Dame Stephanie Shirley CH

We are privileged that such an exceptional speaker has agreed to speak to INSEAD alumni and guests. Dame Shirley’s TED Talk in 2015 received a standing ovation from more than a thousand of the world’s most recognised technical entrepreneurs, thinkers, creators and doers has received 2.6m views.

Nurturing my Self-Compassion

Whether it’s in our health, finances, work or relationships, fallibility and imperfection are unavoidable aspects of being human.

Yet we often react to our inevitable human failings with self-criticism and negativity, which lead to stress, anger, anxiety, and depression. The antidote to this is self-compassion – something we can cultivate so we face our ‘failings’ with kindness, patience and understanding. This helps build positive and productive relationships with ourselves and others.

Doriot Distinguished Speaker: Kristin Skogen Lund, CEO, Schibsted

Kristin Skogen Lund (MBA 92J) will provide an insight into how Schibsted transitioned from a traditional media company to a family of digital brands. Schibsted is the owner of some of the Nordic’s most well-known and loved brands and services, and has more than 5000 employees across the region and in Europe. Kristin will also share her reflections on leadership and personal development, including what they didn’t teach her at INSEAD. Finally, Kristin will share her interpretation of Scandinavian leadership philosophy and question whether these approaches could be better suited to face tomorrow’s business and societal challenges.

Tourism in Scotland – a Blessing or a Curse?

Tourism and its desirability is a challenge posed to countries the world over and Scotland is no exception. In 2019, tourism brought £11 billion to the Scottish economy, against a backdrop of increasing resentment amongst local residents in some rural and island communities as well as the main cities. As the industry tries to look beyond Covid, and the Scottish Government and local councils try to balance the demand for tourism with the needs of the residents, our four speakers give their perspectives on the industry and will take questions. There will be an opportunity to network afterwards.

Retail & Consumer Group: Surviving the Retail Maelstrom

Whether retailers are thriving or just surviving there is no doubt that navigating the ongoing retail storm is demanding. The battering received from changing consumer behaviour and economic headwinds has seen many retailers, large and small, fall by the wayside. Strangely enough, working out a strategy to reinvent your business in such conditions is arguably the easiest part – actually getting it to happen in the real world is a challenge that is testing the best leaders and the most competent teams to the limit.

Stakeholder Capitalism – Reimagining our global economy

Our global economic system is broken. In the new book, Stakeholder Capitalism: Making the case for a global economy that works for Progress, People, and Planet, Prof Klaus Schwab (Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum) and Peter Vanham (Head of Communications for Chairman Schwab at WEF), argue convincingly that if we don’t start with recognising the true shape of our problems, our current system will continue to fail us. Schwab and Vanham look for what they consider to be the real causes of our systems’ shortcomings, and offer solutions based on best practices from around the world.

Random Dinners With La Tua Pasta

Random Dinners (with a twist) is here! This is a much anticipated event in our winter calendar so we are very grateful to Nicolas Hanson (MBA 99J) and his team at award winning La Tua Pasta for so kindly offering us the recipe for a special 2021 edition.

This year you will be cooking your own dinner to enjoy with other alumni. Randomly selected, of course.

We provide the ingredients and all you need to do is cook along and enjoy. Oh, you do need to chill your Prosecco and provide your own pepper and grinder.

Careers Group: Who’s in charge of your life: You or your tech?

The pandemic has further accelerated a shift to a virtual life, with more of us connecting to others via zoom, social media and other apps. It has been a boom for digital and online companies. Simultaneously, social distancing rules have kept us physically apart and isolated, spurring discussions on mental health and the importance of relationships for our wellbeing.
Join us for a conversation with Nir Eyal, best-selling author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, a must-read for product developers aiming to increase consumer engagement, and Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life, a fascinating and award winning how-to guide on wresting control back from technology, to manage your attention for what really matters to you. We’ll discuss his books and how to get the best from technology without letting it get the best of us.

Lunchtime Sessions: Sustainable Finance – Is it an oxymoron?

Investors around the world are making impact investments to unleash the power of capital for good. Funds are making headlines as more and more capital finds its way into ethical portfolios, ESG forward companies and projects. But is it actually happening? Or is this green washing?
Can you do good, and make a financial return? Or do most impact investments need to be concessionary? What are the trade offs? And how can you get involved? Let’s find out!
Hear how Ylva Lindberg. EVP of Strategy at Norfund is doing just this – doing good for society whilst generating returns for the sovereign fund. You’ll also hear from Duncan Grierson, founder of Clim8invest.com, a new fintech platform that allows retail investors to fight climate change and invest sustainably.