Global Executive MBA Graduating Class 2004

United Though Nine Time Zones Apart

Twenty-two professionals from 13 countries completed IESE’s 16-month Global Excutive MBA program in October. Class representative Ibukunoluwa Bilkism Abiodan Awosika lauded the program’s teamwork and support network, while Ermenegildo Zegna encouraged the graduates to “take risks, go after challenges.”

“As you take with you all the knowledge acquired in this great institution, also take with you the ethics, integrity, character and the Christian heritage that it represents, which I believe is one of IESE’s greatest strengths,” Ibukunoluwa Bilkisu Abiodun Awosika told the Global Executive MBA Graduating Class 2004.

Speaking as the class representative at their graduation ceremony held on IESE’s Barcelona campus on October 8, Awosika, a Nigerian businesswoman, thanked the IESE faculty and staff, “who readily shared with us their knowledge and experiences, and also went beyond the call of duty in many instances, sometimes dealing even with issues that had absolutely no bearing on the Global Executive MBA program itself. We will always cherish the relationships that we have developed with you.”

During her emotional address, Awosika shared how the 22 business leaders hailing from 13 countries, cutting across various professions and fields of specialization, had learned to work together effectively as a team throughout the 16-month program.

“Individually, we encountered various personal and professional challenges during the course of the program,” she said, remembering two members of the class who lost their parents and two others who had babies. “All of these events, plus many other shared experiences, only acted as means of fostering in us a sense of love, unity and commitment to helping each other fulfill the goals of the Global Executive MBA, as well as our personal goals.”
Awosika said this “priceless teamwork and support for one another,” along with the faculty and staff, were key to the success of the program.

Professor Eric Weber, associate dean for Executive Education and the Global Executive MBA, echoed Awosika when he highlighted the factors that made IESE, and the graduating class, so successful: general management overview, global mindset, human values and ethical roots, and a transformational impact.

“I have heard many of you ask how to give back what you have acquired in this program? Well, do just that, give it back to those less fortunate than yourself. Management is about action; leadership is about service. Never give up that spirit of service that many of you have perfected over the course of the program. Give yourself entirely in service to others, expecting nothing in return,” he said.

“You have bonded as a group in wonderful ways,” he added. “I have seen many deep and true friendships develop – global friendships that I anticipate will last a lifetime. Never give up helping each other just as you did while working in teams to achieve a course requirement, even if nine time zones apart!”

Ermenegildo Zegna, CEO of the Italian fine men’s clothing company and a member of IESE’s International Advisory Board also addressed the graduates. Drawing from his own experience of managing more than 5,000 employees with about 400 sales points in 64 countries, Zegna said that as well as having the capacity to manage an organization, it was necessary to have a spirit of entrepreneurship – “a willingness to take risks, go after challenges and courage to go after things with discipline.”

Said IESE Dean Jordi Canals: “Ermenegildo Zegna is a good example of a business leader who has shown vision and leadership, while developing a great family business. At the same time, he has dedicated his time to being involved with higher education institutions such as IESE.

The Global Executive MBA Graduating Class 2004 included: Paula Aparicio Rodrigo, Xavier Auguets Pratsobrerroca, Miguel Fdez-Bujarrabal Benzo, Jaime Ferrer-Dalmau Bosch, Luis García Pareras and Jordi Serrano-Codina i Tristany, from Spain; Ibukunoluwa Bilkisu Abiodun Awosika, from Nigeria; Jorge Dávalos Mora and Francisco Martínez, from Mexico; Andreas Emmenegger and Andreas Götz, from Switzerland; Paulo Feferbaum, from Brazil; Isaac Evaristo Freites Asención, from Venezuela; Laura Galbiati, from Italy; Erna Gísladóttir and Baldur Stefansson, from Iceland; Ralph Gernot Klingmann, from Germany; Darren Alexander Kurtz, from the U.S.; Olivier Maffrand, from France; Robert Marchant and Antony Maskrey, from the U.K.; and Rajiv Sheth, from India.