I wouldn't be surprised if the degree is one of those hard requirements they just have for such positions.
That said, as someone who doesn't have a business degree, shouldn't it ideally prepare him better for working with the rest of the organization? Dealing with budgets, strategic plans from upper management, marketing etc?
Most of those are politics and that’s not part of the education. You’ll learn what a textbook definition of strategic planning is, the concept behind it but every company has its own strategic planning process and it’s always evolving.
Management training would cover all this in a few weeks. He got a full undergrad degree, meaning half his courses were just core like history and English and all that stuff. It could have been much more focused is my point.
That said, as someone who doesn't have a business degree, shouldn't it ideally prepare him better for working with the rest of the organization? Dealing with budgets, strategic plans from upper management, marketing etc?