Author Archives: wieteke

ESCP Europe to host the Graduate Business Conference 2019

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This article was originally published by ESCP Europe.

ESCP Europe (est. 1819) is proud to announce that they will be hosting the 2019 Graduate Business Conference (GBC) at their Paris Republique campus.

The conference, held during the 200th Anniversary Celebration of ESCP Europe, will host the top students of the top 70 MBA programmes from around the world, bringing together the future business leaders of tomorrow.

What is the Graduate Business Conference?

The Graduate Business Conference (GBC) is the first and only student run global MBA leadership conference, supported by the Graduate Business Forum organisation. The prestigious annual conference brings together not only student leaders from the world’s top 70 MBA Programs and Business Schools, but also corporate executives, government officials, renowned academics, royalty entrepreneurs, and other current global leaders.

Since its founding at Columbia Business School in 1983, the Graduate Business Conference has hosted:

  • 3000+ current student leaders and alumni
  • 2000+ presidents and VPs of MBA student governments/councils/boards/associations
  • 300+ corporate executives, government officials, renowned academics, royalty and entrepreneurs
  • 400+ forums and workshops
  • In 30+ countries

ESCP Europe attended its first Graduate Business Conference in 2018, sending three student delegates from the MBA in International Management: Anna Kouzovleva, Oliver Maden, and Véronique Liverpool hosted by Copenhagen Business School.

Inspired by the experience of Graduate Business Conference 2018 at Copenhagen Business School, ESCP Europe MBA in International Management students have created an Organising Committee of more than 50 student-leaders to host Graduate Business Conference 2019 in Paris from April 2-6, 2019.

ESCP Europe’s vision for the Graduate Business Conference 2019

Graduate Business Conference 2019 will be a premier event, celebrating on the one hand ESCP Europe’s 200th anniversary and rich heritage, and on the other its continuous excellence, designing tomorrow, for France, for Europe, and for the world.

The theme of Graduate Business Conference 2019 will be: United in Diversity. Diversity and cultural blending have always been a part of ESCP Europe’s DNA. In fact, the class of 1824 was comprised of 30% international students representing over 15 different nationalities. Therefore, it was only fitting that the theme of this conference be inspired by the same ethos. The motto of the European Union is, “In Varietate Concordia” meaning “United in Diversity. As one of the only Pan-European Universities, ESCP Europe deeply understands the importance of celebrating the differences that make individuals unique and valuable, and further, that it will be these differences that shape the future.

This rich vision of the future of the global economy will be focused through several topics:

  • United in Diversity — Europe in a global context
  • Humanistic Leadership — Humanism and Emotional Intelligence
  • Entrepreneurship — Technology, Innovation and Social Impact

Woven through each of these topics will be the common threads of responsible leadership, globalism, education, and innovation, and advancing these values, global organizations and individual leaders will be involved in Graduate Business Conference 2019 as sponsors, keynote speakers, workshop partners, and other means.

Graduate Business Conference 2019 promises to be a monumental event, honoring the past and celebrating the future, admiring differences and embracing diversity.

Who better to host than ESCP Europe, the world’s first business school, celebrating its 200th anniversary, with the students and Alumni of the MBA in International Management?

To get involved in the Graduate Business Conference, please contact Oliver Madden at oliver.madden@edu.escpeurope.eu

Prestigious 2016 GBF Leadership Awards bestowed upon student leaders from Georgetown University McDonough School of Business and London School of Economics and Political Science

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PRESS RELEASE

Prestigious 2016 GBF Leadership Awards bestowed upon student leaders from Georgetown University McDonough School of Business and London School of Economics and Political Science

April 8th 2016 (St. Gallen, Switzerland) – Student leaders from Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) received top honours for their contributions to the areas of responsible leadership, sustainability and student government at the 2016 Graduate Business Conference (GBC2016) of the Graduate Business Forum (GBF) hosted by the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

Over 100 elected student government leaders and alumni drawn from the top 50 global business schools and MBA programs around the world and distinguished leaders in business and academics met at the University of St. Gallen campus from April 6-8 to share best practices on student government, global views on responsible leadership and learn from global business, industry leaders and each other. Dr. Christoph Franz, Chairman of Roche Group, opened the GBC2016 by sharing his insights on the conference theme Giving Back: The Responsibility of Future Leaders.

The 2016 GBF Leadership Awards, in honour of this years’ student leader achievers across the top business schools around the world, were presented by Jim Deveau, GBF Founder, Wieteke Dupain, GBF CEO, and Prof. Dr. Kuno Schedler, Vice President Research & Faculty at the University of St. Gallen.

Vaibhav Agarwal and Jason Burchard from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) were presented the GBF 2016 Student Leadership Award for their vision and achievements increasing networking opportunities and community building between current students, prospective candidates and alumni of their program. Vaibhav and Jason founded the “Student Ambassador Programme” to communicate the aims and culture of LSE to prospective students by matching candidates to an ambassador based on nationality, background and work experience; this initiative helped reach over 150 LSE offer holders and generated 10% more applications despite a decreasing trend. They secured a commitment of school-level funding to organize the programme going forward each year. The team instituted annual student conferences for LSE students at Oxford and Cambridge. Moreover, the LSE student team reached out to alumni to increase their participation in school activities like mentorships and alumni-only events.

Abby Schwartz from the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business received the GBF 2016 Responsible Leadership Award for successfully spearheading diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives at McDonough. Abby identified the need to make D&I a priority in the MBA program and worked together with the Dean, students, administration, admissions department and faculty to create consciousness about the subject and gain support. The legacy that Abby leaves at McDonough is apparent. She influenced the Student Government Association to create a new Vice President for D&I position and achieved a 400% increase in women leadership positions in the newly elected student government. In addition, she created a D&I workshop for students and staff, influenced admissions to consciously reflect on D&I in the admissions process, to increase the number of women in the program from 31 to 40% in the next few years, to add questions in end-of-year surveys to measure inclusiveness in the school culture and to even create a lactation room for students and staff who are also parents.

Runner up and finalist Rohit Gupta from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) was recognised for his outstanding leadership in creating a co-learning environment and help students build a strong professional network in the Hong Kong community. Using the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) model, Rohit managed to gain the support of students, alumni and professors to participate in this initiative and look for mentors willing to share their knowledge and experience. So far the initiative has been a great success with sessions devoted to Finance, Consulting and Marketing, helping students to explore different industries and expand their network. Rohit is looking to expand this idea and adapt it for the Hong Kong unemployed youth in collaboration with the HK International Finance Center.

Graduate Business Forum CEO Wieteke Dupain says: “The theme of this years’ conference is “Giving back: the Responsibility of Future Leaders”. The GBF vision and mission is to inspire student leaders, during their time in office, to envision and drive initiatives that lead to transformational change for their program, community or society at large. This years’ winners are a true inspiration for future student leaders to idntify and consciously focus their efforts on one area of change where they can create substantial change and leave a lasting legacy as a student leader.”

 

Photos
Credits to Robin Bertschinger ©2016

Jim Deveau, GBF Founder; Prof. Dr. Kuno Schedler, VP Research & Faculty University of St.Gallen; Rocio Perez Jimenez, VP GBF Leadership Awards; Dr. oec. Jurgen Brucker, Dean External Relations University of St.Gallen; Rohit Gupta, GBF Leadership Awards Finalist 2016, CUHK, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Prof. Simon Evenett, Dean of the MBA Program, University of St.Gallen; Abby Schwartz, GBF Responsible Leadership Award Winner 2016, Georgetown University McDonough School of Business; Dr. Sascha Spoun, President of Leuphana Universität Lüneburg; Vaibhav Agarwal and Jason Burchard, GBF Student Leadership Award Winners 2016, London School of Economics and Political Science; John Plender, Senior Editor of Financial Times and Columnist for The Economist; Wieteke Dupain, GBF CEO; Corey Dortch, Director MBA Program Emory University Goizueta Business School; Stephan Chambers, Director of International Strategy at Oxford and Chair of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship; Niall O'Hea, GBF Chairman

Jim Deveau, GBF Founder; Prof. Dr. Kuno Schedler, VP Research & Faculty University of St.Gallen; Rocio Perez Jimenez, VP GBF Leadership Awards; Dr. oec. Jurgen Brucker, Dean External Relations University of St.Gallen; Rohit Gupta, GBF Leadership Awards Finalist 2016, CUHK, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Prof. Simon Evenett, Dean of the MBA Program, University of St.Gallen; Abby Schwartz, GBF Responsible Leadership Award Winner 2016, Georgetown University McDonough School of Business; Dr. Sascha Spoun, President of Leuphana Universität Lüneburg; Vaibhav Agarwal and Jason Burchard, GBF Student Leadership Award Winners 2016, London School of Economics and Political Science; John Plender, Senior Editor of Financial Times and Columnist for The Economist; Wieteke Dupain, GBF CEO; Corey Dortch, Director MBA Program Emory University Goizueta Business School; Stephan Chambers, Director of International Strategy at Oxford and Chair of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship; Niall O’Hea, GBF Chairman

Acknowledgement Speech Vaibhav Agarwal and Jason Burchard, GBF Student Leadership Award Winners 2016, London School of Economics and Political Science at the GBF Leadership Awards Commemorative Banquet and Gala 2016

Acknowledgement Speech Vaibhav Agarwal and Jason Burchard, GBF Student Leadership Award Winners 2016, London School of Economics and Political Science at the GBF Leadership Awards Commemorative Banquet and Gala 2016

From left to right. Wieteke Dupain, GBF CEO, Vaibhav Agarwal and Jason Burchard, GBF Student Leadership Award Winners 2016, London School of Economics and Political Science; Jim Deveau, GBF Founder

From left to right. Wieteke Dupain, GBF CEO, Vaibhav Agarwal and Jason Burchard, GBF Student Leadership Award Winners 2016, London School of Economics and Political Science; Jim Deveau, GBF Founder

From left to right. Jim Deveau, GBF Founder; Rocio Perez Jimenez, VP GBF Leadership Awards; Rohit Gupta, GBF Leadership Awards Finalist 2016, CUHK, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Abby Schwartz, GBF Responsible Leadership Award Winner 2016, Georgetown University McDonough School of Business; Vaibhav Agarwal and Jason Burchard, GBF Student Leadership Award Winners 2016, London School of Economics and Political Science; Wieteke Dupain, GBF CEO; Niall O'Hea, GBF Chairman

From left to right. Jim Deveau, GBF Founder; Rocio Perez Jimenez, VP GBF Leadership Awards; Rohit Gupta, GBF Leadership Awards Finalist 2016, CUHK, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Abby Schwartz, GBF Responsible Leadership Award Winner 2016, Georgetown University McDonough School of Business; Vaibhav Agarwal and Jason Burchard, GBF Student Leadership Award Winners 2016, London School of Economics and Political Science; Wieteke Dupain, GBF CEO; Niall O’Hea, GBF Chairman

Jim Deveau, GBF Founder; Stephan Chambers, Director of International Strategy at Oxford and Chair of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship; Vaibhav Agarwal and Jason Burchard, GBF Student Leadership Award Winners 2016, London School of Economics and Political Science; Wieteke Dupain, GBF CEO at the GBF 2016 Leadership Awards Commemorative Banquet and Gala

Jim Deveau, GBF Founder; Stephan Chambers, Director of International Strategy at Oxford and Chair of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship; Vaibhav Agarwal and Jason Burchard, GBF Student Leadership Award Winners 2016, London School of Economics and Political Science; Wieteke Dupain, GBF CEO at the GBF 2016 Leadership Awards Commemorative Banquet and Gala

 

Prof. Dr. Kuno Schedler, VP Research & Faculty at the University of St.Gallen at the Leadership Awards Commemorative Banquet and Gala 2016

Prof. Dr. Kuno Schedler, VP Research & Faculty at the University of St.Gallen at the Leadership Awards Commemorative Banquet and Gala 2016

GBF Responsible Leadership Award Winner 2016 Abby Schwartz from Georgetown University McDonough School of Business at the GBF Leadership Awards Commemorative Banquet and Gala

GBF Responsible Leadership Award Winner 2016 Abby Schwartz from Georgetown University McDonough School of Business at the GBF Leadership Awards Commemorative Banquet and Gala

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Graduate Business Forum

Established in 1983, the Graduate Business Forum (GBF) (www.graduatebusinessforum.com) is a global organization dedicated to developing responsible leadership and global citizenship, with influence, through an exclusive network of student leaders and alumni from the world’s top 50 business schools.

The GBF runs a number of activities to support the development of leadership skills for business school students through newsletters, shared knowledge platforms and networking events including the annual Graduate Business Conference (GBC), hosted by one of the GBF member schools, drawn from the top 50 business schools and MBA programs globally.

Over the last 30+ years, the GBF has seen:

  • 3,000+ student leaders participating in GBCs
  • 30+ countries with participating business schools
  • 400+ forums and workshops helping inspire future leaders by the exchange of leadership initiatives, improved organizational approaches for student governments, implementation of new student initiatives, and an increased consciousness towards social responsibility and ethical leadership.
  • 300+ corporate executives, government officials and other leaders who have contributed time and inspiration
  • Countless projects around the world fueled by inspirations from GBF participation that made a positive difference in the world

About the GBF Leadership Awards
Every year the GBF selects two exceptional student leaders or teams to win the global Student Leadership Award (SLA) and Responsible Leadership Award (RLA).

The winners are role models for student leadership and responsible leadership at the global level and have succeeded in making a significant impact within the graduate business community or society.

The Student Leadership Award was introduced in 1991 by the Board of Directors of the Graduate Business Forum to recognize outstanding leadership, innovation and a commitment to the greater community at the graduate business level. The Responsible Leadership Award and Fund Grants were introduced in 2010 to honor, fund and support contributions of Business School students to society at large.

The Awards are open to full‑time graduate business students of GBF member schools participating in the annual Graduate Business Conference. The award is presented at the GBF Student and Responsible Leadership Awards Commemorative Banquet and Gala at the annual Graduate Business Conference. Previous presenters of the Awards include HRH Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, CEO of Bayer Greater China Celina Chew and Ken Morse, serial entrepreneur, Professor and Member of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship supporting Barack Obama’s innovation strategy.

Further Information

For further information on the criteria and how to be nominated, as well as a list of previous winners, please visit: http://graduatebusinessforum.com/awards

For further information on the award winners or GBF or to receive more pictures of the Graduate Business Conference or Award Night please contact us at:

leadership@graduatebusinessforum.com

Main Contact Persons:

Israel Roman Cortes, VP Leadership Awards, Graduate Business Forum
E-mail: israel.cortes@graduatebusinessforum.com

Rocio Perez Jimenez, VP Leadership Awards, Graduate Business Forum
E-mail: rocio.perezjimenez@graduatebusinessforum.com

Wieteke Dupain, CEO, Graduate Business Forum
Email: wieteke.dupain@graduatebusinessforum.com

Jim Deveau, Founder, Graduate Business Forum
E-mail: jim.deveau@graduatebusinessforum.com