The Dean's Activities with Alumni


The Spanish Council meeting was held in Madrid on the 23rd of September at the Banco Popular. Gabriel Hawawini thanked Jorge Stecher for his outstanding support of INSEAD over the years, who is currently the Vice-President of the Economic Committee of the European Union and a Board member of Banco Popular, the third largest bank in Spain.


Jorge was the Founder and President of the INSEAD Spanish Council for 20 years and on this occasion he handed over the Presidency to Jaime Carvajal, President of Ericsson.

The evening cocktail was held at Banco Santander where alumni and other guests listened to a presentation by Professor Jonathan Story on "The world economic outlook after September 11th" and Gabriel's update on INSEAD's activities.

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 The 5th Annual Alumni Dinner in Canada
On October the 28th, the Canadian alumni group gathered in Toronto for its 5th Annual Alumni Dinner. The event was hosted by Alexandra von Schroeter MBA '87J, Chairwoman of the IAF - Canada, and drew 170 people including alumni from across Canada and their guests from the business community in Toronto and Montreal.

Also in attendance were Blake Goldring MBA '82, IAF Chairman, Michael Roskothen MBA '63, IAA President, Loudon Owen MBA '88J, President of the IAA - Canada and Daniel LaBrecque MBA '81, Chairman, INSEAD Canadian Foundation. Keynote speaker, Gerry Schwartz, Chairman and CEO of Onex Corporation presented his views on the key principles in building and managing a successful company followed by a dynamic Question & Answer session. Dean Gabriel Hawawini provided an update on latest developments and thinking at INSEAD. 5 Salamander awards (3 Gold and 2 Silver) were presented to Canadian alumni. This event managed to reach a 5 year record in fund raising for INSEAD!

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The Annual Italian National Council meeting was held on the 4th of November at the Pirelli offices, in Milan. Dean Gabriel Hawawini and Michael Roskothen MBA '63, President of the IAA were present.

Cocktail and dinner followed the meeting which approximately 20 MBA and EDP alumni attended. The Dean presented his vision, mission and objectives for the school's future and focused on how to increase Italian involvement with INSEAD. Domenico Cavaliere MBA '88J, President of the Italian Alumni Association, was present together with leading lights of Italian business. Jan Maarten de Jong MBA '70, Senior Advisor of the Chairman of the Managing Board ABN AMRO, was a special guest. Graduating from INSEAD in 1970, he has always been a staunch supporter of the school. He has often been guest speaker at th International Council meetings and has been an MBA interviewer since 1995. He also is a Gold Salamander award holder.

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The French Council was held on the 5th of November at the Wendel Investissement offices, in Paris. The chairman, Ernest Antoine Seillière and Claude Janssen, Chairman of the Board of INSEAD, were present together with members from the Council and alumni. The Dean gave a presentation about the development of the school, especially the campus in Asia and about the role that French companies and alumni can play in supporting INSEAD. There followed a debate focused on the role of the campus in Singapore and lunch.		  

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The National Alumni Association's Assemblée Générale took place on the 12th of November at AXA's offices, in Paris. This was the first time a Dean had attended! Gabriel Hawawini gave an introductory speech, which was followed by a presentation of the Annual Report on the association's activities and accounts. Henri de Castries, President of AXA, gave the closing address followed by a cocktail and dinner.		  


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The INSEAD Tokyo Forum was held on the 21st of November at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chinzan-So, Tokyo. Its main theme was the major issues confronting business leaders in Asia Pacific as they face an uncertain and potentially volatile business environment, in the years to come. INSEAD professors Hellmut Schütte, Henri-Claude de Bettignies, Ben Bensaou, Tomo Noda and Ming Zeng were lead by Dean Gabriel Hawawini discussing these issues. They were joined by leading analysts, business leaders and government experts, including Osamu Watanabe, Chairman & CEO, JETRO and Taizo Nishimuro, Chairman of Toshiba Corporation and Vice Chairman of Japan Business Federation. The speakers identified and discussed the future challenges and shared with the participants how they view the coming changes in this region. The key topics addressed were globalisation, reform and corporate governance, the emergence of China on the world business stage and the huge implications for human resource management and international partnerships and investment in Asia Pacific.

This event was a unique opportunity for the over 200 CEOs and alumni, who attended the Forum, to hear cutting-edge knowledge and gain a fresh perspective on some of the most pressing business issues of the day. The professors also provided practical and innovative approaches in order to frame and enhance future business strategy in Asia Pacific.

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The Japanese National Council meeting was held at the Hotel Okura in Tokyo on Friday the 22nd of November. Dean, Gabriel Hawawini, Professor Hellmut Schütte, Michael Jenkins, Director Executive Education Asia and special invitee Professor Michael Witt, discussed INSEAD today, the campus in Singapore, events and programmes in Japan (Tokyo Forum, CSPs for major Japanese multinational and new members for the National Council, with the council.

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The Alumni Association of the Netherlands Dinner which was held on the 28th of November in Amsterdam was attended by 170 alumni and their partners. Sarah Robertson, Director of the Alumni Fund, gave a presentation about annually supporting the IAF. Four Bronze Salamander Awards were presented to Wiet Heerkens-Thijssen MBA '86D, Roland Zoomers MBA '79, Matty Vanderbroeck MBA '71 and Sebastian van den Hoven MBA '81. The keynote speaker was Mr. J. van der Veer, CEO of Royal Dutch Petroleum Company, the mother company of Shell. He has been with Shell for over 20 years and is a strong supporter of INSEAD, especially as his daughter was an MBA graduate in December 2000. The donor participation rate in the Netherlands is the highest of any country at 34%.

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At the Swiss Council meeting which was held on the 6th of December in Zürich, Heinrich Baumann MBA '72 announced the end of his presidency and handed over the chair to Guy Wais MBA '72. Guy has been the General manager/Chief Executive and Chairman of the Management Committee of Rothschild Bank AG, since 1992. Addressing the members, Guy stressed that while all members are extremely busy due to their senior positions, 3 hours for the Council per year (including a lunch) should be within reach, also inviting them to consult the INSEAD website from time to time! Guy stated, "The 'INSEAD experience' however is less obvious to share with those who have not lived it."

Dean Gabriel Hawawini updated the Council on the status of the School's "mission statement", which has been in development over the past few months and on the first INSEAD Executive MBA, launched in November 2003. At the end of his presentation he gave the "CAP Diploma" to R. Fischer in recognition of Schindler's annual support to the school through the Corporate Affiliation Program (CAP).