Over 200 representatives from variousgraduating classes attended the annual meeting of the Governing Board held on February 11 at IESE’s Barcelona and Madrid campuses, linked by videoconference.

The IESE Alumni Association, with 12,210 members, is one of the most active associations of this type in the world. Last year, over 1,600 students enrolled in extended programs at IESE, and 83.67 percent of them became members of the Association.

Closer to alumni

The Alumni Association President, Antonio González-Adalid, reviewed the general outline of the Annual Report and the fi nancial balance sheet for the 2006-2007 school year. The Annual Report is available in its entirety at www.iese.edu/alumni.

Antonio González-Adalid reminded those present that all efforts and resources converge towards the Association’s two major goals: continual development and alumni relationships.

Year after year, activities tend to acquire a more international fl avor, in keeping with the profi le of IESE Alumni, a community of business leaders and executives in 97 countries. One of the clearest examples of this growing internationalization of Association activities is the Continuous Education Program. Antonio González-Adalid stressed that this activity would not be possible without the generosity and commitment of IESE professors. There are 29 Regional Alumni Chapters around the world, 22 of which are outside Spain. The chapters hosted 49 Continuous Education sessions during the year.

The Association president also highlighted the association’s interest in developing new technologies, pointing out that the 56 e-conferences posted on the web throughout the year had over 2,000 subscribers.

In relation to the fi nancial balance sheet, the president communicated that the Executive Committee had decided, as it had the previous year, to earmark the surplus towards education for IESE professors.

This stems from an understanding that they are a vital part of a school that has always favored having the besteducated faculty possible.

The president also pointed out the itemized grants to MBA students and to Research Excellence Awards for IESE professors, which were given out in the Board meeting. The 2007 recipients were professors África Ariño, Antonio Dávila, Johanna Mair and Christian Seelos.

50th anniversary

Regarding the 2007-2008 school year challenges, the president emphasized the Association’s determination to join IESE in celebrating its 50th Anniversary in various countries. In fact, the celebrations kicked off at the Global Alumni Reunion in Barcelona, with 1,474 alumni in attendance. The closing ceremony for the golden anniversary will also take place at the Global Alumni Reunion in Madrid, in October.

Mireia Rius, the new Association director, presented the objectives for the new school year. She focused on four general lines of action: internationalization, career services, technology and international events.

Rius introduced the new Alumni Portal project which will offer access to the business knowledge of IESE and its professors, thus cultivating communication and interaction between Alumni with common interests through virtual communities. She also spoke about the department’s efforts to be able to offer virtual and interactive resources on the new portal in the near future.

She pointed out that the career planning service offered to members has improved, and this year a series of specific sessions on this subject will be offered.

Jordi Canals, dean of IESE, explained the international challenges confronting IESE in this new year, and the school’s plans for the future. He thanked Alumni for their support in these efforts, which aims at carrying out the mission that has guided IESE for the last 50 years, “to educate leaders who will have a deep and lasting impact on companies and society at large through professionalism and a spirit of service.”

New senior members

The meeting ended with a tribute to 88 new 2007 Senior Members, alumni who have been members of the Association for at least 25 years, a total of 1,213 since these distinctions were first given.