IMD Annual Report 2019

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IMD ANNUAL REPORT 2019

ALUMNI CLUBS

In 2019, IMD alumni clubs continued to organize events, ranging from speaker events, panels, company visits, sports events and some more informal gatherings. New formats are explored and new partnerships formed that enable clubs to bring together the alumni community – underlining IMD’s Swiss roots but global reach. For example, the Alumni Club in Brazil focuses most of their activities online. Using WhatsApp groups and other live streaming opportunities, the club has strengthened ties with existing club members and mobilized new ones. Many clubs address themes that are at the heart of current business and societal challenges. The evolution of the job market, for example, has consistently been addressed by Alumni Clubs in Norway, Russia, the Czech & Slovak Republics, Singapore and Switzerland.

Clubs also act as a platform for allowing alumni to meet with current program participants while on Discovery Expeditions. The Alumni Club of Silicon Valley welcomes the MBA class; the Alumni Clubs of Israel and Brazil host EMBA cohorts during their travels; and alumni in Hong Kong spend evenings with the MBA and EMBA classes. Strong club presence throughout Switzerland Our Swiss clubs showcased an impressive events calendar in 2019, spanning from speaking and breakfast events to workshops, company visits and golf tournaments: • IMD President Jean-François Manzoni and UNIL Honorary Professor Jacques Besson spoke on “Corporate Performance and Ethics at Work - a Necessary Paradox” • Mourad Taoufiki, Amazon’s Director of EU Expansion, and Rafal Kuklinski, Director of Alexa Speech at Amazon, gave alumni an insight into “Inside Amazon – Innovating for the Future” • Nestlé CEO, Mark Schneider, spoke on “The Future of Food”