INSEAD: After graduating from INSEAD, you co-founded Starfish Greathearts Foundation USA. What led you to this role?

Cynthia Schweer: In 2003, I took a career break to spend 6 months in South Africa. While there, I was startled to witness first-hand the impact of HIV/AIDS in the region, and particularly on the millions of children orphaned by AIDS. I visited several organisations working with children, and was very impressed with Starfish's approach, which acknowledged the need for a scalable solution to provide care for a growing number of children who had lost one or more parents to AIDS.

When I returned to New York, I became an active volunteer for Starfish and formed a committee to set up the legal organisation in the US. Whilst at INSEAD, I grew very interested in the intersection between business and social development and also took many entrepreneurship courses. I knew that I wanted to apply my MBA skills in a social context, and the entrepreneurial challenge of Starfish seemed perfectly suited to these interests.

INSEAD: Can you briefly describe your responsibilities as CEO? CS: Starfish USA exists to provide funding for Starfish operations in South Africa. So my role is very much focused on building awareness and raising support. I firmly believe that donations are the equivalent of 'social investment'. Charities have a responsibility to their donors to ensure that this investment is efficiently deployed and has a significant social return. Therefore, I see my role as connecting our supporters to our work in South Africa and then making the impact very clear so that donors can feel confident in their social investment.

Starfish children pose for a photo

INSEAD: Can you tell us about the charity's activities?

CS: In 2001, when Starfish was established, the founders discovered that many small, grassroots organisations were caring for orphaned and vulnerable children in the communities suffering from AIDS. Today, we exist to identify and support these community-based organisations, and ensure that they have the capital, resources and training needed to grow and care for more children. We act a bit like a 'social angel investment fund', identifying early-stage, high-potential organisations, and then giving them seed capital to grow their operations.

We strategically do not support orphanages because we know that the problem is too big for institutional care. Instead, we work with organisations that are based in the communities, keeping children together with their siblings and families and providing home-based support so that they can get nutritious meals, access to education and after-school care. This philosophy has allowed us to expand rapidly, growing to support more than 34,000 children in just seven years.

INSEAD: How would you like to see Starfish develop in the next few years?

CS: Unfortunately, the orphan numbers are not abating and studies project that there will be more than 15 million AIDS orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2010. These massive numbers require huge investment, and Starfish has a goal to triple the number of children that we're supporting, to 100,000 children, by 2010.

I personally would like to see Starfish become a leader in the support of orphaned and vulnerable children, by creating a model of care that can be expanded to other countries facing similar epidemics. We are just beginning to see the impact of the AIDS epidemic in other countries with much larger populations, and we need innovative models that can be deployed quickly, in a socially responsible way. I also would like to see Starfish pioneer a transparent means of deploying donor funds - so that donors feel actively involved in each step of the process, and confident that their investment is making a difference.

INSEAD: Why did you decide to take the MBA programme at INSEAD? Did you apply to any other business schools?

CS: Prior to INSEAD, I worked in Belgium and Italy, and studied in the UK. I also took opportunities to travel in southern Africa and the Middle East, with the hope to learn more about developing countries. In each of these experiences, however, I was missing the crucial element: a network of globally-minded individuals who could allow me to fully understand these countries and cultures. I knew that I wanted to build my career and network globally, and INSEAD seemed the perfect fit. I applied to one European and one US business school, but INSEAD was always my first choice.

INSEAD: Whilst at INSEAD you took the INSEAD-Wharton MBA exchange programme. Can you tell us about this experience? What was the most valuable aspect of the programme from a professional and personal perspective?

CS: As an American, it was a fun and eye-opening experience to be an exchange student to my own country. Through my INSEAD colleagues, I was able to view my country from a different perspective: the business culture, politics, even social norms - these elements took on new meaning when viewed through the INSEAD multi-cultural lens. At the same time, I was given the opportunity to compare my international MBA experience to an American one, which has helped me relate my experience back to the one shared by my American colleagues. Most importantly, I built my network in the US by meeting Wharton students, many of whom are now in New York. Overall, it was a great way to round out my MBA experience.

INSEAD: Was there any specific reason why you decided to take the exchange programme?

CS: I primarily did the exchange to broaden my network in the US. I suspected that my career would take me back to the US (though I didn't realize so soon!), and wanted to have a substantial network available to tap into when I returned. But, in retrospect, the experience was most valuable because it added to the diversity of my INSEAD experience.

INSEAD: What is your opinion of the importance of the INSEAD-Wharton Alliance, in terms of value added for both schools in the MBA exchange programme, as well as joint research activities, faculty exchange and joint alumni activities?

CS: I think the Alliance is an excellent way for two world-class institutions to play on each other's strengths. Both schools have highly reputable alumni networks, faculty and research specialities, which in turn add value to the MBA student experience and later, to alumni and faculty opportunities.

INSEAD: Do you think there are any areas/ways in which the Alliance could be improved or enhanced in its activities and benefits?

CS: I would like to see the alumni networks of both schools become more aligned. In New York alone, there are a number of alums from both schools who would benefit greatly from publicizing events jointly, tapping into both schools' career databases, and having access to alumni services of both institutions. While much of this today happens informally, I think there is an opportunity to create a formal structure for these activities.

INSEAD: Have you stayed in contact with your classmates from INSEAD and Wharton?

CS: Absolutely. In fact, many of my INSEAD and Wharton friendships have grown stronger as we've left campus and moved into our post-MBA lives. We have all continued to travel the world, and it's great to live in a hub like New York where INSEADers are constantly passing through. In particular, I'm now enjoying new friendships that I'm building with the alumni network based here in New York. There is so much breadth and depth of experience in the INSEAD alumni network, and my education has certainly not ended with graduation.

INSEAD: What do you value the most from having attended the MBA programme at INSEAD?

CS: The easy answer to this is the network of friends and colleagues that I can now access at almost any spot on the globe. I recently travelled to India and was able to meet up with friends in both of the major cities that I visited. The deeper answer to this question is the new global perspective that INSEAD has given me: instead of reading or making assumptions about why things are the way they are, I can now pick up the phone and connect with a friend who has deeper insights into an issue than I could ever have obtained before the MBA. This is truly valuable, at both the professional and personal levels, and something that I believe is unique to INSEAD.

INSEAD: Last year INSEAD launched the "INSEAD Africa Initiative", which seeks to find and create ways of engaging with African business by:

• Supporting and reinforcing efforts to attract more African participants and content into INSEAD programmes.
• Developing partnerships and building international networks with companies operating in Africa: undertaking research; sharing experiences; and learning from innovations in products, services and business models.
• Providing opportunities for MBA students to work with organisations operating in under-privileged contexts.

These activities are ongoing and constantly developing. Would you have any recommendations/ideas as to how INSEAD should carry this initiative forwards?

CS: Working at the grassroots level in South Africa, I have witnessed the lack of career and education opportunities, particularly among youth. I would be very interested to see INSEAD become closely aligned with secondary and higher education institutions in Africa, to determine ways to increase the flow of qualified individuals from these countries into INSEAD programmes. I am also consistently astounded by the ingenuity of African entrepreneurs, and I think it would be very beneficial to see if there are ways to increase the dialogue between INSEAD faculty, MBA students focusing on entrepreneurship and developing world entrepreneurs. Finally, I think there is so much room for innovation in the flow of capital to developing countries, particularly in Africa. The wealth of resources in Africa, both human and natural, deserves to be accessed and used in ways that positively benefit people's lives, not just through cash transfers, but through the development of sound institutions, growth in economies and creation of jobs and educational opportunities.

INSEAD: Would you like to become involved in this initiative?

CS: Most certainly. INSEAD's mission to build transcultural leaders is absolutely crucial for continued growth in Africa and for the success of organisations like Starfish. I would welcome the opportunity to become involved.