Strategy Forum “Sustainability: Walk the Talk”, November 26, 2019

Imagine there’s a 66% likelihood of getting to your destination when you travel from A to B today. Would you step into your car? Or would you look for alternatives, maybe stay home? There is a 66% likelihood that we manage to keep global warming below 3 degrees Celsius before the end of this century and yet we still do not commit to the necessary measures to keep our footprint to levels that will not seriously endanger the planet and life as we know it.

On Tuesday November 26th the Dutch alumni came together in Epicenter for the Sustainability Forum. The Forum, which was generously sponsored by Oliver Wyman, brought us an impressive line-up of speakers that gave us information, insights, learnings and strategies for how to deal with climate change. Professor Andre Calmon and Oliver Wyman’s Robert Bailey kicked-off with the shocking truth and the awareness that change starts with us.

Heineken’s Blanca Juti and former Dutch Minister Ed Nijpels gave us solutions: the Drop the C program at Heineken aimed at reducing CO2 footprint in the Heineken supply chain as well as the Climate Agreement that was agreed between the 180 biggest stakeholders in The Netherlands. Break-out sessions hosted by Oliver Wyman gave us lively discussions between the alumni about what to do next. After which Marjan Minnesma told us her story of how she is “persuading” the Dutch government to fulfill it’s duty to protect its citizens from the consequences of climate change and dr ive change in society and industry.

It’s safe to say that with the help of our moderator Harm Edens the event made it very clear that change is needed now and that everyone, personally and in their role as business leader, should do everything to help protect the future of our planet and of ourselves.

Bloomon: scale-ups in the fast-moving B2C online environment

Wednesday September 25th, 2019, the Dutch alumni were hosted by bloomon for an exciting event about scale-ups in the fast-moving B2C online environment.

bloomon is a subscription-based flower delivery service headquartered in Amsterdam with international offices in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, and the UK. Dubbed the ‘Netflix of Flowers’ by the Financial Times, bloomon aims to bring bespoke bouquets from grower to consumer in the fastest way possible by cutting out the traditional supply chain.

Over sandwiches and soup, founder and CEO Bart Troost described how bloomon came about, explaining that he and his two co-founders began looking at the traditional supply chain in the flower industry and decided to ‘rewrite’ the old supply chain, and to bridge the gap between the grower and the consumer. After the introduction, alumni were split into different groups and given an extensive tour through the new and impressive bloomon factory in Aalsmeer, where millions of bouquets are designed and put together each year. Following the tour, Bart and his team further explained the opportunities and challenges that a growing scale-up like theirs faces in today’s business environment. As always, discussions continued for quite some time during the closing drinks!

A huge thank you to bloomon for their incredible hospitality and to all alumni for being there. We hope to see you all for the INSEAD Alumni Book Club Night at the Nieuwe Poort in Amsterdam on October 28th, 2019! For more information please visit www.inseadalumni.nl

 

INSEAD Alumni Women’s networking dinner

Never knew sleep had such a big impact on performance and that digital transformation is a lot of just down-to-earth common business sense. Great INSEAD Alumni women’s networking dinner with Alexandra Jankovich, managing partner and founder of SparkOptimus and Els van der Helm, Founder of Shleep!

INSEAD Alumni Startup Bootcamp

The INSEAD Alumni Startup Bootcamp
1-3 May 2019, Abu Dhabi

“Thinking about launching your venture? Or Do you want to know what a real life entrepreneurial journey is? Or maybe you are already an entrepreneur and you want to improve your pitch practice or find a team mate?”

The INSEAD Center for Entrepreneurship (ICE) and the INSEAD Alumni Association UAE are pleased to bring to you the first INSEAD Alumni Startup Bootcamp course. The two days’ crash course is designed to give participants a condensed and intense entrepreneurial experience that spans ideation, business plan development and VC pitching.

The INSEAD Alumni Startup Bootcamp will take place on the INSEAD Middle East campus from 1 to 3 May 2019 from 7.00 pm to 11.00 pm.

Join us for an intense and fast-paced 48-hours event that is reflective of a real life entrepreneurial journey. To register, please click the link below.

INSEAD Alumni Startup Bootcamp

INSEAD Lifelong learning

Be inspired, engage with fellow alumni and continue to develop and grow.

In today’s rapidly changing business environment, lifelong learning is essential for the sustained success and growth of our alumni so they can be a force for good in the world. INSEAD curates new impactful online and in-person learning experiences for alumni throughout the year, so watch this space via the link below!

INSEAD Lifelong Learning