INSEAD to sponsor the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Tent during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meetings in Davos, Switzerland

New INSEAD institute to host thought leaders, chief executives and experts to seek solutions that achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals

(PRESS RELEASE) Fontainebleau, France, 17-Jan-2019 — /EuropaWire/ — INSEAD, the Business School for the World, is partnering to sponsor the SDG Tent alongside the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meetings in Davos, Switzerland. The INSEAD Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society will convene leaders of business and academia to advance the conversation on how to achieve the globally agreed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and spur solution-oriented action.

As an SDG Tent partner, the Hoffmann Institute will bring the academic rigour of INSEAD to Davos in the form of panels and workshops. Leading academics and executives will discuss how to transform business education in line with societal and technological progress. An INSEAD professor who has long studied sustainability will host a working lunch on growing opportunity in Africa. A third panel will further the discussion on how leaders can be more effective in today’s dynamic socioeconomic landscape.

INSEAD in Davos events will feature the CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Sue Desmond-Hellmann, former CEO of Unilever, Paul Polman, CEO of Alfalah GHP Investment Management, Maheen Rahman, and André Hoffmann, Chairman of the Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society Advisory Board and Vice Chairman of Roche Holdings, one of the world’s most sustainable pharmaceutical companies. These industry voices will be joined by experts from the UN, the OECD, USAID and the Brookings Institution.

The first panel discussion on Tuesday, 22 January from 5:15 to 7:00pm will discuss “Transforming Business Education”. Panellists will address the need for innovation in the face of challenge, raise the visibility of action already underway and inspire new champions.

Panellists include Paul Polman, the former CEO of Unilever (2008-2018); André Hoffmann, the Chairman of the Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society Advisory Board; Ilian Mihov, Dean of INSEAD; Sadia Khan, President of the INSEAD Alumni Association; and Subi Rangan, Professor of Strategy and Management at INSEAD.

On Wednesday, 23 January at 12:00pm, Luk Van Wassenhove, INSEAD Professor of Technology and Operations Management and Director of the INSEAD Humanitarian Research Group, will lead a workshop on “Innovative Business Models in Africa”. This working lunch will identify bottlenecks and challenges in achieving the SDGs for Africa and suggest innovative ways to overcome them.

Confirmed participants include Thomas C. Barrett, Chairman of OECD Infrastructure Governance Forum; Liz Muange, USAID East Africa Trade and Investment Hub; Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, President of the European Research Council; John R. Allen, The Brookings Institution and Amandeep Singh Gill, United Nations.

On Thursday 24 January at 5:15pm, Peter Zemsky, Deputy Dean of INSEAD, will moderate a discussion on “The Future of Leadership” to look at how leaders can and must navigate the increasingly complex business and governance landscape of the Digital Age, with real-world insight and actionable takeaways.

Panellists include Sue Desmond-Hellmann, CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Stephane Kasriel, CEO of Upwork; Rain Yu Long, CHRO at JD.com; Maheen Rahman, CEO of Alfalah GHP Investment Management; and Feike Sijbesma, CEO of DSM.

All sessions will take place in the SDG Tent located on Promenade 139 in Davos. Sessions will be livestreamed and everyone is encouraged to join the social media conversation using the hashtag #BusinessForSDGs. More information about INSEAD in Davos events can be found here.

Throughout the week of 21 January, high-level government officials, CEOs, investors, entrepreneurs and experts will gather in Davos to discuss Globalisation 4.0. The conversation this year will centre on changing global geopolitical, economic and environmental outlook and our collective future. It is a crucial discussion as we enter an era in which we better understand our planetary boundaries and technology produces innovations at speed and scale never before seen in human history. The SDG Tent is place to put the Davos conversation into the context of on-the-ground reality faced by leaders and spark real-world impact. The tent encourages open debate around the role of business in helping to achieve more sustainable and inclusive development.

Katell Le Goulven, Executive Director of the Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society, says, “This year we are grateful for the opportunity to join the SDG Tent in Davos. The world is getting smaller and more closely connected – and we are creating massive wealth – but we could do better at working together to benefit all people and safeguard the natural capital we depend on. We are opening space for decision makers and experts to explore how to coordinate and accelerate the move to sustainability and inclusive prosperity. We want to use practical knowledge to break down barriers and inspire action.”

About INSEAD, The Business School for the World

As one of the world’s leading and largest graduate business schools, INSEAD brings together people, cultures and ideas to develop responsible leaders who transform business and society. A global perspective and cultural diversity are reflected in all aspects of its research and teaching.

With campuses in Europe (France), Asia (Singapore) and the Middle East (Abu Dhabi), INSEAD’s business education and research spans three continents. The school’s 154 renowned Faculty members from 40 countries inspire more than 1,400 degree participants annually in its MBA, Executive MBA, Executive Master in Finance, Executive Master in Change and PhD programmes. In addition, more than 11,000 executives participate in INSEAD’s executive education programmes each year.

In addition to INSEAD’s programmes on its three campuses, INSEAD participates in academic partnerships with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia & San Francisco); the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University near Chicago; the Johns Hopkins University/SAIS in Washington DC and the Teachers College at Columbia University in New York; and MIT Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In Asia, INSEAD partners with School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University in Beijing, and China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai. INSEAD is a founding member in the multidisciplinary Sorbonne University created in 2012, and also partners with Fundação Dom Cabral in Brazil.

INSEAD became a pioneer of international business education with the graduation of the first MBA class on the Fontainebleau campus in Europe in 1960. In 2000, INSEAD opened its Asia campus in Singapore. In 2007, the school inaugurated a Centre for Research and Executive Education in the United Arab Emirates and officially opened the Middle East Campus in Abu Dhabi in 2010.

Around the world and over the decades, INSEAD continues to conduct cutting edge research and to innovate across all its programmes to provide business leaders with the knowledge and sensitivity to operate anywhere. These core values have enabled INSEAD to become truly “The Business School for the World”.

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Chris Howells