45th IESE Global Alumni Reunion, October 28-30
Innovation and Entrepreneurial Spirit

Think Munich, the capital of Bavaria, and several stereotypical images are bound to spring to mind: beer steins and sauerkraut, men in Lederhosen and oompah bands. IESE alumni heading to Munich for this year’s Global Alumni Reunion will encounter all these traditional trappings, and much more.

“When foreigners think of Germany, all the images they generally think of come from Bavaria. And without a doubt, Munich is a place very deeply rooted in its traditions,” says IESE Prof. Marc Sachon. “However, Munich is so much more than that, and it’s no coincidence that the theme of this year’s Global Alumni Reunion being held in Munich is Innovation and Entrepreneurial Spirit.”

Sachon, originally from Hamburg, previously worked in the aerospace industry, which led him to live in Bavaria for 10 years. “When I worked in Hamburg, everybody wanted to go and work in Bavaria. And if you go, you’ll have no problem seeing why.”

Munich was one of those German cities badly damaged by Allied bombing during World War II, which meant it had to be rebuilt practically from scratch. But starting with a clean slate had its advantages, and Munich was able to reinvent itself as a world-class center of the high-tech, biotech, research, media, financial, manufacturing and service industries.

“In repositioning itself, the local government has been very good about choosing to focus on sectors with a future, and it has succeeded in transforming the region from a largely agricultural environment to being at the center of Germany’s New Economy,” says Sachon. "Whereas unemployment has gone up everywhere else in Germany, in Munich it has gone down.”

Little wonder, then, that in national surveys of German cities worth doing business in, the weekly magazine WirtschaftsWoche consistently ranks Munich as the No. 1 business hub.

For this reason, IESE chose Munich as the place to launch its flagship AMP in making its foray into the untapped German market.

And the city makes an ideal setting for this year’s Global Alumni Reunion.

“I, along with all the faculty and staff at IESE, am looking forward to welcoming you to the 45th IESE Global Alumni Reunion, taking place October 28, 29 and 30, in the beautiful, innovative city of Munich,” says Sachon.

Here are five good reasons why you won’t want to miss this year’s reunion – reasons which are rooted in the same qualities shared by all of IESE’s best educational programs, ensuring their relevance to you.

Innovation and
Entrepreneurial Spirit
What do the car, motorcycle, computer, fax and mp3 all have in common? They are just a few of the innovations developed in this part of Germany. Okay, so the men still like to dress in Lederhosen, but consider these eye-opening facts:

Munich’s economic strength is rooted in its healthy mix of global players and SMEs, large corporations and one-man businesses. This balanced business portfolio ranges from building/ancillary trades, manufacturing and retail, through a vibrant service sector, to growth industries such as media, information and communication technology, the financial industry and biotechnology.

Furthermore, notes Rudolf Repgen, who’s in charge of the AMP Munich, “this part of Germany is in a strategic position for expansion into Eastern Europe. Every IESE alumnus, in every business, must be looking to some degree at diversification, off-shoring, moving new value chains internationally, and so on. These businesses may be German-based, but they are operating internationally, such as Siemens, and for this reason, alumni coming to Munich for the reunion will benefit from the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit that they will encounter here.”

Expert Knowledge
Rooted in Real Life
The academic program put together for Saturday, October 28, consists of four elements:

The caliber of the academic sessions will no doubt be outstanding, as one would expect from activities organized by the IESE Alumni Association.

Qin Wang, a Chinese businessman now based in Munich, says he has been impressed by the quality of the teaching he encountered as a participant in the recent AMP Munich. IESE professors, he says, always ensured that their teaching wasn’t just theoretical, but was firmly rooted in real-life experience.

Alumni coming to Munich for the reunion can also be guaranteed that the perspectives on offer will not be limited to Germany or Europe, but will be “truly international,” as Wang discovered doing the AMP.

Wang has been moving back and forth between Europe and Asia for most of his professional life, first with Siemens and currently with Tyco, where he is responsible for EMEA region marketing, R&D and project management in the power systems division of Tyco’s billion-dollar global electronics business. With a previous background in sales, marketing and engineering, it was after a 14-month stint in Shanghai as the division's Asia-Pacific general manager that he decided he needed the kind of professional business training that IESE provides, to help him deal with the new challenges and experiences he was facing every day.

“IESE’s teaching is of a high intellectual level, while being personal and practical at the same time,” he says, singling out AMP sessions on project management. “There were transparencies from that course that I was able to take and apply right away, showing them to my people and discussing them at a business meeting the very next day.”

Ultimately, alumni won’t be coming to the reunion in order to simply gain “Munich knowledge.” As Wang says, “There is no German way of doing business, or the Chinese way. That’s not the point. There’s either good business or bad business, and the issues around people management and innovation are what counts.”

Key issues such as those, based on sound business knowledge - German or otherwise – are what IESE will be offering at the reunion. And, like Wang, you may even pick up the perfect inspiration for your next business meeting.

Practical Relevance: See It Yourself
“Normally, you work in a small channel,” says Kurt Dollhofer, who completed the inaugural AMP last year. “But IESE gives you a wider view of the whole business world.”

Dollhofer’s company, Schleifring, manufactures electric rotary joints and components for specialized high-tech equipment, ranging from air traffic control radars to medical equipment. It is representative of the many small to medium-sized German companies that are highly specialized leaders in their field. In just 20 years, Schleifring has grown from nothing to becoming so successful that it recently commanded an unheard-of majority stake in a joint venture with General Electric, the major U.S. player. “This shows that they need our product,” he says.

This success story - of a local company becoming a world market leader by offering a niche product - is intended to be the focus of a planned company visit to Schleifring. For those alumni who can extend their stay to Monday, October 30, IESE will be offering a number of such visits to local companies, including BMW, Audi, Käthe Kruse Dolls or Siemens. “In terms of the future of business in Europe, you can see it here,” says Repgen.

It is hoped that by visiting Bavarian businesses that are leaders in their respective fields, and experiencing firsthand these entrepreneurial success stories, alumni will be given on-the-ground insights and a new set of tools that “are superbly fast, simple and relevant for looking at our own businesses and at others that we may want to acquire,” says recent AMP participant Erich Prinz von Lobkowicz, who runs Schlossbrauerei Maxlrain, a typical Bavarian brewery.

Vital Connections
“All of the feedback we receive from past program participants and alumni indicates that one of the key ways that IESE adds value is in terms of networking,” says Sachon.
Even with his noble connections, von Lobkowicz admits it can be difficult to break into the top business and social circles, and that’s something he appreciated about IESE: “IESE’s friendly atmosphere quickly helps overcome barriers and actively fosters opportunities to find personal common ground, which is then very useful in a business context.”

Generally speaking, IESE’s alumni tend to be the top movers and shakers in their spheres. In Munich, they are also among “the premier league of players,” says Repgen, noting that the average sales volume of their AMP participants, for example, is E250 million and can be as high as E1 billion. "This is a testament to this region."

For the past two years, IESE has been establishing itself on the German scene and cultivating vital networks, demonstrating its commitment to this region. IESE recognizes Munich’s strategic position at the heart of business activity for Germany and the surrounding Central European region. IESE alumni visiting Munich for the reunion will appreciate cultivating personal and business links with this region, too.

Cross-Cultural Friendships and Fun
Last but not least, the reunion promises to deliver that final essential ingredient to enrich your overall experience: an exciting cultural program that will foster team-building, closer relationships and a great deal of fun. “With hardly one stone left after the war, the citizens of Munich lovingly rebuilt their old city piece by piece, and the effect is fantastic,” says von Lobkowicz of the pristine, postcard-perfect setting.

Naturally, the brewer recommends visitors must sample one of Bavaria’s world-famous beers in one of the city’s 20 major beer gardens, with four of the most famous and popular located in the English Garden, the largest city park in Europe. It is here that “all social barriers dissolve,” says von Lobkowicz, and the leisurely pursuit of killing time over a drink has rightfully earned comparisons to the pace of southern Europe, with Müncheners liking to claim that Italy starts in Bavaria. It’s this friendly Bavarian café culture that swells the city to five times its normal population during the famous Oktoberfest.

The social side of any IESE activity is considered an essential part of the program as a whole. As Repgen says about the AMP Munich, “It gives participants the chance to relax with each other, to chat informally about their lives and businesses, and to bounce ideas off each other. They all laugh a lot and have become great friends. Perhaps one of the participants summed it up best, when he said that one of the advantages of the AMP was the friendships that developed: ‘If I ever have a problem, I know that I would be able to ask any of my IESE colleagues for help.’ That’s exactly what will happen during the reunion in Munich as well.”

Munich's new city slogan is München mag Dich ("Munich loves you"). Perhaps we should coin another phrase: “You’ll love Munich.” See you there!

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