On Friday 22 June, INSEAD launched the very first INSEAD Leadership Summit, the school’s new flagship annual event. The invitation-only event brought together around 250 world leaders to share insights on issues shaping the constantly evolving global marketplace. INSEAD Board members and Presidents of the National Councils and National Alumni Associations attended and stayed for various Board and Council meetings held over the weekend, including the meeting of the International Council.
The impressive line-up of 25 speakers and moderators included eminent representatives from the media, politics and non-profit sectors, such as Michael Williams, Editor of the Wall Street Journal Europe and Gerd Leipold, the International Director of Greenpeace.
2007 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome and the creation of the European Union. It is also a special year for INSEAD, which was itself founded in 1957, inspired and powered by some of the forerunners of European thought. This is why we felt it appropriate to use this first Leadership Summit to ask the provocative question, "Is Europe still relevant?"
|
|
Despite a dense schedule – three plenary sessions, two parallel panels and a working lunch! – the panellists addressed the challenges and opportunities facing Europe, including macroeconomics, energy, growth and reform, through discussions that remained lively and interactive right until the end of the day.
| The proceedings began with a session on financial and macroeconomic challenges, where Jean-Paul Betbéze – a member of the Prime Minister's Economic Analysis Council – actually had the auditorium laughing out loud on several occasions as he spoke of the need for EU reforms, comparing the Union to a "Weightwatchers club", where members had to shape up or get out! Geoff Cutmore, CNBC’s Europe anchor, was an excellent moderator, and Thomas Barrett MBA '78, Director of the European Investment Bank, provided instructive and accessible insights from the perspective of European Institutions. |
L to R: Geoff Cutmore, CNBC; Thomas Barrett MBA '78, European Investment Bank; Jean-Paul Betbéze, Member of the French Prime Minister's Economic Analysis Council;
Alice Rivlin, The Brookings Institute. |
Throughout the sessions, the answer to the question of Europe's relevance was overwhelmingly "yes". Europe's challenge today is the rise of new economies such as India and China.
|
Everybody agreed that Europe has huge potential to develop and innovate, but this potential can only be unlocked if Europe reforms its institutions and overcomes its fear of failure.
In the closing session, Dean Frank Brown presented the INSEAD Award for Transcultural Leadership to Jean-François Théodore of NYSE Euronext for his achievements in leading the creation of the first truly global financial marketplace through the merger of the New York Stock Exchange and Euronext. The Award had already been presented at a dinner in April in New York, but this time Jean-François was allowed to take his trophy – a beautifully framed trio of INSEAD photos – home with him!
|
Initial feedback from the event was very positive, in particular from the members of the International Council, who unanimously saw the new format as improvement over the previous one. As one delegate put it: "The Leadership Summit shows that INSEAD is "the" place in Europe or Asia where new ideas are created and spread to the world."
Much of the content from the Summit will soon be available on INSEAD Knowledge in the form of interviews or podcasts.
The first INSEAD Leadership Summit in Asia will be held on the Asia Campus on 19 October around the theme, "Asia 2020: the limits of growth". For further information, please visit the website. |
|
|
