time I was the Director of Forensic Audit, I still felt there was more about leadership that I could learn.
That’s where Henley came in. I enrolled in the Postgraduate Diploma in Management Practice at Henley Business School Africa – and not for a moment did I ever regret being there.
For me, the PGDip became both a professional and personal milestone. I learned so much more about leadership, strategy formation, and operations management than I had before. We were taught how to take the ideas we were learning and apply them in the workplace. Even now, I still use what I learned at Henley almost every day. I keep my notes nearby, and if I ever get stuck, I go back to them, and rest assured I find what I need there.
Thanks to Henley, I became a better strategist and a better leader. But more than that I fully believe I became a better person. In my personal life, my interpersonal relationships are better, I find communicating with people and relating to them is easier than ever.
That learning also played a role in a major recent step in my career. I was promoted to Deputy Director General at FIA. You know – as part of that process, you have to go through a psychometric assessment. At the assessment centre, I found myself applying everything I had learned at Henley. Listen: that was the best I have ever performed in a psychometric assessment. I fully believe Henley helped me prepare for it.
I am still thinking about what comes next. My first degree was in economics, but my career pushed me into the accounting space. I would now like to pursue an MCom to strengthen that foundation. After that? I’ve got my eyes on the Henley MBA!