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1997 IESE MBA European Alumni Reunion A breakthrough"Although very high before coming here,
our expectations have been amply surpassed by reality. We must do it again
next year", said Michael Lovreck (MBA 82, Austria) at the end of the
day. This comment reflected the opinion of the 308 IESE MBA Graduates who
took part in the first IESE MBA European Alumni Reunion held in Barcelona
on May 31.
The Alumni's response was fantastic. The statistics confirm it: 308 participants from 31 different nationalities working in 19 different countries. Some, like Elizabeth McCormick (MBA 85) or Elizabeth Elsom (MBA 93) came from the United States but others, like Vinay Kothari (MBA 92) came from even farther: India. We were all surprised by our Graduates' willingness to travel... This Reunion was organized in response to certain needs particularly felt by IESE MBA Graduates. The first is to meet Graduates from all over the world. This was an exceptional opportunity for the 800 MBA graduates who live outside of Spain to return to the Barcelona campus, where they had passed two of the most fascinating years of their lives. These contacts with the link with IESE as common factor are particularly valuable in the light of the globalization of business activity. The second need is to exchange experiences between professors and graduates from different classes, with different views of professional life and in different stages of their careers. The mutual enrichment provided by these contacts is enormous. Logically, the Reunion was also an opportunity to listen to suggestions and ideas from the Graduates to improve the quality of IESE's programs and their international impact. And it behoves upon IESE to take advantage of so many ideas from such intelligent people eager to help the institution. The work schedule that had been designed the preparations started in September 1996 sought to combine those needs and, at the same time, offer all participants the possibility of attending a sizeable number of Parallel Sessions with IESE professors on current issues. Rafael Villaseca (MBA 76) President of the Alumni Association welcomed all the participants, thanking them for attending and briefly outlining the Association's plans. Then, Dean Carlos Cavallé presented an overview of IESE's strategy. While insisting on quality and excellence in teaching, he also summarized the research projects currently in progress, the activities with Corporate Sponsors, IESE's new international programs and the international projects that IESE is currently operating in four continents. Mark Gieben (MBA 87, The Netherlands) pointed out, "IESE is really pushing ahead at a very fast pace and the effort to respond to the globalization challenges facing companies is enormous but effective. Don't stop". During the rest of the morning, there were five Parallel Sessions on such varied issues as Economic and Monetary Union, Financial Theory and Financial Policies, Activity Based Costing, Revitalizing the Small Company, and New Measures for Service Improvement. A panel was also organized on "The Role of the Alumni Association outside of Spain".
The presentations made by Dorothee Harsch (MBA 95, Germany and Spain), Markus Feldmann (MBA 89, Germany), Geert-Jan Peters (MBA 91, The Netherlands), Mark Paviour (MBA 91, United Kingdom), and Jordi Canals (Associate Dean) offered an overview of the activities that the Alumni Association, in cooperation with the various Regional Chapters, is offering in these countries. The debate that followed the presentations was very lively, with highly interesting suggestions, from the use of Internet to maintain even closer links between the Alumni, faster communication to know about the activities being performed in each country, some ideas for increasing IESE's presence in certain countries, on job searches and the new international programs offered by IESE in cooperation with Harvard or Stanford. IESE and the Alumni Department undertook to give an answer to the numerous suggestions and comments made. One of the comments unanimously accepted was made by Joseph Collin (MBA 94, Belgium), &laqno;Between all of us, we must improve the communication flows between IESE and the Alumni and among the Alumni themselves." After an IESE-style lunch in the Barcelona campus
dining-rooms, the afternoon followed with a further two Parallel Session
modules, in which the participants had the opportunity to attend ten different
sessions offered by IESE professors. These sessions included subjects such
as "Leadership and values", "New approaches to Marketing
Strategy", "China: Opportunities and Threats", "Retailing"
or "Competitive Advantage and Positioning".
The final session of the afternoon consisted of a further panel, this time with Alumni. The subject chosen was "Managing your professional career in a balanced way". Moderated by Professor Luis M. Huete, Andrea Christenson (MBA 83, Austria), Alois Linder (MBA 72, Austria), Jan Pieter Oosterveld (MBA 73, The Netherlands) and Harri Andersson (MBA 85, Sweden) presented in an entertaining fashion their professional, family and personal experiences, with the hindsight of several years performing management tasks after the MBA Program. All the speakers were in agree-ment on the need to have clearly defined goals, to know how to balance professional and family life which means an ongoing agreement between the spouses as to how to focus the most important professional decisions, to know how to say no to concentrate oneself on what is really important and to never lose the ability to listen to other people's suggestions. Finally, all stressed that bringing up their children was their main occupation and time had to be found for it. As Harri Andersson pointed out, &laqno;bringing up one's children is a challenge for the parents, not for the school." At the close of the last session, at about eight o'clock that evening, the general reaction was an enormous satisfaction at having come to the Reunion and being back at IESE. &laqno;We must meet again every year», &laqno;Next time, we need more time to speak with each other», &laqno;The sessions with professors have been fantastic; it was like reliving the best times of the MBA Program», &laqno;The quality of attention of all of IESE's personnel has been very high». The time of day and year and the good weather helped some to evoke the unforgettable Graduation ceremony, starting to fade in the distance for some while still very fresh for others. After dinner, Mike Rosenberg (MBA 87) spoke a few words thanking all for coming and stressing the need for a greater commitment by the Alumni to IESE. As he pointed out, &laqno;IESE must continue offering high quality services to its Alumni but we Alumni must contribute to IESE both personally and financially." Rafael Villaseca, the Alumni Association's President, stressed that this commitment was already very high and that what was really important was to ensure that it was not lost by recent MBA classes. The Reunion of May 31 was a clear, indelible sign that this spirit continues to grow with each day that passes. To all the Alumni who were at IESE; &laqno;Thanks and come back soon», and to those who could not come, &laqno;It was great. Next time, don't miss it!". | |||||||||||||||
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fondo | Tendencias | Reflexión REVISTA DE ANTIGUOS | ||||||||||||||||
