2013 Spring : CEMS Magazine by CEMS

On campus

Comment

Student & Alumni FOCUS

CEMS IS in BUSINESS Beiersdorf, A22__ CHANGE ATBNP THEParibas, TOPL’Oréal and PwC Business Project round-up 06__ Executive Director François Collin

A AT THE TOP On CHANGE campus 06__ François Collin CEMSExecutive IS inDirector BUSINESS hands over the reins to Roland Siegers 22__ Beiersdorf, BNP Paribas, L’Oréal

A SHINING LIGHT Student & Alumni FOCUS Hessex solar power plan 53__ A SHINING LIGHT wins Global Social Business Competition 56__ Hessex solar power plan

Comment

hands over the reins to Roland Siegers

and PwC Business Project round-up

wins Global Social Business Competition

CEMS Magazine Official Magazine of the CEMS Global Alliance April 2013

Feature

Are you gonna go my way?

31___ Leadership: theories & practices in today’s world

What attracted you to Henkel? What were your first steps at Henkel? I first got in touch with Henkel through the Henkel Innovation Challenge, which was a wonderful experience. I participated together with two other CEMSies and we won the international final. I then started my career at Henkel with a CEMS internship in Dusseldorf - as an assistant of the Global Manager of Diversity and Inclusion. One year later, after my graduation, I joined Henkel in Belgium as a Junior Brand Manager on Persil and Le Chat. What are your current responsibilities? I currently work at the headquarters in Dusseldorf. I’m part of the International Marketing Unit for Laundry Care, working on Leading Premium brands. Our team focuses on the emerging markets, which provides me with a lot of new and interesting insights. Besides steering regions such as Latin America and Middle East North Africa, we develop global laundry projects that will afterward be rolled out in the countries.

Marin Schuerman Düsseldorf, International Manager Laundry Care, CEMS MIM 2010 “I would have never enjoyed working at Henkel so much if it weren’t for the great people. It’s been a real blessing being part of such international, highly motivated teams that know how to work and play hard!”

What is the best thing working for Henkel? It’s impossible for me to choose between the international opportunities and the Henkelaners! On the one hand I really appreciate that Henkel encourages and enables even young managers to gain experience abroad. On the other hand, I would have never enjoyed working at Henkel so much if it weren’t for the great people. It’s been a real blessing being part of such international, highly motivated teams that know how to work and play hard! Do you have any advice for CEMS students /Alumni to be successful in their career development? I’d recommend all CEMSies to participate in as many career events as they possibly can. This way, they will be able to base their choice for a first employer on more than just a company name or reputation. Additionally, I advice them to fully utilize all of the networking possibilities they’re presented with. Being part of the global CEMS network will always be beneficial and fun!

What attracted you to Henkel? What were your first steps at Henkel? My first contact with Henkel was at ESADE’s CEMS class on Global Supply Chain management with a case study and guest lecture on CPFR pilot projects in Spain: Henkel appeared to me as an innovative and advanced FMCG multinational. During my second study-abroad semester I got a call from my future mentor at Henkel – promptly after the selection process I accepted a 6 months internship in International Marketing, Beauty Care. The experience of new product development, project management and international business coordination in the Skin Care strategic business unit, Düsseldorf Headquarters, was such a great fun that I even prolonged my stay. In the beginning of 2011 I was offered a Junior Brand Manager position on Skin Care in Russia.

Alexander Shutkin Moscow, Brand Manager, Henkel Beauty Care, CEMS MIM 2010 “Love it, change it or leave it”. Be proactive, take initiative, grasp opportunities and build your career yourself. Last but not least, keep networking and make your network work.”

What are your current responsibilities? Since February 2012 I’m working as Brand Manager Hair Colorants responsible for a portfolio of 10 coloration brands under two of Henkel Beauty Care big hair umbrellas – Schwarzkopf & SYOSS. It´s an exciting world of cosmetics and beauty; an everyday challenge of understanding consumer needs (mostly women) and responding with a set of marketing activities, tailored to the dynamic Russian & CIS market and competitive environment. If you had international job rotations, how have these been relevant for your career? At Henkel, as in many other multinational companies, high level of international mobility is greatly appreciated. There’s even a special concept “Triple two” which implies international job rotation as one of the 3 necessary steps for senior and top management jobs on a corporate level. For me changing from international marketing in Germany to local in Russia has been very professionally enriching. It broadens your mind, gives you a ‘helicopter view’, makes you know ‘the other side’ while growing your professional network. Do you have any advice for CEMS students /Alumni to be successful in their career development? “Love it, change it or leave it”. Be proactive, take initiative, grasp opportunities and build your career yourself. Last but not least, keep networking and make your network work.

Ready foR the next challenge. Mireia, Packaging Management, adhesive technologies

Exciting internships for challenge-seekers!

Henkel operates worldwide with leading brands and technologies in three exciting business areas: Laundry & Home Care, Beauty Care and Adhesive Technologies. Founded in 1876, the company today is a global leader in the consumer and industrial markets. From Pritt to Loctite, Persil to Pril, Fa to Schwarzkopf, millions of people around the globe value our products and use our brands and technologies. The positions listed here are just a small selection of the numerous possibilities Henkel has to offer. Henkel has some 47,000 employees worldwide, of whom 80 percent work outside of Germany. In 2011, we reported sales of more than € 15.6 billion. The DAX-30 company is headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. Henkel is one of CEMS’ longest-established corporate partners, having joined the alliance in 1994. Henkel supports CEMS students from all over the world by giving them hands-on-experience through seminars, workshops and business projects in many countries. A key pillar of this successful collaboration and contribution are our more than 60 CEMS Alumni working at Henkel. They form an international CEMS network within Henkel, promoting CEMS and living its values on a worldwide scale. You will find a huge range of employment and career opportunities on our website: www.henkel.com/careers We are looking forward to your application!

• Internship in International Marketing - Beauty care (479de) • Internship in Purchasing/ logistics (1239de) • Internship in corporate finance (4925de) • Internship in human Resources (1481de)

Apply online if this sounds like your next challenge. Refer to the job ID mentioned above and get one step closer to starting your new job. discover our winning culture!

in this issue

5 Editorial Guillaume Klossa, President, CEMS Alumni Association

22 On campus Business Project round-up

48 Think tank CSR dissected at Aalto Business Ethics seminar

Block Seminar round-up

6 COMMENT CEMS Executive Director Financial Times ranking

10 years of CEMS at UCD

9 Network Events 2012 Annual Events

31 Feature

Language service opportunity for students and alumni

Arrival of new Corporate Partner Kerry Group

CEMS - a global cultural learning lab

HKUST summer programme

Leadership: theories and practices in today’s world 32: corporate leadership development 40: academic leadership theory 41: student and alumni leadership practice

53 Student & alumni focus UCD CEMS student wins nationwide business plan competition Student intern reports from CEMS Corporate Partner Barilla Hessex – winner of the SENStation Global Social Business Competition 2012 When school pupils become entrepreneurs

Visegrad Forum

Alumni Local Committee events in Austria, Poland and Singapore

UNFCCC Climate Change Leadership Brazil Summit UNAoC Summer School Academy of Management

About CEMS

CONTACTS

Founded in 1988, CEMS is a global alliance of 28 business schools and universities, 70 prestigious multinational companies and 4 NGOs. They collaborate closely to deliver the CEMS MIM, one of the top-ranked pre-experience Master’s in Management programmes in the world by the Financial Times.

Editorial committee Rebecca Rosinski CEMS Marketing Manager

Editorial coordination 420editorial 420editorial@gmail.com

Pavol Dzurjanin CEMS Student Board Vice President, Rotterdam School of Management

Design & layout Traço e Meio tmeio@sapo.pt

Torsten Röwekamp CEMS alumnus 2003, University of Cologne

Printing Colorpack www.colorpack.hu

www.cems.org

Contact the editorial team at cemsmag@cems.org

editorial

Dear readers,

____ It is my pleasure as the recentlyelected President of the CEMS Alumni Association to welcome you to the latest issue of CEMS Magazine. This issue carries the central theme of “Leadership: theories and practices in today’s world”, a subject that concerns every single one of us today.

Guillaume Klossa President, CEMS Alumni Association

It is especially fitting that CEMS raise its voice on the subject, as both an alliance that has helped to nurture future leaders since 1988 but also one that must continue to address and question current models of leadership. The world in which we find ourselves is in a state of rapid transformation, and on many fronts – geopolitical, industrial, energy, scientific, digital… To deal with such a multi-facetted change the world therefore requires certain qualities of its leaders, qualities that have shifted in recent times away from the traditional organisational modes of the West. In a globalised world with increasing competition coming from everywhere at anytime, the key skills are changing. More than ever, we need agile managers capable of managing short, medium and long terms, empathetic and cooperative, with a specific focus on continuous innovation. These skills were not the ones I learnt when I was a student and too often these are not the ones we learn in business. In this respect, we should wonder to what extent the CEMS or its schools should not provide specific continuous education to their alumni to meet this need. That would deserve a specific collective reflection. It will be one of the topics the whole CEMS community could discuss in the “CEMS Lab”, the think tank CEMS alumni have just decided to launch.

The Management Education world in which CEMS evolves is consequently faced with a similar challenge – to adopt a more global and long-term approach to the development of managers who will excel in their professional lives whilst making a meaningful contribution to Society. The CEMS alliance must also show this ability to adapt to the changing landscape. CEMS has the status of a global league of leading talents, delivering a diploma of international excellence. However, with this status come certain responsibilities – the necessity to reflect on management theory and practice, as well as the need to develop training to nurture the ethical conscience, capacity for innovation and conviction through dialogue that future business leaders will need. The debate continues as to how the world at large, the world of Management Education and CEMS therein will meet these challenges and assume these responsibilities. I hope that through this issue of CEMS Magazine you will gain insight into the myriad of leadership theories and practices currently being abounded, from academic and corporate perspectives and from the minds and mouths of the students and alumni who will go on to assume positions of leadership. Many thanks for your attention. I wish you a happy read of this latest issue of CEMS Magazine.

Comment Champions of CEMS globalisation ____

Kevin Titman – Former CEMS Communications Manager

In summer 2012 François Collin left his position as CEMS Executive Director, to be succeeded by Roland Siegers. CEMS Magazine spoke to them both ____

François Collin

Pushing the agenda for growth Q. What “CEMS” did you encounter in 2004? What were the initial challenges for you in the position? CEMS in 2004 was an organisation in transition and it was not sure what the future would be. It benefited from a very strong and powerful European identity, but with the implementation of the Bologna process in European higher education, it was not clear what the CEMS MIM was offering in addition to each school’s programmes. International diversity and mobility - that CEMS invented 15 years before - was becoming a matter of fact at each CEMS school. A new value proposition had to be defined for CEMS members and CEMS students.

Q. What would you identify as the key achievements by the CEMS alliance during your time as Executive Director?

Q. What “CEMS” did you hand over to your successor? What words of advice or encouragement would you give?

CEMS changed a lot during the last decade, like any other organisation. But the main change was definitely the globalisation process and the growth that it generated. I think that globalisation contributed to sharpening the competitive edge of the CEMS MIM. It generated very positive dynamics after the initial doubts and a lot of energy with all stakeholders. CEMS is on its way to achieving at global scale what it achieved in Europe during the initial 20 years, and this is very exciting. I would like to thank here and acknowledge all the people who work for CEMS and do their utmost to make it a success: the Chairs, the CEMS Head Office, colleagues at CEMS schools, corporate partners, and student and alumni organisations. CEMS brings together incredible numbers of passionate and talented minds. Looking back at my CEMS years, I know that the strongest memory for me will be the people, over the achievements.

CEMS is not an organisation to hand over or to run, like a company. The CEMS Executive Director has no formal authority on members, and CEMS moves on as long as all stakeholders are willing to. My word of advice can only be to strive at keeping everybody on board behind a common ambition. Make sure that CEMS members and students find immediate value in CEMS, while shaping a strong future for the CEMS brand. But Roland knows this perfectly, he has been with CEMS longer than me. He will be an excellent CEMS Executive Director, and I wish him every success, and a lot of fun!

François Collin now holds the position of Associate Dean for International Affairs, HEC Paris

CEMS Magazine | April 2013

Comment

François Collin

Roland Siegers

Laying down a corporate challenge Q. How did you come to reach the position you have achieved today? Back in 2002, I had just finished my studies in Political Science at Freie Universität Berlin. I secured a position at the CEMS Office based at the University of Cologne, which was working on the launch of the new CEMS Master’s in International Management and they were looking for a Programme Development Assistant at that time. From there, I was working for CEMS Head Office on MIM Affairs, with a strong focus on the global expansion of CEMS on the academic front, including the implementation of a full-blown quality assurance system akin to established accreditation procedures. More recently I was appointed CEMS Deputy Director, before taking on last summer the position that I am honoured to hold today of Executive Director.

Q. How do you perceive the development of the alliance during the last 10 years? Do you recall what the alliance was like when you joined? The development has been absolutely breathtaking. When I started, we had about 400 students and 17 academic members, but I do not think I really understood what CEMS was about at that time. I did not have a clear idea what we wanted - the academic concept was not as fully developed as it is today. However, afterwards we were able to pick up speed and we developed some important initiatives, for instance globalisation. It took about 5 or 6 years, but eventually there was a vision and an idea of going beyond borders that convinced everyone: in the 2000s, if we wanted to keep calling ourselves international, we couldn’t remain a purely European organisation and we would have to go to Asia and America, which we have since done. And I must say that it has been very exciting ever since. And after the Financial Times ranking came into being, everything changed again and now we are in a situation where a lot of MIM students identify themselves as CEMS students in the first place and only afterwards as locally affiliated students. This is definitely something the entire community can be proud of, and very precious for the future development of the Alumni Association, which represents our best ambassadors.

Roland Siegers

Q. With what vision and ambitions have you started out in your position as Executive Director? I want to set a stiff but, to my mind, achievable challenge for all of us at CEMS - to develop truly global career opportunities for CEMS students, graduates and alumni in close cooperation with our corporate partners, and to strengthen recognition of the CEMS brand throughout the corporate world. By 2020 every recruiter with a regional and/ or global focus should know what CEMS and the CEMS MIM stand for. This drive will be accompanied by a continuous adaptation of the CEMS MIM to the ever-changing challenges of the global business environment: think of climate change, energy, the distribution of wealth and personal development opportunities… It certainly never ever gets boring when you work for CEMS, and every single year I’ve spent with CEMS has brought new challenges, new ideas, and, most of all, fantastic new people adhering to the ‘CEMS spirit’!

CEMS Magazine | APRIL 2013

comment

The CEMS MIM remains top of the international podium ____

Kevin Titman – Former CEMS Communications Manager

____

The annual Financial Times ranking placed the CEMS MIM in the top 3 for the eighth year in a row

Published in September 2012, the ranking saw the CEMS MIM rated as the n°1 programme in the world for combined international results (international faculty, students and board, alumni mobility and international course experience), as it always has been since the ranking began in 2005. It is also the only MIM programme in the ranking to be delivered across 4 continents and to represent Australia and South America. The CEMS MIM also improved in 7 categories versus 2011, including its best ever “Aims Achieved” score, meaning the extent to 2012 position

which alumni fulfil their goals or reasons for taking the programme in the first place. It was also ranked 1st in the world for International Faculty, 3rd for International Course Experience and Value for Money, and 4th for International Students and International Alumni Mobility. CEMS Executive Director Roland Siegers was proud to see the positive trend

continue, both in terms of international development, opportunities, and alumni satisfaction: “The fact that we offer the most international MIM on the market is confirmed by our permanent n°1 position on international criteria in this global ranking and our unique ability to deliver the programme across 4 continents. No other Master’s in Management in the world can claim to have such a wide geographical scope. We are also delighted by the ever-growing satisfaction of our alumni and the international professional mobility that the CEMS MIM is giving them”. n

School name

Programme name

University of St Gallen

Master of Arts in Strategy and International Management

CEMS

Masters in International Management

HEC Paris

HEC Master of Science in Management

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University

MSc International Management

Esade Business School

Master in International Management

LSE, London School of Economics and Political Science

MSc Management and Strategy

Stockholm School of Economics

Master of Science in Business & Economics

WU Vienna University of Economics and Business

International Business Administration

Università Bocconi

Master of Science in International Management

IAG-Louvain School of Management

Master in Business Engineering

Aalto University

Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration

Copenhagen Business School

Master of Science in General Management

NHH

MSc in Economics and Business Administration

University of Cologne, Faculty of Management

Master of Business Administration

Nova School of Business and Economics

Masters in Science

University College Dublin: Smurfit

MSc Business

Warsaw School of Economics

Finance and Accounting

University of Economics, Prague

Master in Business Economics and Management

Corvinus University of Budapest

MSc in Management and Leadership

Network events

The alliance continues to grow at the 2012 Annual Events ____

Kevin Titman â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Former CEMS Communications Manager

____ Hosted by the University of St. Gallen, the events featured the induction of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. The arrival of two such influential institutions, plus that of two new Corporate Partners in Fung Management Ltd and Kerry Group, were seen as very encouraging signs of continued growth by the CEMS Executive Director Roland Siegers:

To be able to attract schools of such renown within and outside of Asia and to be able to develop further our portfolio of corporate partners is testimony to the added value of CEMS membership and the fact that only CEMS can offer such a truly global network of current and future management leaders.

CEMS Magazine | april 2013

Network events

The CEMS MIM Class of 2012

CEMS Chairman Prof. Dr. Thomas Bieger signs the Memorandum of Understanding with Prof. Leonard Cheng (Dean, HKUST Business School) and Prof. Shekhar Chauduri (Director, IIM Calcutta)

CEMS, St Gallen and ABB join forces to explore Responsible Leadership The events also featured a high-level panel exploring the theme of Responsible Leadership, featuring representatives from the worlds of media, academia, non-for-profit, politics and banking. One of the participants, Gary Steel (Executive Committee member responsible for Human Resources, ABB Group) underlined the legitimacy of CEMS holding such a debate and of ABB being so actively involved as premium sponsor of the events: “We take a broad view of corporate responsibility at ABB. For us, it includes a commitment to maintaining high social, environmental, human rights, ethical and governance standards for the benefit of all stakeholders. CEMS is doing tremendous work to help future managers see the big picture of a company’s role in society and reflect on the meaning of ethical conduct, respect and accountability. This work is of huge importance in our world of rapid change and pressure for high performance, and for this reason we are proud to sponsor the CEMS Annual Events 2012.”

A record number of graduates and the first non-European “School of the Year”

Important governance decisions, at institutional and alumni levels

Other highlights of the events included the graduation of a record 787 CEMS MIM students, who also had the opportunity to sign on stage the Global Values Statement, a CEMS initiative offering new graduates the chance to commit to and uphold certain values in working life.

Crucial decisions were taken and voted at various levels, including the renewal of the two-year mandate as CEMS Chairman of Prof. Dr. Thomas Bieger (President, University of St. Gallen).

In addition, the traditional CEMS academic awards of the year saw Ivey Business School (Canada) become the first non-European member to be honoured with the prestigious School of the Year title, only three years after they began offering the top-ranked CEMS MIM. Other schools recognised were HEC Paris, the University of St Gallen, University of Economics Prague and Nova School of Business and Economics.

At alumni level, the planned overhaul of the governance of the CEMS Alumni Association was also approved. From 2013 onwards the 7800-strong CEMS alumni community is represented by a board of 11 alumni representatives. Headed by the CEMS Alumni Association President it represents the interests of young and senior alumni, the current student cohort, CEMS Head Office and CEMS member schools.

CEMS Magazine | april 20132

Network events

Guillaume Klossa President, CEMS alumnus 1996 HEC

The CEMS Alumni Association Board

On a similar note, the presence of CEMS alumni within the governance of CEMS received an additional boost with the election onto the CEMS Executive Board of three Corporate Partner representatives who have all completed the CEMS MIM programme: Kourosh Bahrami (Corporate Vice President Automotive Key Accounts, Henkel – CEMS 1999), Elke Thamm (Head of Group Talent, Wolseley Group – CEMS 2004), and Gianluca Ventura (Regional HR Director – Southern Europe, Vodafone – CEMS 1993). n

You can view the complete CEMS 2012 Annual Events photo gallery at http://www. flickr.com/photos/cems_alliance/ Video footage is also available to view at http://vimeopro.com/cems/cemsae12

Wieteke Dupain Vice President, CEMS alumna 2009 RSM

Vadim Gerstein CEMS alumnus 2010 UoC

Igor Nishimura Treasurer, CEMS alumnus 2006 EAESP-FGV

Vivian Kap CEMS alumna 1995 RSM

Roland Siegers CEMS Executive Director

Yannick Migotto CEMS alumnus 1997 HEC

Carlo Gallucci CEMS Executive Board Representative And Chair of Globalisation Committee ESADE Business School

Benjamin Simsa CEMS alumnus 2012 USyd

Pavol Dzurjanin CEMS Student Board Vice President RSM

Michael Studer CEMS alumnus 2001 HSG

The 2011-12 CEMS award winners

The 2011-12 CEMS awards Block Seminar “Sustainability and Corporate Strategy: Meeting the Energy and Climate Challenges” University of St. Gallen Courses of the Year “Management Buyouts” Profs. Cyrille Chevillon and Olivier Gottschalg HEC Paris “Managing Global Complexity” Prof. Elie Matta HEC Paris

“Applied Corporate Governance” Prof. José Neves Adelino Nova School of Business and Economics Business Project of the Year “Energy Trading and Commodity Clearing Business Development” UniCredit and University of Economics, Prague CEMS Club of the Year CEMS Club Budapest School of the Year Ivey Business School

CEMS Magazine | april 2013

Network events

The CEMS V4 Conferences 2012 & 2013 from pioneering in Budapest to strategic decision-making in Prague Part 1 A look back at “CEMS V4 Conference 2012: How to be Europe’s Pioneers?” ____ Anna Mátyus – CEMS Club Budapest

MOL Group, MET and P&G, more than 50 students from 11 universities gathered at the Corvinus University of Budapest in the Hungarian capital. Participants could choose from two parallel workshops: energy infrastructure and human resource strategy in the CEE region. A plenary discussion opened the conference, honoured by the presence of embassy rep-

resentatives H.E. Helena Bambasová, Agata Zajega, Edit Szilágyiné Bátorfi and Metod Špaček. After the round-table discussion MOL Group introduced the hot topics on energy infrastructure. On day 2, MOL Energy Trade held a case study workshop where participants worked to provide solutions to a regional question on the main question of gas trade in the region: the selection of pipeline directions.

I chose the energy track and it was very interesting to follow the discussion and argumentation and especially the perception of Russia by the other side. Everything is so dependent on context and viewed through different cultural, historical and political lenses.

I had great fun participating in MOL’s energy trading workshop. We were able to learn how an energy company tries to maximise profits from discovering and selling oil and gas fields. The big upside of the V4 conference in general was that students could participate in a very active way.

I very much enjoyed the workshop organised by the CUB professors Csaba Kiss and Roland Szilas. I expected a lecture and therefore was very surprised that the workshop turned out to be very interactive and very much based on the student discussion. It might very well be the best professor-held workshop I ever had.

Nadya Sheynina Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg State University

Daniel Uhlemann University of Cologne

Martin Strnad University of Economics, Prague

____ The annual CEMS V4 Conference is the result of joint efforts of the CEMS Clubs of Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary. It aims to increase awareness of the CEE region and to foster regional cooperation within the international CEMS community. For the second edition of the youngest CEMS regional event, co-financed by the Visegrad Fund, the CEMS Student Board,

Participant Testimonials

CEMS Magazine | april 20132

Network events

The Human Resources track was kicked off by P&G with an interactive presentation on transition management. The P&G workshop was built on the re-organisational process of P&G CEE. Academic members from Corvinus held the last session which focused on the topic of employee commitment with a highly inspirational case study. n

Part 2 a look ahead to V4 2013, “Strategic Decisions in a fast-changing environment” ____ Eduard Matús – CEMS Club Prague

____ This

For all of us it was an exciting opportunity standing on the other side of the lecture hall, becoming teachers from apprentices and giving the participants an insight about what we do in MOL Group. During the workshop and the rotation dinner we could meet openminded and resourceful students. It was good to splash in the CEMS spirit for a day. Judit Kormos Strategic HR Associate, MOL Group – CEMS 2011 and Dóra Szabó Strategy Analyst Expert, MOL Group

year the annual CEMS V4 Conference will take place on 11 – 14 April at the University of Economics in Prague and will host 70 CEMS students from the CEE region and beyond.

____ The topic of this year’s conference is “Strategic decisions in a fast-changing environment”. Skill seminars are split into two separate tracks. The first one, led by Škoda Auto and A.T. Kearney, looks into Innovations and Change Management. Over the two days, participants will be seeking an answer to the question “How to sustainably nurture innovation and innovative spirit in the company to answer market needs?” The second track focuses on Strategic Marketing, with Google guiding participants through the topic of entering new markets. There will also be a traditional rotation dinner with corporate partners and a gala night where participants of the conference meet up with the entire Czech CEMS community. Our desire is to organise an event in the beautiful city of Prague, which will leave you with the feeling that you have truly expanded your horizons and done something for your careers.

Further information can be found at http://www.cems-v4.com/

CEMS Magazine | april 2013

Network events

From Barcelona to Rio Real life lessons from simulation games ____

Johannes Schwarzer – oikos Ph.D. Fellow, University of St.Gallen

Just weeks before the Rio+20 “Earth Summit 2012” in June of last year, 52 students from 5 CEMS schools had the opportunity to step into negotiators’ shoes during the 4th CEMS Model UNFCCC Climate Change Strategy Role Play, simulating a two-day UN summit on 17-18 May 2012 at ESADE Barcelona. The simulation was part of a course that was offered throughout the semester at the 5 respective schools ____

____ When student delegates from the uni-

versities of Budapest, Cologne, St.Gallen, Warsaw and ESADE Barcelona first met for an informal dinner in a picturesque beach restaurant in Barcelona, a cheerful atmosphere prevailed. The delegates’ positions had been elaborated during the preparatory process in the first phase of

the course and participants were generally confident that they would successfully carry out the challenging task of negotiating an outcome document outlining the roadmap for dealing with climate change mitigation, adaptation and emissions trading on a global level. But upon more careful investigation by oikos Student Reporters,

CEMS Magazine | april 20132

Network events

simulating the role of mass media at the event, it soon became clear that country coalitions were already in the making and lobbyists representing both industry and civil society skilfully seized the opportunity to win strategic allies, planting the seeds for a hardening of country delegates’ positions to come.

Only a few weeks later, a group of 12 international oikos Student Reporters reported live from the Rio+20 UN “Earth Summit 2012”, named and held 20 years after the groundbreaking Earth Summit 1992 in Rio de Janeiro. And as in Barcelona, the UN has made an attempt at allowing for greater participation of civil society in the negotiation process, translating into an unprecedented number of delegates, journalists, business groups, NGO and youth representatives roaming the conference venue, creating hitherto unseen networking opportunities. At both events, the draft outcome document was being negotiated in different working groups, often taking place simultaneously. As such, smaller countries with a smaller number of delegates had to be very strategic about which sessions to attend and which alliances to forge to ensure representation at the various sessions. But also larger states found it hard to get their way, as countries were reluctant to compromise on issues they considered strategic to their national interest. The slow pace of the negotiations appeared to come as a surprise to student negotiators and so the second day of the UNFCCC simulation was marked by procedural irregularities arising notably from delegates’ failure to stay within the official timeframe for working group negotiations. As the deadline for the final vote was looming, negotiators had to become creative. A failure of the conference to provide an agreement would have meant a political disaster. At Rio+20, the Government of Brazil presented a very controversial and much weakened draft outcome document

that countries eventually deemed politically acceptable, but which led cynical observers to qualify large UN conferences as “too big to succeed”. In Barcelona, on the other hand, there was no such initiative by a single country. Student negotiators managed to vote on a collectively elaborated final outcome document that prominently featured concrete commitments for a range of former bones of contention, such as a ceiling on global temperature increase, financing or emission reduction targets. But as it appears, the hard-won negotiating success came at a price and the scientific community present in Barcelona and impersonated by Professor Rolf Wuestenhagen from St.Gallen was quick to shed doubts on whether the commitments made in the final declaration were sufficiently ambitious to keep the global temperature increase below the agreed 2 degrees Celsius. Nevertheless, the commitments embodied in the students’ outcome document compare favorably to the ones achieved by Rio+20 negotiators a few weeks later and forebode well for the next generation of climate change negotiators. n

CEMS Magazine | april 2013

Network events

CEMS-supported conference explores the development of Brazil ____

Benjamin Luehrs and Raffaella Bignardi – LSB 2012 Organising Committee

____ The latest edition of Leadership Summit Brazil (LSB) took place on 19 October 2012 at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in São Paulo. Six topics vital to Brazilian development were discussed: Agribusiness, Sustainability, Economics, Capital Market, Infrastructure, and Human Capital. The e-conference format provides a unique opportunity for students from top business schools from all around the world to critically engage with some of the foremost political, business, and academic leaders in Brazil today. The outcomes of the debate gave an interesting perspective.

to drastically slow deforestation but that there still remains room for improvement by both the private sector and the government.

World-class Agribusiness was established to be a fundamental prong of the nation’s development and an area in which Brazil can use its leadership to gain important international influence, yet poor infrastructure prevents Brazilian agribusiness from reaching its potential.

Under-control inflation and low interest rates promise a positive outlook for Brazilian Capital Markets, according to the panel’s banking leaders, particularly in the currently underused BM&FBOVESPA stock exchange and in the previously cost-prohibitive Brazilian debt market.

Experts agreed that Brazilian Economics have to be based on domestic competitive advantages, even if those happen to be in commodities, and should welcome, not reject, the entrance of the Chinese economy on the world stage.

Infrastructure improvement was shown to be a fundamental priority of the current

Concerning Sustainability, panellists highlighted that Brazil is a global leader in renewable energy use and has been able

Brazilian administration, and representatives from the private sector reinforced the appeal for greater public-private cooperation in infrastructure construction, including a reduction in cumbersome regulation. Finally, in Human Capital, panellists echoed the call for an increased number of professionals to keep up with Brazilian economic growth. The speakers believed that a growing young population will help Brazil fulfil future demand, but educational reform and immigration of foreign professionals attuned to the specificities of Brazilian culture will inevitably be part of the solution. n

LSB is an annual e-conference focused on the socio-economic development of Brazil. The event takes the form of a debate on the next steps Brazil must take in order to continue to grow and affirm its position in the international community as an economic powerhouse of 190 million people. More information about the event can be found at www.lsbrazil.com!

CEMS Magazine | april 20132

Network events

CEMS Social Partner UNAoC stages its third student summer school ____

Sheng Xu – CEMS alumnus 2012, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School

Recent CEMS graduate Sheng Xu delivers an eyewitness report on the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Summer School, held in Coimbra, Portugal, on 4-12 August 2012 ____

____ In this summer school, many severe problems existing in the world such as peace, sexual equality and sustainable development were discussed among 135 young leaders from 69 different countries.

there are actually no major gaps between different cultures, as long as you take the time to get to know people coming from different cultures, talk with them, hang out with them, and listen to their stories.

Every participant brought his/her own cultures and stories to share. Although we only stayed in one country, it seemed as though we had visited 69 different countries in two weeks.

I also met many inspiring social entrepreneurs working in such fields as education, human rights, and environment protection. They don’t work for money, and are trying to make the world a better place, which is exactly aligned with CEMS values. I’m personally very interested in social entrepreneurship, so from those outstanding young people, I learned many practical skills in leadership and how to get funding for a social enterprise. Being inspired by my peers’ great job and contribution, I realised that starting a social project is actually not that far away, and finally after the school I started planning my first non-profit project, which aims to improve the situation of Chinese immigrants in Italy.

The event also provided a perfect extracurricular activity for CEMS students who would like to work in a cross-cultural context or for a social enterprise. In person, I experienced many scenarios, which I had studied in class and from case study books in Cross-cultural Management, such as the different ways people communicate in different cultures, and different religious backgrounds. I also understood that

For me the 3rd UNAoC Summer School proved to be a truly eye-opening, even lifechanging experience. n

Read more about the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations at http://www.unaoc.org/

CEMS Magazine | april 2013

Network events

Maximising effective opportunities across the CEMS Alliance ____

Triona Campbell – CEMS Events & Network Synergies Manager

____ The CEMS Strategic Board of Deans & Rectors agreed that CEMS should strive towards realising its potential for collaboration in the field of doctoral education, thus adding further value to the alliance and enabling its member schools to leverage its collective resources. To this end, the CEMS Research & Doctoral Education Committee (RDE), which comprises heads of doctoral and research departments at CEMS schools, was given the mandate to strengthen the sharing of knowledge through faculty research, encouraging student and faculty mobility and fostering relations between these two categories in order to offer tomorrow’s scholars in the field of business the best possible conditions for launching an academic ca-

reer. Creating learning and professional networking opportunities for doctoral students studying at CEMS member schools will ensure a greater flow of excellent students within the alliance. It was therefore decided to reach out to doctoral students studying at CEMS schools by initiating CEMS events at major international conferences, where their presence is ensured. The prestigious Academy of Management (AOM) Conference, organised in Boston in August 2012, offered this opportunity as more than 9000 of the world’s most published academics and talented students from all continents gathered for a few days of discussions, learning and networking.

CEMS Head Office organised an event on Sunday 5 August. Attendance included over 150 representatives from at least 12 members of the alliance, including Deans, Academic Directors, Professors and Ph.D. scholars. The event was opened by Professor João Amaro de Matos, Chair CEMS Research & Doctoral Education (RDE) Committee and Associate Dean International Development, Nova School of Business and Economics, the exclusive CEMS Portuguese Academic Member, who acknowledged the many opportunities within CEMS (placement, mobility, joint learning opportunities, research sharing and teaching). The event continued with two Ph.D. students sharing their international experience: Mr. Thomas Roulet (HEC Paris), and Mr. Michael Sartor (Ivey Business School).

Visit the CEMS online programme and recruitment portal created to share information and opportunities. Viewed at http://www.cems.org/academic-members/doctoral-education

CEMS Magazine | april 20132

Network events

(l-r): Tor Aase Johannessen (CEMS Academic Director, NHH Norwegian School of Economics), Triona Campbell (CEMS Events and Network Synergies Manager), Professor João Amaro de Matos (Chair, CEMS Research & Doctoral Education Committee and Associate Dean International Development, Nova School of Business and Economics)

CEMS Faculty Cooperation Another area of faculty cooperation can be seen with CEMS Faculty groups. Created to promote networking and the feeling of ownership to CEMS within the faculties at member schools while at the same time to foster research and journal publications, delivering valuable input to the CEMS MIM (block seminars) and local Ph.D. programmes (joint teaching, case writing, publishing text books).

CEMS Faculty Groups: // Business and the Environment Professor Dr. Finn Wynstra (Professor and Associate Director, Erasmus Institute for Research in Management, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University) also shared programme organisation best practices. Mr. Thomas Roulet shared his thoughts: “I’ve built some of my best academic friendships through CEMS. This alliance is not only a formidable forum for students but also for academics, as it creates proximity and interaction between professors and Ph.D. scholars. Being part of a same ‘extended family’ greatly facilitates exchanges between different research traditions”. The event concluded with a networking cocktail with designated chat areas which focused on research topics and opened the market place for Faculty and students recruitment discussions.

// Business Ethics // Consumer Behaviour // Cross-Cultural Management // Enterprise Networks and ICT // Gender and Diversity Management // Global Strategy // Innovation & Design // Entrepreneurship (ENT) // Logistics // Marketing // Public Management and Governance // Social Entrepreneurship (S-ENT) More information at http://www.cems.org/academic-members/faculty-groups n

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THE STARS HAVE ALIGNED

A global league of leaders, CEMS brings together top academic institutions, leading multinational companies, recognised NGOs and outstanding students from around the world to deliver the most internationally and culturally diverse Master’s in Management on the market.

create d by Wordappe al

On campus ____ Rene Barseghian – CEMS Programme Manager, Copenhagen Business School Dominic Olonetzky – CEMS student, University of St. Gallen

Business Project round-up part 1: Copenhagen Business School, with BNP Paribas, L’Oréal and Beiersdorf ____

A live and acute case In continuation of its partnership with CBSCEMS programmes, BNP Paribas branch in Copenhagen presented a business case that was part of its global strategic approach in the Nordic countries. The case corresponds to a live and acute situation in the market. Following the financial crisis, regulators have been focussing on improving the resilience of the Banking sector in order to enhance the ability to absorb future shocks. This set of new rules is labelled Basel III. In a fast-changing environment, with the new regulation to be applied as of January 2013 to the financial industry, the CEMS students were requested to undertake a market study of the potential for Danish Unrated Medium Sized Corporates Tapping the Bond Markets Locally.

The various meetings held during the course of the project were an opportunity for students to get feedback and guidance on their work. It also was an occasion for them to receive information from the banking industry and interact with the Debt Capital Market team of BNP Paribas and testimony of former CBS interns at BNP Paribas London DCM Desk.

Asked about the students’ performance, Pascal Hawath, General Manager/Head of CTBE, Denmark, commented “While the case study was to be approached from a theoretical angle, the research and outcome were very down to earth and practical and exposed students to a series of market players both in the banking and asset management world.”

CEMS Magazine | April 2013

On campus

Doing business In a very different business area, 3 student teams were paired up with CEMS CP L’Oréal. At the end of one of the projects, Rikke Eriksen, Scandinavian Product Manager, for Kiehl’s, commented, “It was a real pleasure working with the CEMS students. I was amazed by the high-level project results they delivered. The project contained recommendations easy to implement in real life and were well founded on Commercial analysis”. In the L’Oréal Consumer Product Division, the challenge for another team was to provide L’Oréal with a clear recommendation on how to start up a new business project. According to Sanne Lønskov, Sales Director in the Consumer Products Division, “to reach that conclusion a good portion of field and desk research combined with a good understanding of the different areas like logistics, finance, marketing and sales was needed; all relevant for taking a total decision on how to approach the business opportunity. The outcome was a presentation with clear recommendation and sales estimates. The project has clearly helped us to start up the process on how to approach this business area.”

The best of three worlds One student group was fortunate enough to travel to Germany to make their presentation to the sponsoring company. The Beiersdorf student team made their final presentation in Hamburg. According to Dirk Strametz, Head of Regional Procurement Europe & North America at Beiersdorf, “We received from a fresh set of eyes feedback with detailed research on this very relevant topic for Beiersdorf. The result is a profound analysis, including points for improvement as well as a greenfield proposal for optimisation with a high implementation potential. I am deeply impressed with the professional approach the students took to this topic.” CBS CEMS student Anne Sofie Raaschou Sigaard summed up the CEMS business project experience this way: “The business project brings the best of three worlds together in the sense that it has a high academic level combined with business/corporate exposure in an international setting.”

The outcome was a presentation with clear recommendation and sales estimates

CEMS Magazine | April 2013

On campus

Business Project round-up part 2: The University of St. Gallen and PwC Many established companies are overwhelmed with the opportunities the digital landscape offers. What would a perfect consulting solution in the area of digital transformation look like? And how could it be implemented in the Swiss market to support PwC in helping their clients solve their issues?

The mission The CEMS business project was conducted at the University of St.Gallen and led by Bogdan Sutter (Head of Digital Transformation at PwC Switzerland) and Dr. Jürgen Brücker (CEMS Academic Director at HSG). Five international CEMS students worked on the project: Martin Tomis Bartel (CBS), Liselotte Fors (SSE), Dominic Olonetzky (HSG), Lasse Desezar Pedersen (CBS), and Samuel Wiedmer (HSG). PwC sees digital transformation as a promising opportunity and wants to significantly

grow its service offering in this nascent market. By building up the relevant competencies and resources, PwC Switzerland intended to more than meet the expectations of its clients. The CEMS project objective was to develop such a “digital transformation service offering at PwC Switzerland”.

The solution The digital transformation market was extensively analysed on a global level by scouting trends, researching market needs and challenging PwC’s capabilities. The CEMS team developed a desirable service offering, focusing on fast market entry and covering all major needs, while still keeping PwC’s core strengths at the heart of the offering. A clear mid-term goal is to involve PwC’s clients to continuously develop the service portfolio and achieve market leadership. In a final stage, industry-specific offerings will be created in order to serve the complete set of existing and emerging needs.

The added value PwC, with its global network and 169 000 employees, is a leading management consulting company. In order to meet the requirements set by PwC , as well as utilise the knowledge captured in such a huge organisation, the CEMS team conducted 33 interviews and organised a workshop. The result of the business project was a holistic digital transformation service offering that caters to the multiple dimensions of digital business and is applicable across industries. Immediate action was taken in Switzerland based on the outcome of the CEMS project and the developed service offering is already integrated into PwC’s webpage. Furthermore, the CEMS team has also been able to influence PwC on a global level: it was invited to present the results of the project in Frankfurt as well as in Stockholm. n

CEMS Magazine | April 2013

On campus

Block Seminar round-up: Integration week for CEMS students in Brazil, Switzerland and Turkey ____

Paola Aguilera – CEMS student, EAESP-FGV Maximilian Schosser – CEMS student, University of St. Gallen Leonard Dulay-Winkler – CEMS student, Koç University Graduate School of Business

The spirit of enterprise and innovation, Brazilian style At the outset the group of CEMS students travelled to Paraty, a city located in Rio de Janeiro state and known for being the most important port of gold exportation in Brazil during the colonial period, for lectures with local entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs explained the difficulties and the processes that they had to go through in order to create their own business. The students then had the chance to sail in a boat among islands close to the coast. During the sailing the owner of the boat, an entrepreneur himself, explained about the risks and steps that he had to take during his professional life in order to run a business. He explained that to have your own company you need to have vision, follow your dreams, have education and take risks in order to be successful.

“This block seminar in Paraty and Sao Paulo was not only a good way to get to know CEMSies from all over the world, but also a very nice opportunity to discover entrepreneurship and innovation in the context of Brazilian emergence” Albertine, HEC - France

Back in the city of São Paulo, the students attended a series of seminars, covering themes such as running an international IT business and entrepreneurialism from the perspective of the president of a small Brazilian consultancy. In order to provide an understanding of the Brazilian market, the Block Seminar included a lecture about the retail sector in Brazil. Students learned how the local culture influences the sales of each kind of business and how companies manage to focus and capture the interest of their clients. They also visited retail stores to see how it works in the city.

At the end the students presented the entrepreneurial sector in Brazil and discussed the main difficulties that entrepreneurs have to face if they want to open and run a business in the country.

CEMS Magazine | April 2013

On campus

As CEMS is not only about academics but also about practical experience, the corporate partners that supported the seminar enabled the students to understand how sustainability today is an essential part of corporate strategy.

Sustainability and Corporate Strategy at the University of St. Gallen The topic of this year’s block seminar was “Sustainability and Corporate Strategy: Meeting the Energy and Climate Challenges”, which was discussed in five lectures by the international faculty, consisting of Professors Moritz Loock (St. Gallen), Rafael Sardá (ESADE), Stefano Pogutz (Bocconi University), Renato J. Orsato (EAESP-FGV Sao Paulo) and Gyula Zilahy (Corvinus). After a dramatic voyage into the future by Professor Sardá demonstrating the consequences of climate change, the other lecturers concentrated on aspects of sustainable business development and challenges of corporate sustainability, highlighting opportunities and threats for businesses.

As CEMS is not only about academics but also about practical experience, the corporate partners that supported the seminar (Swiss Re, Schindler and ABB) enabled the students to understand how sustainability today is an essential part of corporate strategy. After hearing real-life examples of sustainability strategies during the week, the students were offered the opportunity to present their own innovative ideas for sustainability strategies for Nokia, Shell and P&G and discuss the feasibility of their solutions.

CEMS Magazine | April 2013

On campus

Besides established companies, the Block Seminar also addressed the topic of sustainable entrepreneurship. In Steinach, a small village in rural Switzerland, the students visited Trunz Water Systems, a niche SME that produces innovative water purification systems powered with wind or solar energy. The seminar also included a trip to Zürich, where the group received input from SAM - Sustainable Asset Management, a company that invests in sustainable projects and the Hub Zürich, an incubator for innovative (social) entrepreneurs. Finally, CEMS alumnus Tobias Reichenmuth, founder of SUSI Partners, shared his experience as an entrepreneur and inspired the students to think about career paths outside of the traditional corporate career world.

Koç University and Customer Relationship Management

39 CEMS students coming from different cultures, nationalities and backgrounds converge together under the bridge that unites two continents Koç University’s Block Seminar on Customer Relationship Management was organised on 3-7 September, in the mosaic of cultures that is the historic city of Istanbul. Thirty-nine attendants from 11 different CEMS member schools were present, providing the perfect blend and atmosphere in which to develop intercultural exchange and live the much talked about “CEMS spirit”. During the Block Seminar participants were endowed with broad information in academic terms and learned about the opportunities and challenges of Customer Relationship Management. A range of very interesting guest speakers were on hand to share their CRM experience directly from their jobs. Students visited UniCredit/Yapi Kredi Bank and gathered practical experience by solving a challenging business case.

The participants not only learned important lessons in view of their future working life during the day, but also had the chance to discover Istanbul’s shining nightlife for themselves, exploring the bars and clubs in Beyoğlu, the centre of the city, and going on an exciting Boat Trip on the Bosphorus, which has become a tradition of the Koç CEMS Block Seminar in recent times. n

CEMS Magazine | April 2013

On campus

Term 1 CEMS students at UCD, with CEMS Programme Manager Suzanne Kealy (far left)

10 years of CEMS at UCD A view from within ____

Suzanne Kealy – CEMS Programme Manager, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School

____ I have had the pleasure of being part of and connected to the CEMS network both directly and indirectly over the last 10 years. I started working in the Programme Office in UCD in July 2002, so by September 2002 I was still a newbie and learning about the many programmes we offered. I can clearly recall the first orientation session for the class of 2002-03; I sat in our large lecture theatre, alongside the new cohort, to hear all about the M.Sc. programmes and understand more about the different programmes. During the ensuing Q&A session the very first student query caught me unawares when he said “I’m a CEMS student, where do I need to go now?”. As one of my colleagues gave him the necessary directions, I was wondering “What’s a CEMS student and more to the point, what’s CEMS?” Later that day I found out what CEMS was and that the student was in fact one of our first three students on the CEMS programme at UCD. In those early days there were only two different nationalities and three different mother tongues among our CEMS students!

Official Opening/Ribbon Cutting Ceremony of the UCD CEMS Club “Pink Ribbon” Fundraising Event in aid of The Irish Cancer Society Photograph by: Ms. Jacq Ashmore, Corporate Relations Manager, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School

Well here we are 10 years on and I think it’s fair to say that CEMS at UCD has grown significantly. In September 45 students were admitted – this time we have 19 nationalities and 10 mother tongues.

have more students, a growing network of bright and engaged alumni, a community of schools, corporate partners and social partners that is expanding across the globe.

On reflection it’s not just the CEMS programme as we offer it at UCD that has grown over the last 10 years; each year we

This year UCD celebrates ten years of being a part of the vibrant community that is CEMS and we are so proud to be a part of it!! n

CEMS Magazine | April 2013

On campus

UCD welcomes Kerry Group to the CEMS Alliance ____

Sean Murray – Director of Marketing, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School Dorota Piaskowska – CEMS Academic Director, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School

____ UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, Ireland’s leading business school, is delighted to welcome our newest corporate partner, Kerry Group, to the CEMS Alliance. Kerry Group is a world leader in developing, manufacturing and delivering technologybased ingredients, flavours and integrated solutions for the food and beverage industry world-wide and is a leading consumer foods processing and marketing organisation in European markets. Kerry supplies more than 15 000 food ingredients and flavour products to customers in more than 140 countries worldwide, with current annualised sales of approximately €5.3 billion. Headquartered in Tralee, Ireland, Kerry Group Plc is listed on the Dublin and London Stock Markets and has a current market capitalisation exceeding €5 billion.

This is one of Ireland’s truly global companies. With international career opportunities, Kerry Group employs over 24 000 people throughout its research & development, manufacturing, sales and business capabilities in over 45 countries around the world. The new corporate partnership comes at an exciting time for Kerry Group, who have recently announced a major investment in a new Kerry Global Technology & Innovation Centre near Dublin. With multi-functional and multi-cultural representation, the new centre will employ up to 900 people and provide a whole range of opportunities for CEMS graduates.

Kerry expects to recruit over 300 graduates in the next two years across a range of areas, including Finance and Accounting, R&D, Supply Chain, Procurement, Operations and Sales and Marketing

Kerry expects to recruit over 300 graduates in the next two years across a range of areas, including Finance and Accounting, R&D, Supply Chain, Procurement, Operations and Sales and Marketing. To accommodate the new recruits, Kerry has redesigned its graduate development programme to emphasise leadership, commercial acumen and functional capability. The programme includes residential offsite training, mentorship and international job rotations providing a path to early leadership. Kerry’s graduate development efforts align very well with CEMS’ ambition to provide a bridge between academia and practice. We are looking forward to engaging with Kerry on exciting on and off-campus activities in our quest to provide a true business experience and skills to CEMS students. Welcome to the CEMS Alliance Kerry! n

CEMS Magazine | April 2013

On campus

Summer programme paves way for the first CEMS cohort at HKUST Business School ____

Catherine Lo – CEMS Programme Manager, HKUST Business School

Faculties who will be teaching the HKUST MIMT programme were invited to give sample classes in this summer programme. The selected sample class topics are the highlights of the HKUST MIMT programme, ranging from Managerial Decision-making, Negotiation, Consumer Behaviour and Psychology, to Strategic Marketing. Various teaching techniques and methods, such as interactive lectures, case discussions, simulation games, negotiation exercises and group discussions, have been used to enhance students’ intellectual and experiential learning.

____ HKUST Business School kicked off the current academic year by organising a 5-day M.Sc. Summer Programme for prospective students to get a taste of the learning experience from the school’s world-class faculties and grasp a better idea about the CEMS MIM programme at HKUST, which is named the Master of Science in International Management (HKUST MIMT). The summer programme was held at the spectacular HKUST Clearwater Bay campus with a series of intensive and enriching activities, which included a welcome dinner, campus tour, sample classes on various management topics, information session, one-on-one consultation, company visit and Hong Kong tour.

Various teaching techniques and methods, such as interactive lectures, case discussions, simulation games, negotiation exercises and group discussions, have been used to enhance students’ intellectual and experiential learning

A company visit was also arranged to provide students with practical business exposure to one of the world’s leading air cargo terminals, Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminal Limited (Hactl). Through this visit, students had an opportunity to gain a good understanding of the air cargo industry in Hong Kong, the company culture of Hactl, as well as visit to the different parts of the air cargo terminal’s operations at its SuperTerminal 1. Nearly 100 applications from various cities in the Chinese mainland were received while around 30 high quality students were carefully selected to join this summer programme. The summer programme was successfully completed with fruitful and pleasant experience, and also encouraging responses from the prospective students. We look forward to seeing the students again in the campus and enrolled in the HKUST MIMT programme this year. The first cohort of the HKUST MIMT programme will commence in August 2013. n

Feature Leadership concepts and practices in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world

CEMS Magazine | april 2013

Feature: Leadership

Leadership development at UniCredit Giving the right people the opportunity to make a difference ____

Anna Simioni – Head of UniCredit Corporate Learning and CEO of UniManagement Piotr J. Langer – Head of UniCredit Employer Branding and Development Advisor of UniManagement

____ “Despite a grim market and crisis that is already leading to paradigm shifts in banking, we would hold on to our core ideas (…) We have started to build UniCredit as a talent-minded company in a distinctive way, and we are sure that the chosen path is the road to follow”. This passage, taken from “Growing Talent” published in 2008 by H. Borensztejn, remains valid like never before. UniCredit continues to offer development initiatives to employees, representing all organisational layers. Part of this expertise is also shared with students, invited to our laboratories, under the umbrella of academic skills seminars and business projects. Surprisingly, many of you during such meetings seek for the ultimate truth on what are the most vital leadership components and enablers for success? Paradoxically, our programmes will not provide a quick answer to such a question. They will offer something far more meaningful and memorable – the opportunity of experiencing and discovering it on your own.

As a Group, growing through mergers and acquisition, shaping our working environment since 1473, we have branded action learning and collaboration as the main paradigms of all the talent and leadership development activities. The essence of this philosophy is genuinely proven also by the design of UniManagement, the Group’s leadership development centre. The programmes and laboratories developed there build leadership skills by exposing highpotentials to real, strategic and international business projects and UniCredit top executives. In a way, programme participants are deliberately asked to “shake up the organisation” with their new ideas, which are presented and defended in front of the Group’s CEO at the programme graduation.

Another distinctive UniManagement laboratory is a Real-Life Learning workshop. It aims at guiding participants through emotional intelligence. During this two-day workshop, participants experience the true meaning of managing complexity, ambiguity and human relations. And how greatly inner, personal experiences – if properly thought through – positively affect our reactions even in the totally unexpected and new environments. Remarkably, enrolment to both programmes is done not through appointments but selfapplication. From our experience, such an attitude and approach, combined with the notion to make a positive change, are actually the preconditions for successful leadership development. They give the right people the opportunity to make a difference. n

CEMS Magazine | april 2013

Feature: Leadership

In a way, programme participants are deliberately asked to “shake up the organisation” with their new ideas, which are presented and defended in front of the Group’s CEO at the programme graduation

Interview

Why did UniCredit decide to build its company around talent? It was the most natural way for company integration and growth. UniCredit is a diverse institution, defined by the experiences and knowledge of several nationalities. For us, creating the right conditions for topperforming colleagues to collaborate and shape the company’s future was a deliberate and successful choice. Thanks to this, we were able in a very short period to transform from a regional to a multinational, respected bank.

How could this philosophy be applied by students at university level? Simply, learn from others, while they learn from you! And believe us - it’s possible in all environments: professional, academic as well as social ones. There are three key words making it happen: trust, awareness and choice. Trust - in others and yourself, that together you can achieve great things. Awareness, of what you do and why you do it – focusing on your drivers, emotions and learning deriving from experiences. Finally, the most important one – choice. Make deliberate and wise decisions, exposing yourself to meaningful, challenging and diverse experiences. Experience, which will become a discovery for you, something that will be remembered for years.

What kind of advice would you give to young people, to put their career on the right track? Perhaps what to avoid and what to be aware of? The Latin meaning of “career” referred to the track itself, or even more precisely to the rails. In our view such a metaphor greatly narrows the notion of human growth, which rarely happens in such a linear dimension. So in terms of advice: do things you are passionate about, things which are consistent with your values and drive your curiosity. Then, focus on people – future co-workers and future managers. Certainly, the reputation associated with the brand of the company you’ll decide to work for is vital, but should always be complemented by your personal impression and feelings about employees of a given company or possible potential managers.

CEMS Magazine | april 2013

Feature: Leadership

Women and leadership: Learning from the social sector ____

____ Jacqueline

Novogratz, CEO of Acumen Fund, shares lessons in leadership from her work in venture philanthropy with CEMS Corporate Partner McKinsey & Company ____ As a venture philanthropist, Acumen Fund’s Jacqueline Novogratz leads entrepreneurial projects across the globe—many of which put women at the helm of emerging local businesses. In this interview with “McKinsey Quarterly”, she discusses her experience developing other women leaders, the way they have shaped her own approach to leadership, and the different leadership cultures she sees at play in the public and private sectors. The Quarterly: One of the secrets of your activity in building entrepreneurialism is focusing on women as workers. Can you talk about that? Jacqueline Novogratz: I had been in Rwanda where I worked with a small group of women to start the first microfinance organisation in the country and, simultaneously, a bakery with 20 unwed mothers. My own background has taught me a lot about the power of investing in women, because you do end up feeding a family and not just an individual.

I worry actually that the international-development community may, in focusing so much on the women, end up demoralising and devaluing men even further. I don’t want to be glib about just investing in girls. We have to build healthy societies and we have to recognise that boys and girls develop differently and [we have to] find ways really to include, to value, to have high expectations, and to provide opportunity. And so there’s this big, philosophical question around how do you hire, how do you encourage different behaviour. Can you—in the dormitories—bring in other activities to bring in reproductive health, to help with microfinance and savings? There’s a really interesting platform here. The Quarterly: Your story of the bakery in Rwanda was in large part a story about developing the women that you worked with there. What did you learn about leadership from their experience of developing into owners and operators of that business? Jacqueline Novogratz: I went in as a leader with pure audaciousness. I didn’t have as much humility in that I just assumed—I’m the eldest of seven, I can do the Bad News Bears thing really well, I’m just going to cheer them on—without having the humility of really understanding what their starting place was.

After many mishaps, including having them steal from me and having them not really know how to sell—I mean they would look down the whole time and have to explain to me that they were considered prostitutes by many; for them to go and look somebody directly in the eye and shake their hands was not exactly a Rwandan-woman kind of thing—so I had to learn to have the humility myself to really listen to their perspectives, and yet not stop there; to have the audaciousness to say, “It’s a good starting point, but we want to get you to this other place.” The real lesson for me was how that dignity is so much more important to the human spirit than wealth. And that what these women, as all of us, needed was to know that we could cover basic needs, but to have the power of being able to say no to things that we didn’t want, that we didn’t want to do. And so leadership as a way of inspiring, listening, and letting people, you know, grow themselves in their own way. And it was a small experience in some ways, and yet one that I think about all the time that taught me so much about listening and dignity—and laughter as a really, really key component. The more stressed I got, the less anything worked; and the more we could laugh, the more we got done. And so that was probably another really big lesson.

CEMS Magazine | april 2013

Feature: Leadership

I’m a big optimist. I really believe in setting impossible goals and then making them possible. And I really love people—and I think people feel that from me. So it’s probably that sometimes very confusing mix of optimism, idealism, but also high expectations, lots of discipline, and pragmatism. Part of the journey that those of us who are privileged, which is pretty much everyone in this country, has to make is not being embarrassed by privilege or guilty for privilege or confused by privilege, but to start from that place of recognising that your responsibility is to use that privilege in the best way you can to serve the world. And there are lots of ways of serving the world. The Quarterly: Many women work in social sector, fewer in finance. Let’s say actually fewer lead in finance. You’ve succeeded in both. Any thoughts on the skill set, and why one isn’t more prevalent in the other area? Jacqueline Novogratz: I think that girls really are relational, and what I love about finance—and what I love about accounting even, which is kind of embarrassing to admit—is it’s another form of storytelling. And if you could teach young people to find the stories in the combination of the balance sheet and the income statement, I think we would see a lot more girls taking leadership in finding that comfort.

I just did a panel for women on Wall Street, and what they spoke about was how rigid our financial institutions continue to be around integrating women into the workforce—particularly after they’ve had children—and that the rules are so driven by a different kind of discipline that the social sector has taken upon itself to reinvent. And that may be more to the point as to why we don’t see as many leaders—women leaders—in finance. It’s a much older club. It’s been driven by a stricter set of rules and expectations. I have four brothers who all work on Wall Street, and I remember when one of my brothers’ wife had a child. And I said, “Well, is there, you know, paternity leave?” And he said, “Oh, yeah. We have the most liberal paternity leave on Wall Street—but I would never take it, because if I did, everybody would think I was, you know, wimpy.” And I think there’s great truth to that. So there’s a cultural piece that needs to be looked at. Whereas in the social sector, as a woman leader, you have the opportunity to invent the culture in which you want to work and thrive.

Young people often will come to me and say, “I really want to do this, but first I feel like I need to do A, B, C, D, and E.” In some ways I think we’ve put young people, especially, on a track where they have these expectations that they’re going to do one thing after another because that’s what everybody else does—and then they will get this freedom. And I think there are lots of different paths and that the path isn’t always clear, but you just should start; that work will teach you; and that I can’t imagine a more joyful way of living than a life when where you are serving in the spirit as equally of adventure as you are of change. n

CEMS Magazine | april 2013

Feature: Leadership

“De-mystifying” Leadership ____

Scott Neilson – CEO, Mandala Partners International

____ With a track record that

includes the delivery of 25 Leadership Skill Seminars and Block Seminars to over 500 CEMS MIM students since 2007, Mr. Scott Neilson shared with readers of CEMS Magazine his concept of what makes a leader and how leadership should be conducted.

you try to handle every problem with those skills, you will surely be ill-equipped for some of the challenges you will face. Getting other people to follow means to set the direction, the action plans, and the goals to move the organisation in a direction, and to build a groundswell of support and commitment among ALL stakeholders to doing what is necessary to achieve those goals. Their commitment is essential because, in fact, it is they who actually achieve those goals, not the leader. The leader may set the target and enable the teams to achieve the goals, but the stakeholders make it happen.

The Goal A leader’s ability to face those challenges and achieve business success lies in the support and motivation of the people he or she is leading. If you agree with this notion, then our primary goal as leaders must be to enlist that support and commitment, and to maintain it at the highest possible level.

Scott Neilson

The Task

highest possible level is the leader’s primary task. That commitment not only has a direct and significant impact on the long-term success and sustainability of the business, it is integral to your success as a leader.

The Skill Finally, if you agree that building and maintaining commitment across all stakeholders is the primary goal of a leader, and the primary task is determining their needs at any given point in time, then the primary skill of a leader is to balance his/her actions to meet as many needs as possible and maintain the highest possible level of commitment across all stakeholder groups simultaneously.

The Art of Leadership Unfortunately, these concepts, as with so many other business concepts, are not as simple. There are subtleties and complexities that must be considered. There are shades of grey. There are moving targets and blurred vision for which you must account.

CEO, Mandala Partners International

____ If you go to the bookstore and look in the business management section under Leadership, you will find dozens of books listing THE skill or skills that a leader MUST possess in order to be successful. Well, if one of those books is actually right, then it follows that there are dozens which are not. They are a fixed set of skills that HAVE worked for someone, at some time, in some situation. They are all good skills and they are all right, but they can also be all wrong depending on the situation, and how and when you use them. The requirements of a leader are not fixed. Leadership means “to go first, and to get other people to follow.” By going first you are facing new challenges, obstacles, threats and opportunities. It is highly improbable that a fixed set of skills will work in all new situations. If you have a specific set of skills, and

The question becomes: how does a leader earn their commitment, support and contribution to achieving the goals and objectives of the business? The answer, and your task as a leader, is to evaluate every situation facing the organization, and determine who among your stakeholders is affected by it and how, and what do they need from you now in order to continue moving in the chosen direction.

For example, there are sub-categories of stakeholders within each group, and each may have different needs for a given situation. Your leadership team may have different needs from your entry-level employees.

Consider this. It is commonly asserted that “necessity is the mother of invention.” This means that as needs arise, it is human nature to become motivated to meet those needs. It follows, then, that to motivate people to contribute to achieving the goals of the business, leaders must understand and meet their needs. Of course, this must be done within the context of the needs and goals of the business.

Finally, different stakeholder groups are likely to have conflicting needs. How do you balance those and optimise commitment across all stakeholders?

For these reasons, building and maintaining the commitment of those stakeholders at the

In addition, situations change multiple times a day and new situations may create new needs among your stakeholders.

Leadership is not a specific set of skills…it is a process. It is a way of thinking. Awareness of these subtleties, maintaining a sense of the dynamics as they grow and change on a daily basis, and managing them to maximise need satisfaction across all stakeholder groups is what makes leadership an art. n

Aalto University School of Business Copenhagen Business School Corvinus University of Budapest ESADE Business School Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo-FGV Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg State University HEC Paris HKUST Business School Indian Institute of Management Calcutta Ivey Business School Keio University Koç University Graduate School of Business Louvain School of Management LSE, The London School of Economics and Political Science National University of Singapore Business School Norwegian School of Economics Nova School of Business and Economics Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Stockholm School of Economics Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business Università Bocconi University of Cologne University of Economics, Prague University of St. Gallen University of Sydney Business School Warsaw School of Economics WU, Vienna University of Economics and Business

CONTACT I www.cems.org I info@cems.org

CEMS students and alumni are at home in the world, thanks to a unique alliance of 28 leading member schools, over 70 corporate partners and 4 NGOs that spans the globe. The CEMS MIM is more than a top-ranked Master’s programme: it’s a passport to global citizenship.

CEMS Magazine | april 2013

Feature: Leadership

Leadership in the age of knowledge ____

Today the development of leadership is determined by two opposing driving forces. The first concerns the making of the system of external leadership, the second with the development of internal leadership skills of the individual. It is the dynamics of the correlation between these two driving forces that determines the nature of the leadership of our time.

Dr. Andrey Zamulin Associate Professor,

The first driving force is the development of the system of leaders – followers. Its purpose is to acquire and use intelligence.

Organisation Behaviour& HR Management Department, Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg State University, Russia

____ The

times in which we live are marked by a shift from the industrial age to the age of knowledge. Leadership styles that used to work for the management of hierarchical organisations no longer fit into the dynamic and unpredictable setting of the 21st century. The leadership paradigm has to change.

The modern world is marked by a shift from outstanding individuals to collective leadership. Today effective leadership hinges largely on cultivating intensive collective intelligence in a setting created by a caring and supportive organisation culture. A successful exchange of intelligence within a company requires a balance between vertical and horizontal leadership. The key function of a vertical leader becomes creating conditions for leadership sharing within a team. And the style of such a leader consists in providing servant leadership.

The second driving force is the development of selfleadership. Its purpose is to ensure that the professional and personal life of the individual has a meaning. This area is about looking for life’s meaning and defining one’s mission in life. The process of developing self-leadership promotes personal growth of the individual in three major areas. In the first place it is to do with developing integrity by taking responsibility for one’s words and actions. In the second place it is to do with growth in terms of authenticity – the ability to be oneself. And last but not least self-leadership requires commitment to something bigger than oneself. Research shows that it is the commitment to something bigger than oneself that makes a great leader. There is therefore a clash of two tendencies. The first means that we get integrated into networks and systems bigger than ourselves which may lead to the risk of losing “our own voice”. And the second means that the individual is bent on finding an answer to the eternal question – what is my mission in life? This involves a risk of losing touch with the pragmatic side of life. A real leader will be able to strike a balance between these two tendencies in his life. n

CEMS Magazine | april 2013

Feature: Leadership

Global Leadership ____

Professor Alberto Gimeno – CEMS Academic Director, ESADE Business School

____ Leadership has been a hot topic in the field of Management in recent years. Besides being one of the most studied concepts in Management, it is, paradoxically, still quite misunderstood at the academic, practitioner, and corporate levels.

between the concepts. A higher post gives someone more potestas, but not necessarily more auctoritas.

The ancient Romans made a clear distinction between auctoritas and potestas. The former was someone’s capacity to influence on the basis of his or her personal prestige. Potestas was someone’s power due to his position in the social structure. The two concepts were clearly separated, because they referred to different sources of power.

When I had the privilege of being appointed CEMS Academic Director at ESADE, I asked myself what it meant to “develop global leaders”. It has to do with potestas, not with auctoritas. In my opinion, it means contributing to developing people – managers – who are able to attract people in different geographical, cultural, socio-political, religious, institutional and economic contexts, in order to make a difference.

Auctoritas is leadership. It is what makes the leader have followers. It has to do with the personal characteristics of the leader. It is very often confused with potestas, which is nowadays understood as authority. Statements such as “He was appointed to a new leadership position” reflect this confusion

This ability has an effective dimension (being competent at solving problems), a social dimension (being competent at building agreements and bringing people together) and a mental dimension (knowing where to guide an organisation and when to use power).

It has to do with knowledge and competencies, but also with insights, mind-sets and values. Leaders have to be able to develop themselves, and their organisations, in complex environments and situations. This learning process starts with understanding. You cannot manage what you do not understand. This means being able to identify regularities between different situations, on the one hand, and what is specific and unique, on the other. A global leader has to be able to lead an understanding that the world is both flat and round. n

CEMS Magazine | april 2013

Feature: Leadership

A studio pedagogy for Leadership education ____

Stefan Meisiek – Associate Professor, Copenhagen Business School

____ Leadership can’t be taught in a classroom, but it can be developed through fostering reflective practice. The reason being that leadership is an embodied practice: intellect, imagination, cultural awareness, and bodily presence have to come together. This means that students of leadership could intellectually review and discuss the topic for days, but wouldn’t get any closer to being able to perform it. Yet, if they move into a space that affords imagination and play, invites recourse to values, and fosters an understanding of how it feels to act from within a context, then leadership can be learned as the reflective practice that it is. Such a space would, however, have more in common with an artist or designer’s studio than with an auditorium.

The Studio at Copenhagen Business School (www.cbs.dk/studio) is such a creative space. Situated in a villa just off the main campus, it has been the site for numerous courses that take embodiment as the starting point for developing competencies. Moveable furniture, different lighting options, video equipment, several interconnected rooms, lots of whiteboard paint, couches, and kitchens are just some of the features inviting a variety of ways of working together. The teacher moves from the front of the class to its centre, meaning from a lecturer to a facilitator, while students work in groups to solve the issues presented to them. The Studio affords pedagogies that link scientific content and developmental process.

For the leadership process it’s been helpful to draw on the arts. Especially the performing arts have a long tradition in working in embodied aspects of leadership. Conductors, actors, painters, and photographers have worked with the students to analogously explore the practices of leadership, while relating them to established leadership theory. The result has been that students could relate their personal leadership experiences and ambitions to concepts and theory in a more versatile, embodied, and reflective manner. But leadership has been but one topic for the studio. Space and pedagogy also helped for teaching innovation, entrepreneurship, sustainability, or organisational design. n

Feature Future leaders on leadership the CEMS student & alumni perspective

CEMS Magazine | april 2013

Feature: Future leaders

Future leaders on Leadership The CEMS student & alumni perspective

Empower through emotions ____ The concept of leadership is traditionally associated with having a certain functional expertise. Experts, by definition, are people who have acquired extensive knowledge in a particular field. To me, leadership is something totally different; it’s a social skill – a way of communicating. I don’t like to call myself a leader, I prefer being an enabler (and I’m certainly too young

to be an expert at anything). I’m passionate about what I do, and I can see how my enthusiasm transcends to the people I work with and that alone is a big catalyst for their productivity and their allegiance to me. Communicating a vision is perhaps the single most effective tool for a leader because it taps into the imagination of your employees. Imagination is one of the few forces of nature that stimulates auditory, visual and kinaesthetic responses in us. In other words, when your employees can “hear, see or feel” the corporate vision that you communicate to them then you’ve got yourself a group of independent overachievers. All the “leading” a leader has to do is emotionally stimulated by what you communicate and how you treat your employees. Top performers don’t become top performers because they have someone supervising them; rather, they become top performers because the leader has created a work environment in which everyone’s personalities are reflected in what they do for a living. One way of creating an emotionally-powered work environment is by encouraging collective decision-making. The more involved everyone is in all decision-making processes, the stronger the team’s bond and attachment to their working environment, and the higher their productivity. In my opinion, a positive mind-set, a collective desire to succeed and an open and honest consideration for everyone’s input is all it takes to become a great leader. Sotero Rodriguez WU Vienna University of Economics & Business

CEMS Magazine | april 2013

Feature: Future leaders

Goodbye leader, hello role-model!

Are you a great listener?

____ The word “leadership” is a very strong word, and in my time as CEMS Club Vienna President I definitely didn’t see myself as a leader, but rather as part of the team. Working in a team of high performers, there is not much need for a leader in the traditional sense of the word. Instead, there is a need for a rolemodel, a person that is always motivated, shows commitment, takes over responsibility and has a mind of his or her own. I attended many skill seminars about leadership, but to my mind there is no leadership concept that can be applied generally. The leadership style must be adapted individually to each situation and to the team members. Respect and open communication are definitely two important keys to success. Furthermore, trust has to be built in order to give people the confidence to rely on each other. Everything else is a development process that improves gradually.

____ Leadership can in its finest art be a truly inspiring source, but on the other side, poor leadership skills can demolish team spirit and affect the work outcome. Being a leader has never been an easy task and as the world becomes more tightly integrated and united, the complexity seems to further increase. Therefore, multiculturalism and understanding of such diversity is essential in order to become a good leader.

Do I finally see a difference between a leader and the rest of the team? Yes, the difference lies in the responsibility: on the one hand, I feel responsible for the team and for the decisions that are made. On the other hand, others see me as the responsible person in charge and expect me to make clear and correct decisions. In fact, one can never please everybody, but this is about taking responsibility for the results. To quote Jack Welch, long-time CEO of GE and one of the most prominent leaders: “Successful leaders do something – anything – even if the options aren’t the greatest. They get hurt, they fail, they pick themselves up and say “That really sucked.” Then they do something about it. They make the choice to go on the mend versus get stuck in the mess and blame everyone else for being stuck.” Anda-Lucia Coman Former President, CEMS Club Vienna 2010-11

Throughout my years within the travel industry, where I had a chance to work in a variety of countries, I learned that the ability to listen is a key capability in order to understand cultural differences and the fact that great leadership comes from good communication. Former Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, has stated it very elegantly: “You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist”. Meaning, only by being open and obliging to the world and its many colours are we able to learn and excel. Hence, leaders of tomorrow must embrace and not repulse. In many ways our work in CEMS Club Copenhagen represents the challenges of today’s leaders. We work through online channels, across borders and time zones and the team itself brings together various cultural backgrounds. Therefore, transparent communication is key in our cooperation as we share insights and ideas in order to achieve our common goals. But increased and open communication is demanding and the challenge is even greater considering the fact that online communication can more easily lead to misunderstandings. Hence, it is vital to listen in order to reduce the misunderstandings and reach decisions upon common ground. To succeed as a team, we listen and learn from each other; this is what characterises great leadership - the ability to put yourself in the position of your counterpart and thereby communicate at the same level. Peter Hecht Current President, CEMS Club Copenhagen

CEMS Magazine | april 2013

Feature: Future leaders

Top performers don’t become top performers because they have someone supervising them. They become top performers because the leader has created a work environment in which everyone’s personalities are reflected in what they do for a living

Leadership without theory ____ Every one of us gives the word leader a slightly different meaning, and that’s exactly what leadership means to me. This personal touch of highlighting, and sometimes even emphasising a specific part of your personality makes up these differences.

Critical as we all are, you could argue that I’m indirectly saying that being a leader is about being real and about being yourself, which indeed sounds kind of dull and theoretical and probably reminds all of us of terms such as “authentic leadership” or “personal leadership”. However, leadership is not about applying what these somewhat meaningless terms subscribe. It is about using your personality to the best extent and there is no better place to do so than during your CEMS Master’s. This is the time that you can try out what works for you and what doesn’t and that is also what I enjoyed most as President of CEMS Club Rotterdam. The high diversity of people you have to interact with enables you to develop your leadership skills to the fullest extent. It provides you with a platform to test the strength of your character and helps you in developing your own leadership style. I believe that a leader shouldn’t forcibly act according to some kind of theory but rather adopt a leadership style that is congruent with the rest of his personality. Concluding, I don’t believe in telling leaders how to behave or in developing theories or roadmaps for efficient leadership. Hence, you are in the position to try out different leadership styles in a highly diverse environment. Therefore, take advantage of your CEMS-time, use your intuition, and you will develop your very own, tailor-made leadership theory, suited only for you! Anniek de Jong Current President, CEMS Club Rotterdam

CEMS Magazine | april 2013

Feature: Future leaders

Leadership: Lesson from down under ____ I had an opportunity to spend a year as an intern in the Sydney office of Hilti, a Liechtenstein-based manufacturer of premium power tools and fastening systems. I was assigned to projects spanning from branding, through strategic marketing, to corporate development projects. I worked in various teams including one led by the general manager. Difficult as it is to assess leadership styles from a cultural perspective, a common denominator of the work in Sydney for me was that everything could be dealt with in a positive atmosphere and with a smile on people’s faces. All this while delivering expected results and keeping clear accountability for the tasks. I had a chance to participate in numerous meetings with third parties and the “smile factor” was always present. When it comes down to particular leadership styles in my office, it is important to keep in mind that I worked for a global company with global processes and a global leadership style enforced in all offices around the globe. Hilti is a company where 80% of its workforce has direct contact with the customer, therefore employee engagement and employee satisfaction reflect straight on the customer, ergo has a significant impact on the company performance. This results in a great focus on people. Very rarely have I seen an autocratic manager. I was more likely to experience a participative approach, which truly helped me to grow in my various roles. It is difficult to generalise when it comes down to the leadership style of any country. However, one thing is for sure. Contrary to the common belief, the Australian work routine does not involve surfing during the lunch break, and the famous “no worries” in work environment rather stands for “no need to stress out, but let’s get down to work”. Stepan Mejzlik University of Economics, Prague Head Coordinator of V4 Conference 2013, CEMS Club Prague

The ultimate shaping of responsible future managers ____ In the spring of 2011 I worked for an international company within the industrial technology industry at a trade show in Germany. During that time I talked to Amin, the CEO, who made a huge impression on me – both personally and as the leader of an international company. He represented everything that I value in a good manager; he was internationally and interculturally oriented, empathetic, hardworking, ambitious and always kept the big picture in mind. But why am I telling you this? For several years, I have only been a member in different teams. This implied that I was given tasks and smaller responsibilities for short-term goals, have focused much on my own work and less on the contribution from the rest of the team. When I got elected as the Head of Marketing and Communication for the CEMS Club Copenhagen, my role suddenly changed; a change I proactively was striving for. I wanted to try the other side of the coin; wanted to be the leader of a small team; wanted to steer the wheel in my preferred direction; wanted to challenge myself by forcing me to think a step further. Becoming the leader of my small Marketing and Communication committee consisting of three additional members each of different nationalities, I am now taking the broader picture into consideration when making decisions and developing future marketing efforts in order to increase CEMS brand awareness in the local community. My new task, thus, is not solely being the one that is held responsible for the activities in the committee, but I am likewise responsible for listening to the team members’ ideas and contributions and to delegating out tasks. I am happy to say that I took the step; I feel more heavily prepared for real-life business situations. Bente Hauss Head of Marketing and Communication, CEMS Club Copenhagen

Taking the lead with Maersk maersk.com

At Maersk, your ideas shape the future Maersk Group is involved in as different businesses as shipping, energy, logistics and retail and in order for us to constantly evolve we need your ideas and your passion. That is why we give our employees responsibility from day one and provide them with tools and support that enable them to make valuable contributions to our global organization. Go to www.maersk.com and learn more.

YOUR OPPORTUNITIES When you join Maersk, you’ll find that the world is your workplace. You’ll work in a strongly diverse and stimulating environment, characterised by new ideas and different ways of doing things.

At Maersk, we believe people truly thrive when they are in charge of their own career paths and professional growth. That’s why we’ll give you lots of responsibility right from the get-go and expect you to excel at your job and be accountable for your results.

A lot of our work is carried out in teams, and teamwork at Maersk is distinguished by mutual acceptance, respect dedication, and the notion that we all have something to learn from our colleagues. Experience shows that we achieve more when we pull together towards our goal.

Maersk offers a wide range of learning tools and training programmes, and we encourage our employees to assume genuine ownership of their learning as they help to shape their own career paths.

Successful teamwork requires effective leaders, and we believe the success of the team as a whole is always the best evidence of strong leadership. Our leaders are encouraged to serve as great examples and to inspire others through their own high standards and outstanding performance.

The business we operate in require that we constantly adapt to changes happening around us – applying innovative ideas and technologies to help meet new market needs and demands. With innovation being a vital driver to us, we’ll encourage you to challenge the status quo and voice your opinions, even if they are new or different. Of course we also want our employees to be safe and healthy. We make occupational safety and health our highest priority and we try our outmost to ensure that our employees have the balance between work and personal life people need to really do their best. WORKING ENVIRONMENT At Maersk, we believe in individual performance within highly professional teams. We’ll give you plenty of opportunities to achieve, and we’ll reward your achievements accordingly. But we also want you to reach your goals in the right way, guided by our company’s strong and distinctive values.

A GLOBAL COMPANY We’re a highly diversified company, with substantial activities in the shipping, energy, logistics, offshore and retail sectors. This diversity means we can offer many possible career paths, both for generalists and for specialists in a wide range of fields. At Maersk, you don’t have to travel to experience an international business environment. At any given Maersk office, you’ll find a culturally diverse, stimulating environment, where fresh ideas and different ways of doing things are a normal part of your everyday work life. And yet for all our diversity, we share a common heritage and work in accordance with a set of distinctive values. With roots stretching back more than a century, these values serve as our guide on issues such as safety and environment stewardship.

Think Tank Corporate Social Responsibility is not just a story ____

Helinä Hirvikorpi – Journalist

____ Organised by Aalto University School of Business as part of the Block Seminar, the Business Ethics Seminar featured a panel that met to discuss corporate social responsibility. On the panel were: Prof. Laszlo Zsolnai (CEMS Business Ethics Faculty group chair, Corvinus University of Budapest), Professor Nel Hofstra (Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University), Juri Blagov (representing St. Petersburg Academy of Management and Economics and PriceWaterhouseCoopers), Esko Aho (former Prime Minister of Finland, former CSR Manager at Nokia and currently Senior Fellow at Harvard) and Timo Vuori (Chief Executive of ICC Finland). The mainly student-composed audience was given an opportunity to vote on whether corporate social responsibility should be considered first and foremost a PR exercise, a management tool or respect shown for the norms and expectations of society. Votes were received by all three options. Esko Aho, who has lot of practical knowledge of the theme, said that using CSR to clean up your image is a thing of the past: “Creating shared value for both the community and shareholders is a new mode of operation for responsible companies. Each company then has its own means of implementing corporate social responsibility. It is

important to realise that communities and societies cannot solve problems without inputs from the private sector. Chief Executive of ICC Finland Timo Vuori felt that in some companies, corporate social responsibility means all three things listed above, but responsibility is difficult to gauge, whilst Nel Hofstra believed that companies quite often misbehave and are driven by fear.

CSR as a driver Laszlo Zsolnai underlined a significant paradox: “corporate social responsibility works in good companies. It does not work in bad ones. But it is the bad companies that need social responsibility”. Timo Vuori felt that in many geographical areas Nokia has improved people’s standards of living and conditions more than the governments in question. “Businesses are looking for new opportunities, and this also involves risks. However, investors are increasingly interested in companies that are well managed.”

CEMS Magazine | april 2013

THINK TANK

Creating shared value for both the community and shareholders is a new mode of operation for responsible companies

sustainable development principles is an important criterion for some of the consumers in western countries. What about the tobacco industry? How can it demonstrate corporate social responsibility? “CSR is rather a wide concept. We could just talk about ethical producers in a narrow sense, but the tobacco industry is legal and the products are being sold legally, whether you like them or not. The factories pay their taxes to society and create jobs for people”, Juri Blagov pointed out.

A good company does good deeds Esko Aho explained how the 11 000 people who were laid off in the aftermath of Nokia’s new strategy were provided possibilities to start their own companies through the Bridge programme set up for this purpose. The company worked together with the government in each country, and a Nokia ecosystem was created in various countries, a platform for new growth enterprises. Timo Vuori brought up the issue of consumer and customer behaviour. A retailing chain that invests in CSR may lose some of its market share, as all consumers do not always appreciate these activities. On the other hand, choosing products manufactured in line with

Timo Vuori cited global environmental conferences that speak for sustainable development and seek to slow down climate change; in the beginning, they were led by various governments, while nowadays the engines of progress are companies, as was seen in the last conference in Rio de Janeiro. The concept of corporate citizenship was first introduced by the international IBM corporation as early as the 1980s. Laszlo Zsolnai shared a dislike for this expression, as a company cannot have civic rights. “That would be the end of democracy.”

Esko Aho preferred to highlight a Code of Conduct as an ethical tool. “It can be used to manage any conflicts, it is transparent and it is understood everywhere.” A Code of Contact contains practical level rules and policies for either individuals or the organisation. Hofstra shook her head when a panellist said that a responsible company must be successful and make a profit. “If making a profit and corporate social responsibility are seen as opposing goals for a company, there is something wrong with your attitude. We should expect the public sector to be productive, too. And the basic assumption cannot be that companies are bad. The basic assumption is that companies do good things”, Aho pointed out. “If the product is good, the company usually is good, too”, Juri Blagov summed up. The panel discussion left the taste of coffee in the participants’ mouths, as Laszlo Zsolnai praised his favourite company, the Italian coffee producer Illy. “Their coffee is a form of art, but so is corporate social responsibility in real-life business operations.” n

CEMS Magazine | April 2013

Think Tank

CEMS offers new language training opportunity to students and alumni ____

Jamie Romanet – CEMS MIM Programme Assistant

____ Whether you want to practice for your Management and Business Communication test or brush up on your language skills, Lingueo, in partnership with CEMS, is now offering customised language tutoring for CEMS MIM students and alumni. Established in 2007, Lingueo is a Parisbased group which distinguishes itself from other language companies. Awarded the Language Label by the European Commission, Lingueo is recognised as the leader of innovation for language learning. What’s more, Lingueo is the forerunner in one-on-one distance learning, providing video-conferencing courses from professionally trained native speakers all over the world. Allowing an accessible, affordable, and easy-to-use platform, CEMS students and alumni can now benefit from tailored training classes that work into their schedule. CEMS Magazine spoke with Guillaume le Dieu de Ville, founder of Lingueo.

What are the benefits of choosing Lingueo? First off, I’d have to say quality based on one-to-one classes. Our native-speaker teachers are experienced and prepared to meet your needs. They will provide tailor-made courses complementary to your traditional learning programme. Flexibility is another key asset. You can take your classes at the time that best fits your schedule, be it the day, night or weekend, wherever you are.

How are your teachers prepared to work with CEMS MIM students and alumni? We provide two different trainings for CEMS: the first is the general training, perfect for alumni or students, it’s useful for updating your skills in a language or for learning a new one. The second is the CEMS prep, which focuses on the MBC test. The CEMS pedagogical team provided us with previous exams and we defined together the goals to be reached in order to coach our teachers and to ensure their classes will fit the CEMS quality requirements.

How do we book a class? First you may want to try a free lesson - ask for it on cems.lingueo.fr. Then, it’s easy! Login and click on the “Book a class” button. You are done. At the time of the class, log in to the site being sure Skype is on and click on the “call your teacher” button. During the first class, the teacher will evaluate your level and introduce the learning

method. A sharing document section will allow you to access the different exercises and documents provided to prepare each lesson. Also you will be able to follow your improvement in the level section. If you have any questions you can call us at +33(1)40.34.21.30 or send us an email to contact@lingueo.com specifying you are a CEMS member. A dedicated adviser is at your disposal and conditions are the same whether you are an alumni or current student.

The theme for this issue is “Leadership: Theories and Practices.” What’s your leadership advice? For those who aim to run their own business, never forget entrepreneurship is about vision and implementation.

CEMS Magazine | april 2013

THINK TANK

It’s easy to connect on Skype with the teacher and to choose the best time suitable for my agenda

Lukas Périer, a CEMS MIM student at HEC Paris, recently took an Italian language course with Lingueo What are your personal language objectives?

What was your impression of the course?

My personal language goal is to improve my Italian level in order to reach a professional daily use. In order to do that, I have to improve my writing skills and specific communication skills. Despite the fact that I can speak and write Italian pretty fluently, I need additional support from a language school such as Lingueo. During my first trial course, the professor assessed my level and then proposed a programme on how to improve efficiently. We are now ready to start a specially tailored programme that includes business vocabulary and preparation for making formal presentations.

I chose Lingueo because of its flexibility. It’s easy to connect on Skype with the teacher and to choose the best time suitable for my agenda. In addition, my professor is a native Italian speaker who is an experienced teacher. I would definitely recommend Lingueo to any CEMS student needing to prepare for the MBC tests or simply to improve their level in any language. I think Lingueo understands the academic expectations of CEMS students and is able to propose something adapted. n

CEMS Magazine | April 2013

Think Tank

Let us face the fact that cultural understanding and mutual respect is of paramount importance in all kinds of relationships and particularly in business

CEMS – a global cultural learning lab

Tor Aase Johannessen CEMS Academic Director, NHH Norwegian School of Economics

____ Some years ago, a well-known European top manager told an audience of students that “whenever something goes wrong in our foreign markets, it’s usually due to cultural problems and misunderstandings, and not disagreement on price”. After several years in various industries such as shipping and industrial packaging, I fully concur with this statement. Even the English language is not as easy as many seem to believe. “England and America are two countries separated by a common language”, George Bernard Shaw once said. And when you have tried for several minutes to explain to a British caretaker (janitor in the US) that “faucet” is the American word for “water tap”, you know what I mean. Most courses in business schools are focusing on how to choose the optimal pricing, marketing and organisational strategies, and it seems that the question of how to overcome cultural barriers is not taken too seriously. Despite the core course Cross Cultural Management and Business Communication Skills Seminar, it seems that there is no common CEMS understanding of what or where these barriers are. This should have been focused on through a joint research project, which could have taught us a lot, and it would have been of great importance to the general business audience as well.

“When in Rome, do as the Romans”, an old saying goes. But sometimes, it is not clear to the CEMS students coming to a foreign country what is a natural behaviour of the natives, and to realise that this may differ from where they come from. And even more important: to learn how to live with these differences. Some authors are talking about how to bridge the gap between different cultures, and true enough, without such a bridge, you will never reach the other side. CEMS has reached a large number of members. According to an old quotation, we might say that “the sun never sets over CEMS”. This offers us a tremendous opportunity to take advantage of this huge cultural learning laboratory. Let us face the fact that cultural understanding and mutual respect is of paramount importance in all kinds of relationships, and particularly in business. Let us teach our students the “do’s” and “don’t do’s” when you are working with international customers. There are lots of cases on this. Perhaps the time has come to pay more attention to this in our curriculum? n

Student & alumni focus UCD CEMS student wins nationwide business plan competition ____

Dr. Dorota Piaskowska – CEMS Academic Director, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School Orla Wrynn – Marketing Manager, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School

____ Over 100 business and education leaders from Ireland and the US gathered in Dublin at Aviva Stadium for the final of the inaugural Ireland Funds’ Business Plan Competition. Teams from each of the nine universities across Ireland and Northern Ireland were selected to present innovative business plans for consideration. Modelled on a similar competition at Harvard Business School, the competition required teams to pitch their business plans before a panel of distinguished entrepreneurs and executives. Announcing the winner, William S. McKiernan, chair of the judging panel and founder of CyberSource Corporation said: “The judging panel was so impressed with the high quality of business plans and pitches from all nine universities. I congratulate all of the finalists for developing such innovative and compelling business plans, and thank them for the role they will play as Ireland’s next generation of business leaders.”

agement programme, took home the top prize of €10 000.

(l-r): Kieran McLoughlin (President & CEO of the Worldwide Ireland Funds), Lukas Decker (UCD Smurfit School), William S. McKiernan (Founder of CyberSource and Chair of the Judging Panel)

Lukas Decker from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School was the winner with the business plan of his company “Coindrum”, an innovative and simple plan that enables airline travellers to exchange unwanted coins into vouchers for airport retail stores. Mr. Decker, who is a student on the CEMS Master’s in International Man-

Winning the prestigious award has helped the Coindrum team to accelerate further development of the business. Mr. Decker said: “Winning this competition is a milestone for Coindrum – not only due to the finance raised, but also in terms of the learning experience and network gained throughout the competition. We are now in a strong position to take the next steps in bringing our innovation to market.” Shortly after the competition the start-up attracted angel capital from Irelandia Investments, which was the final milestone to conducting a pilot project. n

Contact the founder of Coindrum: Lukas.Decker@Coindrum.com www.coindrum.com

CEMS Magazine | april 2013

student & alumni focus

The springboard to success – interning at CEMS Corporate Partner Barilla ____

Elisa Azzali – Group Recruiting & Employer Branding, Barilla

Which aspects of your internship did you find the most appealing?

Carl-Fredrik Teder

What was your path in CEMS?

For me, this internship is a unique chance to gain first-hand insight into the decisionmaking process of a world leading food company, at a corporate level which is often not accessible for someone fresh out of business school. Through the projects I work on, and through the experience of my colleagues, I am gaining priceless knowledge about the industry every day. On top of that, I get to practice my Italian and I have some of the best food in the world just around the corner!

I joined CEMS in 2009 as I commenced my Master’s studies in Economics and Finance at Copenhagen Business School. During my first CEMS semester I was active in the local CEMS club, leading the Corporate Partners Committee. For my second CEMS semester, I had the pleasure to go to Bocconi in Milan.

How did you get in touch with Barilla? I met Barilla as an employer during a CEMS Happy Hour in Milan. A Barilla Group Recruitment Team was there to recruit new students… I sat at their table and we started sharing experiences where I was told about this position in Strategy. We started the recruiting process and shortly after I became part of the Group Strategy & Business Portfolio.

Which aspects of your job do you find the most appealing? Two main things make my job interesting: projects based on real business issues and are directly related with Barilla’s current and future situation. So, you need to solve problems, contribute to company growth and improvements in order to keep/win market leadership

How did you get in touch with Barilla? When asked to list my priorities for the CEMS Business Project, Barilla was my first choice. I have a strong interest in the food industry in general, and in Italian food culture in particular.

Then I started my first job experience in Australia for an importer of Italian food. Now as an alumna I am still actively participating in CEMS events and other activities as employee of a CEMS Corporate Partner.

Marianna Pietrafesa

What was your path in CEMS? I entered CEMS with an amazing Block Seminar at ESA where I got to know my fellow CEMS students through a challenging business project and then moved to Rotterdam for the first semester.

The team whom I work with is “super” in terms of skills, the way to deal and manage day-by-day activities and relations as well as a way of thinking. n

CEMS Magazine | April 2013

student & alumni focus

University of Sydney Business School team wins global CEMS competition ____

Megan Lee â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Public Relations & Communications, the University of Sydney Business School

University of Sydney Business School CEMS student Boyd Whalan led a multidisciplinary group of social entrepreneurs in the development of a business project that won first place in the inaugural global CEMS Social Business Case Competition.

____

____ Whilst volunteering for a not-for-profit organisation in Ghana, CEMS MIM student Boyd Whalan learned of the devastation caused by poor quality, dangerous and expensive fuels. Dedicated to alleviating energy poverty, Boyd teamed up with four other University of Sydney students, Dan Wilson, Jack Dostine, Edward Dostine and Annabelle Kennett, who each brought diverse knowledge to the team, ranging from science to international studies to engineering.

After winning first place in the University of Sydney Social Business Plan Competition, the team then went on to seek advice from industry experts, liaise with a business mentor and present their plan to a board of business entrepreneurs. Equipped with confidence and a compelling business plan, the team entered the CEMS Social Business Plan Competition and were announced as the winners by a judging panel that included Dr Robert Glasser, Secretary

General of CARE International, Nicole Michelbach, Organizational Development Manager at Fairtrade International, and Professor Kai Hockerts from Copenhagen Business School. A unique collaboration between CEMS, online social media platform SENStation, CARE and Fairtrade International, the CEMS Social Business Case Competition aimed to harness the power of a sustainable

CEMS Magazine | april 2013

student & alumni focus

(l-r): Roland Siegers (CEMS Executive Director), Rafal Siepak (CEMS alumnus 2012, CEO & Founder of SENStation), Boyd Whalan (CEMS student, CEO of Hessex Solutions)

preneurs, associations and investors, allowed HESSEX to fine-tune their plan and tackle the challenging and complex social problem more effectively.

We are immensely proud of our team’s success and we are delighted to be part of this fabulous student-inspired initiative by the CEMS community. What a superb way to affirm the CEMS principles of global experience, business embeddedness, thought leadership and corporate social responsibility

“It feels fantastic to have won in a competition involving teams from around the world. We put in an incredible amount of effort over the last few months and are thrilled that it paid off,” Boyd said. “The experience we have gained from developing the business plan and receiving feedback and criticisms from industry experts has been invaluable. We hope to use the funds and connections we have made towards a pilot in Africa.” John Shields, Associate Dean of Postgraduate Coursework at the University of Sydney Business School, praised the students for the success of their project.

social business model and the expertise of students to empower a global community. After receiving online feedback from over 60 professionals and students, the projects were evaluated by representatives from CEMS member schools worldwide and more than 7 000 votes were cast in a poll that reached some 250 000 people via social media. The University of Sydney team, HESSEX, developed an innovative plan to provide pay-as-you-go solar power to rural communities across Africa. The technologyenabled system strives to reinvent the way that clean energy products reach the world’s poorest consumers, through allow-

ing consumers to pay for solar products by purchasing pre-paid energy. The system minimises the cost of loan servicing, utilising existing sales and distribution channels to reach an expansive and reliable customer base. Awarded first place, the University of Sydney team contended with students from top-tier business schools worldwide and were adjudged the most innovative project with the largest potential social impact. Emphasising that the competition was highly facilitative of networking opportunities, Boyd commented that the guidance the team received through communication with academics, established social entre-

“On behalf of everyone at the University of Sydney Business School, our warmest congratulations go to the Sydney team for putting together the winning project and we look forward to seeing the HESSEX Project become a reality,” said Professor Shields. “We are immensely proud of our team’s success and we are delighted to be part of this fabulous student-inspired initiative by the CEMS community. What a superb way to affirm the CEMS principles of global experience, business embeddedness, thought leadership and corporate social responsibility.” n

CEMS Magazine | April 2013

student & alumni focus

Pupils as entrepreneurs: Helping them boost their career by participating in student-run firms! ____ Adriana Bartel – CEMS alumna 2012, WU Vienna University of Economics & Business

____ As CEMS students we enjoy a great Management education. We prepare ourselves to become responsible future leaders, to make a difference. This was my motivation for joining em-Schuelerfirmennetzwerk (German for “a network of student-run firms”), a social business in the field of education. Pupils from underprivileged schools often struggle when entering the job market as they lack many key competences such as self-confidence, taking responsibility and general business understanding. Through our network, we help pupils aged between 13 and 18 to found a company that they then run themselves – from purchasing to marketing and sales. This allows the students to acquire missing competences in a practical and fun way.

The concept of student-run firms in itself is not new, but very few schools have the resources and means to support such projects. This is where our social business comes into play; through the teaching of standard processes and by providing workshops on topics such as book-keeping or marketing. After a test period under our close monitoring, the pupils are left to manage their firm on their own with little or no support needed from their teachers. For example, HAPPYEAT is a student-run kiosk at Anne-Frank School in Mettmann located in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. In this enterprise, a team of eight to ten pupils sell sandwiches and school supplies to their peers during break times. The

products are ordered through our network which takes a small cut to supplement our other sources of revenues. The profit of the student company belongs to the pupils, who decide of its use. Working closely together with em-founder Tim Breker has been a great experience. The slogan “em - einfach machen” (German for “just do it”) is truly translated into an everyday reality. You have a great idea for a business? – make it happen! n

More information on the em-network of student-run firms can be found here: http://emnetzwerk.de

CEMS Magazine | april 2013

student & alumni focus

The CEMS Poland Local Alumni Committee takes to the waters ____

Artur Galbarczyk – CEMS alumnus 2009, Warsaw School of Economics

____ CEMS

Alumni Association Poland was proud to host the third Pan-European Sailing Weekend in Masuria – Polish Lake District – held on 19-22 July, 2012

____ Once again LC Poland invited members of the CEMS alumni community to take part in an exciting cruise in Masuria. After the two previous editions of this event, when we discovered the middle and southern part of the district, this year our choice fell on the northern triangle in between Sztynort, Giżycko and Węgorzewo. The event attracted 40 adept sailing enthusiasts, all looking for adventure! As usual we had the honour of hosting a large group of foreign guests as well as members of the British alumni association and Warsaw School of Economics Alumni Club. Cross-cultural and cross-functional integration started already on our way in the bus and finished late at night in a port tavern in Sztynort – our home marina. To meet the expectations of even the most demanding visitors we had at our disposal five modern and cosy yachts with plenty of space both for sailing lovers as well as sunbathers, singers and story tellers.

Unfavourable winds on Friday forced us to stay longer in the neighbourhood of Sztynort, but the turbulence passed quickly (hopefully the same will happen to the world economy…). On Saturday we made a scenic journey via the WW2 fortification area to the northern end of the Masuria Lakes District, where we joined the sailor party and the shanties concert.

On Sunday we set off on the return journey to Sztynort and finally came back to Warsaw at the end of the day. The third Sailing Weekend was a great opportunity to get to know each other better and establish new links between the members of the CEMS community. See you all next year for the fourth edition! n

CEMS Magazine | April 2013

student & alumni focus

Austria and Polish Alumni Committees co-host skiing event ____

CEMS Alumni Local Committees Austria and Poland

____ The

CEMS Skiing Weekend 2012 in Kaprun was the first joint skiing event organised by the Austrian and Polish LCs in the Austrian village of Kaprun

____ Sixteen participants from four different countries joined in: Austria, Germany, France and Poland joined us for the prolonged weekend to enjoy great slopes and had an unforgettable time with other alumni. We all met on Thursday evening in our hotel â&#x20AC;&#x201C; after a pretty long journey, some participants still had some energy left for going for dinner together. On Friday morning, after having eaten a big breakfast we all headed towards the Kitzsteinhorn, one of the most popular glaciers in Austria. All 20 cable cars

and lifts were open and we could go up to 3 029m. The slopes were extremely varied, featuring wide glacier slopes to fast, steep runs. We met for lunch altogether in the Alpin Center and later for a drink in the Ice Bar to enjoy the last moments of sun. In the evening, before the dinner, some of us took advantage of the spa in our hotel. Typical Austrian dinner with wine was a great conclusion to the first day! The second day gave us another opportunity to ski and enjoy the breath-taking views at

over 3 000m. Another drink in the Ice Bar was a preparation for a great evening to comeâ&#x20AC;Ś after relaxing in the spa we went for a dinner and later for a party! On Sunday we went skiing again and in the late afternoon we all headed towards our homes with our heads full of memories, new impressions and a feeling of having spent another amazing weekend! The CEMS skiing weekend 2013 attracted 26 participants. We will be organising it again in 2014 and will be happy to meet you there as well. n

CEMS Magazine | april 2013

student & alumni focus

The CEMS Waltzing Days 11+ years of success ____

Malgorzata Wawrzyniak-Siroky – CEMS alumna 2005, Warsaw School of Economics

____ The CEMS Waltzing Days is a very special event – well-known among both students and alumni. It has been organised 11 times already. The 11th edition in January 2013 brought together 100 students and over 100 alumni from all over Europe to the beautiful city of Vienna, all willing to experience the unique traditions of the Austrian capital city! What makes this event so special is that in just 3 days you get the chance to get to know Austrian traditions, cuisine, discover Vienna, learn how to dance and then finally enjoy an amazing ball at the Hofburg, the emperor`s palace.

We welcome all the participants on Friday evening with a traditional Austrian dinner in a typical restaurant. Why not try original Wiener Schnitzel and finish with an Apfelstrudel? Austrian wine and beer will help you digest… After a good dinner, we go to a bar to have some more drinks and to get to know each other better – that will help some participants in finding a partner for the dancing classes the day after! On Saturday morning you get the chance to learn how to dance the Viennese Waltz – in just 1½ hours! After that, we would like to show you the old town – our guides will tell you the most important facts and anecdotes about the city and its inhabitants! They will show you nice coffee places, for which Vienna is famous and restaurants offering Wiener Schnitzel the size of a plate!

Just before the ball we go for a cocktail to help us get into the right mood for this amazing and long night! Like all the participants of the 11th edition, you will have the chance to see the Royal Palace from a completely different perspective and dance on many different dancing floors. Feel like Kaiserin Sissy or Kaiser Franz Joseph… simply enjoy this magical moment! On Sunday morning we meet for brunch to share our memories and exchange addresses. Doesn’t it sound great? Join us next year on 10-12 January 2014 and experience it for yourself! n

CEMS Magazine | April 2013

student & alumni focus

CEMS Alumni Singapore Networking Event ____

CEMS Local Alumni Committee Singapore

____ On

12 October, 2012, 27 CEMS MIM students on their term abroad in Singapore got together with 14 CEMS alumni for a networking event at NUS ____ The event started with a Skill Seminar about “Cross-Cultural Leadership” for the CEMS MIM students. The seminar was conducted by Mr. Antonio Martinez (CEMS alumnus 1998, ESADE Business School), who has been living and working in Asia for the past 11 years and shared his experience with the CEMS students. Then the group went to the NUS Graduate Club to meet with the CEMS alumni for an informal dinner. Dr. Ravi Jain, Academic Director of M.Sc. (Management) and CEMS MIM programmes at NUS Business School, welcomed the participants and presented the involvement of NUS with the CEMS MIM programme. Dr. Jain is a Senior Lecturer in Finance and took over the directorship in July 2012. Ms. Tania Léger (CEMS alumna 1998, University of St. Gallen), representative of the CEMS Alumni Singapore, talked about the evolution of the CEMS programme and the alumni group. CEMS Alumni Singapore was created in 2010 by a circle of friends and in

2 years it has grown to a very diverse group of 65 alumni from 15 countries, representing 20 of the CEMS schools. Mr. Fransesco Crivellari (CEMS alumnus 2012, Bocconi University) introduced CEMS Entrepreneurs, an official interest group within CEMS that was created in September 2011. The group enables all entrepreneurialdriven CEMS students and alumni to join in, exchange experiences and search potential partnerships with other members. The event was wonderfully organised by Ms Carol Loke, CEMS Corporate Relations Manager at NUS and Mr. Mahdi Al Muzaddid, a tri-national track CEMS student at NUS, Ivey Business School and LSE. Students and alumni enjoyed the opportunity to chat during the relaxing evening. CEMS Alumni Singapore also welcomed a few alumni who recently moved to Singapore and were happy to recognise some familiar faces. n

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