Q3 2024-2025 Activity Update

Here are the Hoffmann Institute’s key updates from Quarter 3 of the 2024/2025 Academic Year. 

• We supported Professor Felipe Monteiro in interviewing alum Bruno Serapiao (CEO of Atvos and MBA'02D) on biofuel in Brazil, for INSEAD Learning Hub.

The two sat down to discuss how biofuels are a crucial element in today’s energy transition. Brazil has been a pioneer in biofuel production since the 1970s and today is the world's second-largest producer of ethanol fuel. Serapaio is the CEO of Atvos - a Brazilian company which is the world’s largest non‑integrated sugar‑cane ethanol producer. They produce 3 billion litres of ethanol for both direct use in cars and blending.  Watch the first video explaining the history and evolution the of biofuels industry in Brazil here. 

The full conversation will be on the Learning Hub where you can understand how biofuels offer one of the most scalable ways to decarbonise transport, especially in the Global South and Emerging Economies and to also hear Bruno speak about the industry's hopes for COP30.

• We were the Academic Partner of ChangeNOW’s Summit where we hosted our Impact Entrepreneurship Forum with participation from Professors Subi Rangan, Jasjit Singh and Lite Nartey.  

For the seventh year INSEAD was ChangeNOW’s Academic Partner. This year’s partnership was the biggest yet for INSEAD with a programme that included a BS4CL session with our Dean, the second year of the Board For Change Programme, and of course the 3rd Impact Entrepreneurship Forum by us the Hoffmann Institute and INSEAD Africa Initiative. Our forum brought together Impact Entrepreneurship graduates and MBA alumni to discuss ‘Building Inclusive Futures’, spotlighting the power of impact entrepreneurship in emerging economies. 

You can read the content report containing all the key insights from the forum here.

You can read the overall ChangeNOW article here.

• We led the 2025 Hans Wahl Impact Entrepreneurship Programme. 

The second edition of the HWIEP programme was run co-directed by Strategy Professor Jasjit Singh and Katell Le Goulven. Participants started their INSEAD learning journey at ChangeNOW with a full immersion in the impact world meeting fellow entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and participating in our  Impact Entrepreneurship Forum.  They then came to our Europe campus to learn evidence-based insights, methods and frameworks to help reflect on, scale, evaluate and finance the impact of their ventures. 

You can read more here. 

• We co-organized BS4CL’s annual research seminar hosted by S&O Climate and Earth Center of HEC Paris and attended by Professor Chengyi Lin. 

The 3rd BS4CL Research Seminar was centered around the topic “Addressing the Climate Transition through Business Management Research”. The event included a PhD & Early Career Academy, where early-stage researchers from across the BS4CL network came together to accelerate research impact. The academy provided a space for interdisciplinary exchange, empowering young scholars to present their latest work, build a vibrant transnational research community, and trigger new collaborations. Faculty from the BS4CL network, including INSEAD’s Affiliate Professor of Strategy Chengyi Lin offered individual mentoring sessions, providing guidance and encouragement to the next generation of climate scholars.

You can read more here. 

• We moderated a session at the INSEAD Alumni Forum in Amsterdam with alumna Georgina Grenon on Leading Sustainable Transformation, and a session at the LSE’s Africa summit. 

This year’s INSEAD Alumni Forum “Lead with Integrity: Shape the Future Now” was hosted in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. A record number of participants took part in a mix of key notes, breakout sessions and networking events centred around 4 key themes: Leadership, Technology, Water and Food.  Katell Le Goulven welcomed Georgina Grenon MBA'99J, Ex-Sustainability Director, Paris 2024, to present the study of the Paris 2024 games in one of the breakout sessions. She highlighted the leadership qualities which led the Paris 2024 Games to be the most sustainable in the history of the event as well as some of the incredible results achieved. 

You can read the full write up of the Alumni Forum here.

Dr Vinika Rao addressed questions such as ‘is Pan-African collaboration the key to sustainable growth for Africa?’ and ‘Can Africa break the cycle of extractive geopolitical deal-making in sectors like natural resources, infrastructure and technology?’ at the LSE Africa summit. 

You can read Dr Vinika Rao’s takeaways for the LSE Africa Summit here. 

• We partnered with the International Finance Corporation’s annual research conference where Professor Phillippe Aghion gave the keynote on Schumpeterian Growth. 

On 2 and 3 April that INSEAD supported the International Finance Corporation's Annual Research Conference, held at the World Bank in Paris. The conference hosted a series of world-leading researchers who presented their work in relation to the conference theme, "Emerging Markets and Innovation: Harnessing New Technologies for Growth."

The research centred on understanding the rate of green innovation in developed income countries vs middle- and low-income countries based on patent filings. It discussed on VC funding shifts and the importance of R&D as well as knowledge spillovers. Dean Francisco Veloso gave an address, and INSEAD Professor Philippe Aghion presented his work "Schumpeterian Growth for Lower Income Countries" for the Day 2 keynote.

Read the 6 top research insights presented at the IFC here.

• We sponsored and participated in student-led events such as the Luxury Summit, EarthWeek and Women in Sustainability. 

The Luxury Summit in Paris was organised by INSEAD’s Retail, Consumer and Luxury Goods Club and sponsored by the Hoffmann Institute. Katell Le Goulven moderated a panel exploring the evolving role of sustainability into a strategic imperative for luxury. The day also featured INSEAD Professors David Dubois and Frédéric Godart as well as INSEAD Alumni Katia Kachan (INSEAD MBA’16) and Ashley Tyler (INSEAD GEMBA’25). 

You can read more here.

INSEAD's 2025 student led Earth Week in May was the biggest yet with 11 events over 5 days on our Asia and Europe campuses, over 200 participants and 20 partner organizations. A highlight was  the Asia campus ‘Climate Tech fireside chat’ with INSEAD alumna Maya Hari (MBA'05D), Managing Partner of Modern Manifesto Ventures moderated by Santosh Das (NTU) and Jean-Michel Autelli (INSEAD). The talk spotlighted the role of innovation in driving green transitions across sectors. 

You can read the highlights and access the video recordings here.
 

INSEAD’s Women in Business Club and Environment & Business Club, in partnership with INSEAD Hoffmann Institute were delighted to host the panel “Women in Sustainability: Leading the Change’ on our Asia campus. Dr Vinika Rao, Director of the INSEAD Hoffmann Institute & Africa Initiative led the conversation to hear from trailblazing women who are shaping the future of industries such as climate tech, sustainable investing, and corporate sustainability. 

Read the full write up. 

• We published 9 stories on our website  including a feature piece on the XSeed Incubator founded by Professor Chiara Spina. 

Stories on our website this quarter ranged from an Impact Entrepreneurship case study feature on ISEP graduate Sarah Al Charif to the first ‘Force for Good’ initiative in Delhi, India for Wharton-INSEAD Ivy MBA Alumni with Dr Vinika Rao. We also highlighted some of the Hoffmann Institute funded research by our faculty including;

• “Young, Muslim and poor: The persistent impacts of the pandemic on mental health in the UK" in Social Science & Medicine, Volume 353, 2024, co-written by INSEAD’s Dean of Degree Programmes Mark Stabile and Henrique Duarte Neves previously a Pre-Doctoral Researcher at INSEAD in the Stone Centre for the Study of Wealth Inequality & Research Assistant at the Institute For Fiscal Studies. 

• “Innovative Deviance in a Rule Bound City State” in Global Perspectives (2022) 3 (1): 36640 by INSEAD’s Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour Winnie Jiang, Wayne Yeo INSEAD Research Associate and Nitin Natrajan previously a Research Assistant at INSEAD. 

You can read all our stories here.  

• The team we took part in INSEAD’s annual Giving Day

The Hoffmann Institute was one of 6 teams who came together to plant a native tree on campus to symbolise a commitment to positive impact on our environment and collective strength when we work together.  

Finally, Katell Le Goulven, our Founding Executive Director, will be stepping down from her role after 7 years at the helm of the Hoffmann Institute. As a team we would like to thank her for the incredible leadership, knowledge and guidance she brought to ensure that we strive in our mission to equip business leaders and decision makers with tools and frameworks that deliver positive outcomes for business, communities, people and our planet. 

Stay tuned to hear what’s to come.