IMD Annual Report 2019

85

HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2019

20th Anniversary Celebration • The IMD EMBA was the first Executive MBA program in Europe with the November 1999 class comprising twenty-eight pioneering participants. The slogan was “Leading Business in the NewMillennium” with a similar execution- oriented focus as today. There were also three Discovery Expeditions to Silicon Valley, Italy and Shanghai. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the program, alumni returned to campus for a special day-long forum in September. Discovery Expeditions • Two iterations of a new Israel Discovery Expedition were delivered in 2019 with Professor Shlomo Ben-Hur. The objective of this expedition was to learn about the unique characteristics of the Israeli entrepreneurship ecosystem compared toSiliconValley in theU.S. Participants spoke with community startups, business and military leaders and visited startups, incubation hubs and established organizations. • Six Discovery Expeditions during the three- month February to April period took EMBAs to Silicon Valley, Kenya, India, Israel, China and Brazil. • In November, IMD offered the Peru Discovery Expedition for the first time, directed by Professor Vanina Farber and supported by Chairman of the Board and founder of the elea Foundation, Peter Wuffli. Participants explored social entrepreneurship in this emerging market from the perspective of impact investors. Unlike in Silicon Valley, where the participants help entrepreneurs pitch to venture capitalists, in Peru they were asked to explore early-growth