Monthly Archives: September 2014

Understand the Rationale Behind Today’s Billion Dollar Hotel Industry Deals

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Understand the Rationale Behind Today’s Billion Dollar Hotel Industry Deals

[pullquote align=”left|center|right” textalign=”left|center|right” width=”30%”]Get the story behind the headlines[/pullquote]
This week the WSJ and several other papers reported Accor’s billion dollar buyback of hotels it sold in 2007. Earlier, Bloomberg reported that Katara Hospitality, owned by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority, is seeking to acquire five hotels from the UK’s InterContinental Hotels Group, and private equity giant, and Blackstone, is reportedly ready to spend a billion dollars for the Cosmopolitan, a hotel in Las Vegas.

The investment story (including the risks and rewards) behind these deals is what Alumni heard about at the recent INSEAD Alumni Association Switzerland Hotel Property investment evening conference in Zürich.

Download our professionally produced Prestige and Property FINAL REPORT

What LinkedIn Says About the INSEAD Network in Switzerland

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What LinkedIn Says About the INSEAD Network in Switzerland

top15 industries[pullquote align=”left|center|right” textalign=”left|center|right” width=”30%”]INSEAD Alumni are also Entrepreneurial, and almost as likely to be involved in an Entrepreneurship role, as they are to be employed in more traditional roles[/pullquote].LinkedIn is popular with INSEAD Alumni no matter where they are working. What does LinkedIn tell us about the Alumni network in Switzerland? First off, there are 2079 Alumni living in Switzerland, according to LinkedIn, with 879 based in the Zurich area and 756 living in Geneva area. Basel has 279. Bern and Ticino each have 43 former INSEADers. They are also Entrepreneurial, almost as likely to be involved in an Entrepreneurship role, as they are to be employed in more traditional roles such as Finance, Operations, Marketing, and Consulting.

The industries that Alumni are working in here in Switzerland are pharmaceutical, nutrition, and agri-business, with banking, consulting, and technology following.

[important]Join the LinkedIn Group that we set up for the Swiss INSEAD Alumni Association [/important]

 

Geneva and the World’s Most Dangerous Places

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Geneva and the World’s Most Dangerous Places

yvesdaccord

Yves Daccord ©CICR/GASSMANN, Thierry


A short walk from the tranquil banks of Lac Leman is the headquarters of a 150 year old organization that willingly goes to the world’s most dangerous places. Syria, Iraq, and Gaza are not mere headlines in the news.to the Red Cross and its workers. [pullquote align=”left|center|right” textalign=”left|center|right” width=”30%”]The Red Cross and its workforce of 13,000 face the aftermath of war, injustice, torture, flooding, typhoons, and pandemics – 24/7 and 365 days.[/pullquote] Underpinned by international law, conventions, and Swiss neutrality the Red Cross brings aid and relief to communities and people distraught and disrupted from their lives by outside forces. The Geneva Chapter of the Swiss INSEAD Alumni Association invites you to learn more about the world we live in and to particpate in an animated debate and discussion with the legendary organization’s General Director, Yves Daccord now at the helm for his second term.[important]ICRC Tour, Evening Conference & Cocktail – September 23rd 2014Tickets here.[/important]

From Lux Cosmetics to Political Commentator : Robert Salmon

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From Lux Cosmetics to Political Commentator : Robert Salmon

October 7 Lunch Conference Geneva

Former L’Oreal Global Strategist and INSEAD Alumnus, Robert Salmon, applies the know-how gleaned from almost four decades of co-creating global beauty brands, strong in M&A and R&D, to defining what Switzerland can do to extend its prosperity.

authorsAlong with co-author Christopher H. Cordey, who has 25 years in FMCG (including Philip Morris, Movado, Richemont and Clarins), Salmon will lead a lunch conference in October discussing actionable insights that can build on Switzerland’s innovation-driven strengths.

The idea is to develop assets, such as sustainability, neutrality, and well-educated young people, while navigating the liabilities. Short-term the two call for better communication, particularly crisis communication.

Salmon says anticipating risks now rather than reacting downstream to situations and external events is a must. He provides a seasoned businessman’s perspective on policy-making, ideas that are not without controversy if the press reaction is anything to go by, so well worth experiencing. [notice]TICKETS HERE.[/notice]

montagne

Sustainable Luxury (Image source: Montagne Alternative – the first Swiss company to achieve B Corp sustainability certification)

Tops in Raising VC: Entrepreneurial INSEAD Alumni

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Tops in Raising VC: Entrepreneurial INSEAD Alumni

bestentrepreneurschoolsHaving an INSEAD MBA is a boon when raising venture capital, according to the latest data from PitchBook, a private equity industry information provider. [pullquote align=”left|center|right” textalign=”left|center|right” width=”30%”]Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg famously do not have college diplomas, but don’t be fooled, the data shows it’s an advantage, according to Pitchbook. [/pullquote]

Since 2009, ninety-nine INSEAD Alumni working at 92 VC-backed companies have raised USD 1.2 billion in capital. The score puts INSEAD in the top ten universities world-wide for forging entrepreneurs. It holds seventh place globally in the MBA ranking and it is number one outside of the US. The graphic above from INSEAD shows how INSEAD’s stats compare to other top schools.

It is also in the top ten for producing female leaders of VC-backed toptenmbaFEMALEcompanies with nine entrepreneurs at nine startups (see graphic right). Some of the companies INSEADers lead have raised significant rounds of VC, including Comércio Digital BF, Houzz, Comuto, Belltown Power, and Apttus.

The Pitchbook ranking is based on VC-backed companies that received funding from Jan. 1, 2009 through August 21, 2014,

Pitchbook has a database profiling 16,000 startup companies that  include the background info about industry players. It claims that using it to connect with fellow alumni at other VC-backed companies has led to collaborations. The report can be downloaded here.