Dear INSEADer,
Summer is in the air and everybody seems to be a little more optimistic about everything. I personally do not have much of an opinion about the present state of the economy, but I do plan to enjoy the summer months.
Since our last newsletter a lot has happened with our association.
First, we had our national meeting in the Big Apple, aka New York City. Thanks to the faltering economy we got a great deal at the Bryant Park Hotel, where those visiting stayed and we were able to use the penthouse for our national meeting! We started off on Friday night by meeting up at a tapas bar near Grand Central Station, followed by dinner at Pershing Square. On Saturday, our daylong meeting focused on how to make our alumni association even better and more fun, get more alumni to be involved as volunteer leaders, and increase our membership. We took a hard look at our organization and decided to create some new positions so as to improve services and functionality. If you want to develop or test your leadership skills in a very professional and fun environment, please contact me or any of the other officers. We are looking for volunteers to start many new activities. In particular I would like to extend the call to the newer promotions for them to be involved and make sure we keep fresh ideas in the pipeline. After a productive day, we celebrated on Saturday evening in good old INSEAD tradition, enjoying a fabulous dinner at a Mediterranean restaurant with a few bottles of excellent wine. The day after, we organized a private tour of MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) followed by a brunch at the equally fabulous museum restaurant. We really had a great time and renewed our old friendships.
I am particularly happy to announce two things that came out of our national meeting. The first is that the major volunteer award for long and consistent contribution to the USA Alumni Association has a new name. In honor of Anne Holbach, the outstanding INSEAD alumna who can be given much credit for having helped to make our association what it is today -- and also winner of the first edition of the award presented last year -- we decided that this award will from now on be called the Anne Holbach Award! We shall never forget her many contributions. Second, is the recipient of the 2009 award: Bob Stillerman. Please join me in congratulating him and thank him for all he has done for our association over the years. Bob is an amazing person who deals with all our web-related activities. He is always ready to give a hand or help someone. Last but not least, he happens to be fluent in Italian as well!
I would also like to welcome into our association new members of our volunteer community. Evan McCordick has assumed the position of Treasurer of the USIAA. We thank Lydia Zaininger for her many years of service in that role and for keeping the books so diligently. We also introduce Alexandra Shaforost, '01D, who is now the regional president of Southern California and Dustin Hindman, MBA '06J, who takes the reins in the Pacific Northwest, based in Seattle.
As you all know, the end of the 2008-09 academic year grows close. Many of those from the classes of 2004 and 1999 will have just returned from celebrating their reunions in Fontainebleau. Whether you are marking a reunion or not, I encourage you to make a gift to the INSEAD Alumni Fund before the end of the year on August 31, 2009. These are challenging times we all know, but whatever we as alumni can do to support INSEAD will help ensure that the school is able to offer an adequate level of scholarships to students in the coming year as well as support faculty in developing their programs and research, be it Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne in the evolution of Blue Ocean Strategy, Herminia Ibarra and her work in leadership development and gender diversity, or work being done by Luk Van Wassenhove, Filipe Santos, and others at the Social Innovation Centre on humanitarian issues and social entrepreneurship, among other areas of focus. Your participation and generosity will make an important difference in what our school is able to accomplish. And, it is easy to do. Just visit www.giveto.insead.edu, or you can contact Kacey Foster, INSEAD's Director of Development for North America at 646.254.6915..
Lastly, we had some fantastic events in the past few months with a visit from Dean Frank Brown, presentations from visiting professors, presentations on Career Link and Career Services, the 2nd annual Salamander Ski Cup competition in Alta, Utah (won this year by your devoted President), and the Salamander Golf Cup competition in Bethpage, NY won by Justin Bateman, MBA '03J. A VERY BIG thank you to Darach Chapman for organizing once again a superb day out at one of the most beautiful golf courses in the country.
You won't want to miss out on future activities like these, so come and join us, and help us organize even more fun events!
I wish you all and your families the best for a great summer season, and look forward to your participation in the USA Alumni Association in 2009-10. Make sure to check our website for updates.
Ciao,
Tommaso, MBA '90D, President USIAA
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USIAA Website is Moving to INSEAD Connect
At the end of the month we will be migrating our website to the INSEAD Connect platform. That will eliminate the need for dual passwords: one for inseadusa.com and one for alumni.insead.edu. Each of us already has log in credentials to the Connect platform, so we are hoping that the transition goes smoothly. If you don't know your login for that site, please email for password information. To facilitate the transition, the www.inseadusa.com site will be redirected to our pages on INSEAD Connect. I'll be sending out a broadcast email with all the relevant information towards the end of June.
This migration holds many benefits over our current site including the full integration of our site with National Alumni Associations in other countries. Event management will be greatly enhanced since our events will appear on the global INSEAD event calendar; each event will have a separate page with information about the event, with listings of registrants.
Each region will have a sub-site under its control. That will enable alumni in a geographic area to keep informed about happenings in your region.
Membership management should be straightforward: it will be easy to view your membership status and renew upon expiration. News and information about happenings in the INSEAD community here in the US will be easily made available by our multiple website contributors.
I would also like to mention again that I am looking for help with the Communications function in our USIAA team. Interested? Send me a quick email.
As always, your comments and suggestions are always welcomed. I'm particularly interested in hearing from you as we go through the website transition process.
Thanks and happy reading!
P. S. And thanks to Tommaso and the USIAA team for the prestigious honor of the 2009 Anne Holback award!
Bob Stillerman, MBA '77J, Vice President, Communications USIAA
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Happenings in the INSEAD Community
US INSEAD Alumni Association Annual Meeting
On May 2nd the US INSEAD Alumni Association Officers gathered in New York City for a day of meetings and brainstorming to discuss how we can best meets the needs of the US alumni. One of our biggest challenges remains finding volunteers to help organize events in the different areas of the country. We have several openings that need to be filled. If you are interested in helping please contact Yusuf Khapra. It’s a great way to network and keep the INSEAD experience alive. We continue to work to improving our tools of communication to include updating the website where you can find information and sign up for all the events we have scheduled and become an active member. We are working to bring you interesting, relevant and fun events to provide opportunities for you to expand your career network and socialize with other fellow INSEAD Alumni. We also continue to help the school promote the INSEAD brand and provide a valuable source for job opportunities.
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| Back left to right: Carolin Greiner, David Martin, Tommaso Trionfi, Bob Stillerman, Matt Williamson Middle: Carlos Montemayor, Carol Cunningham, Brigitte Morel-Curran, Alex Shaforost, Jag Rao Front: Frances Pordes-Phillips, Raj Singh |
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National Alumni Survey
In an effort to better understand YOU, as a member of our US alumni community, we will be launching later this month an alumni survey to capture a deeper understanding of the needs and wants of our alumni in the US, to help guide the priorities for our association and the activities that we offer,
Please keep a lookout for the Survey link and give us 10 minutes of your time to answer,
Thanks
The USIAA Team
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Evan McCordick Succeeds Lydia Zaininger as USIAA Treasurer
After many, many years of diligent service to our association, Lydia Zaininger is stepping down as Treasurer. We thank Lydia for her efforts and success in keeping the USIAA on sound financial footing, with regular reports, cash management and excellent decision making.
We are pleased to announce that Evan McCordick ('90D) takes over that role. Evan is a Founding Partner of IBIS Asset Management Limited, a London-based specialist financial services firm that sources and executes private equity investments, primarily in emerging markets. Prior to co-founding IBIS in 2005, Evan was a Partner at Baring Private Equity Partners where he managed private equity funds with investments in the United States, Latin America and Africa. Evan's activities at Baring covered all aspects of the investment cycle, including sourcing, due diligence, structuring, negotiation and exit, and involved active board representation and engagement with management of portfolio companies. His sector experience included manufacturing, financial services, business services, retail, software and leisure. He has also managed private equity operations for Caspian Securities and was a Senior Investment Officer for the IFC, providing project finance and investments in emerging market private equity funds. Previously, Evan worked in corporate banking at Credit Suisse Canada and Montreal Trust (acquired by Scotiabank). Evan holds an MBA from INSEAD ('90D) and a BA (Hons) in Economics from Queens University ('84).
Evan lives in Rye, NY, is married and has three boys: 10 year old twins and and 8 year old.
Tommaso Trionfi MBA '90D, President USIAA
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USIAA Leadership Team Strengthens on the West Coast
I have pleasure in announcing two new regional presidents who are kicking off energy and activities in their respective regions,
In South California, Alexandra Shaforost, '01D, has started to contact the local alumni group. Her region covers South California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada
A graduate from Kiev Polytechnical Institute and New-Jersey City University, Alex worked in NYC before going to INSEAD. Since 2001, she has lived in London, Paris, Moscow and Rome, in a true INSEAD fashion. Her experience is in business development, client relationship building and strategy formulation, and she is looking for her next career step and ready to embark on the new phase of her professional journey here in the US.
Here is what she has to say about taking on this new role: "The main reasons to take on this role and this communication are:
- to keep the lively INSEAD spirit alive even when we are spread out all over the world and years;
- get to know each other and even continue to learn anything from wine to new publication by INSEAD professors;
- help to strengthen the name of INSEAD in USA (did you know it is our Alma Mater's 50th Anniversary this year?!)"
Alexandra can be contacted at +1 760 994 9626.
On the North side of the West Coast, Dustin Hindman, MBA '06J, joins the USIAA leadership team this June and will serve as President of the Pacific Northwest based in Seattle, responsible for the states of Washington, Oregon and Alaska.
Currently, Dustin works as a senior manager for Dell Inc. leading the product development and managing the P&L of consumer based service offerings. He has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from UT Austin and worked for many years at Accenture before pursuing his MBA at INSEAD. Dustin and his wife Rebecca lived in a charming house in Grez sur Loing for their entire year at INSEAD and of course speak longingly of their time in France. He is an avid soccer player, fisherman and sailor. At INSEAD, he led a media strategy project for Major League Soccer so you will likely see him at the Seattle Sounders FC soccer games.
Dustin and Rebecca currently live in Austin, Texas but will move to Seattle this September. He will begin regional alumni association planning activities this summer. If you want to get involved in the planning, then please reach out to Dustin.
Brigitte Morel-Curran, MBA'78J, EVP Regions
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First US Sustainability Roundtable Held in New York
On the evening of April 29 forty alumni gathered at the Union Square Hotel for the first INSEAD Sustainability Roundtable held in the US. The topic was Cleantech, and the rountable featured an all-star panel of experts to discuss the business of renewable energy, water, and carbon markets.
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Alum, Tim Kingston, Partner at Goldman Sachs in Investment Banking discussed GS' experiences and investing in solar and wind energy. Another alum, Sameer Agrawal, Director of Water Process and technologies at GE, debated with Matthew Diserio, President and Co-founder of Water Asset Management LLC, a private investment firm which invests only in water process technologies, co-owned by our own alum, Disque Dean, Jr.. Executive MBA alum, Sonia Medina, the US Country Director of EcoSecurities, one of the largest producers of carbon credits, educated the Roundtable audience on carbon markets and new legislation which has the potential to bring a carbon cap-and-trade system to the U.S. The panel was moderated by Kiku Loomis, the Chair of the US Sustainability Roundtable. After a lively panel session participants and panelists were treated to cocktails by the INSEAD American office, joining Dean Brown who was hosting an INSEAD MBA recruiting event with a Women in Leadership panel and close to 100 female prospects. Said the Roundtable Chair, Kiku Loomis, "The success of this event confirms my observation that business people from a wide swath of professions are keenly interested in sustainability as a new source of innovation and markets. The additional factor that such endeavors bring social meaning to your job is more than a bonus, it will be a requirement of many new graduates of MBA programs." If you are interested in more happenings of the Sustainability Roundtable, wish to join the network, or speak at one of our events, write to Kiku Loomis. |
Kiku Loomis, MBA’93D
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Professor Morten Hansen Book Tour
On May 8, Morten Hansen, professor at INSEAD and the University of California, Berkely, spoke to a group of 20 alums at the New York City office. Morten presented his new book, "Collaboration’ How Leaders Avoid the Traps, Create Unity, and Reap Big Results."
| This book tackles a dilemma faced by many leaders. On one hand, people in a company are often required to collaborate across its many units to innovate, transfer best practices, cross-sell, and coordinate work. On the other hand, collaboration often turns sour, with people wasting time and effort trying to work across a company. As the book shows, collaboration is full of traps; bad collaboration is worse than no collaboration. The challenge facing leaders is not to cultivate more collaboration but to promote the right kind of collaboration that leads to great results. This book advocates a core idea for how to do this—the principle of disciplined collaboration: the leadership practice of properly assessing when to collaborate (and when not to), and instilling in people both the willingness and ability to collaborate when required. Leaders follow three steps to cultivate disciplined collaboration among units within a company (the focus of the book). | ![]() |
1. Carefully evaluate opportunities for collaboration
2. Spot the four barriers to collaboration.
3. Tailor solutions to tear down the barriers.
Morten’s case studies of companies that were faced with collaboration challenges and succeeded and failed was both surprising and inspiring. The audience was delighted by the open discussion after the presentation and then had the opportunity to get signed copies of the book from Morten as a gift for their attendance.
Mary Lee Rieley, Executive Director for INSEAD North America
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Time to challenge the champion
Congratulations to Tommaso Trionfi for winning the 2009 Salamander Ski Cup! The race was held in March in Alta, Utah. We will hold the race again next spring, plan to come and challenge the cup!
2009 Salamander Cup in Alta, Utah |
Carol Cunningham, USIAA Coordinator
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Golf - Salamander Golf Cup remains in the hands of 03J
On May 16 we returned to Bethpage State Park in Long Island for the second playing of the Salamander Golf Cup. With the reigning champion unavailable due to a scheduling conflict, the competition was wide open. A blustery afternoon and US Open conditions combined to provide a perfect backdrop to the wide variety of handicaps and swings on display. Although those returning from last year were hopeful that local knowledge and the bitter memory of defeat and would give them an edge, it ultimately counted for little as first time competitor Justin Bateman ('03J) won both the Salamander Cup for best individual score and the prize for the longest drive. Thankfully our President Tommaso Trionfi ('90D) did not go home empty handed as he captured the closest to the pin on 17th. Alison Molkenthin ('87D) and John Weinberg ('94J) also helped their fourball to the best team score. The rest were left to console themselves over a few crisp beers on the clubhouse balcony and reflect on what investment in their game would need to be made for next year. Judging by the amount of equipment related discussion most viewed it as capital issue, nothing to do with the labor.
Darach Chapman, MBA '04D, President, Florida
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INSEAD in the News
INSEAD Professor Soumitra Dutta's new book, "Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom," garnered a lot of attention in the press in February, with write ups in the Armchair MBA colum, International Business Times, SC Magazine and others.
INSEAD Dean Frank Brown wrote an insightful piece for the Wall Street Journal on how to drive innovation in Europe in the downturn.
Last but not least, congratulations to our own fellow U.S. alumnus, Motoatsu Sakurai, who last month was appointed President of the Japan Society. Following his long career at Mitsubishi and his more recent appointment as Japan's consul general in New York, Motoatsu will assume his
responsibilities at the Japan Society in April. To read more, see New
York Times February 7th link below.
Do you have a suggestion for a pressworthy INSEAD story? Please contact me, or contact INSEAD's PR agency directly.
Thank you!
May Highlights
INSEAD had a record-number of mentions and features in the US press in May - 25 in total. Could it be that the weak economy is leading journalists to search for answers to the crisis from the most global business experts? Whatever the reason, it is good news to see INSEAD's recurring presence in U.S. business magazines and articles. Below are five highlights.
BusinessWeek.com (May 7) - A story on how more Americans are applying to INSEAD: "Insead Promotes Euro-Asian Alternative"
Strategy + Business (May 26) - Professor Gordon Redding, expert on Asian business and the author of "The Future of Chinese Capitalism" is quoted several times in the article "China's Multinational Quandary."
BusinessWeek.com (May 22) sydicated BusinessWeek article entitled "To Be More Creative, Try Living Abroad" should resonate with most alumni.
Harvard Business Review (May 1) - Those of you who, like me, had the priveledge -- albeit rather intimidating priveledge -- of taking Accounting I with brilliant straight-shooter S. David Young will enjoy his piece in HBR entitled, "Need Cash? Look Inside Your Company."
The Boston Globe (May 3) - In the article "The Female Advantage" appearing in the Boston Globe, INSEAD Prof. Herminia Ibarra chimes in on why women make companies more profitable.
Ellen Cohan, VP Press Relations, MBA J'02
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IAF Seeks New US Trustee
The INSEAD Alumni Fund is looking for individuals to replace Sharyanne McSwain as the US IAF Trustee. Ideally, we would like to have two people to share this position: one located in the Eastern US, the other in the Western US. The description of the role is below. Please contact Tommaso Trionfi, USIAA President, Sharyanne McSwain, current US IAF Trustee or Marisa Cooke, IAF Director, for more information.
US Trustee of the INSEAD Alumni Fund
The insead Alumni Fund (IAF), founded by Alumni, is managed by INSEAD with the invaluable support of alumni volunteers (“IAF Trustees”) in various regions worldwide. There are also strong links between the IAF and the insead Alumni Association, with both Chairmen sitting on either Board (IAF and IAA). National IAF Trustees are selected in countries where there is a significant number of alumni. The US Trustee(s) serve on the IAF Board for a three-year term, renewable for a further period of three years.
The person in this position should feel Commitment to INSEAD, be well respected and an active member of alumni community, be an existing IAF donor - or willing to make his/her own financial commitment.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Set goals, in collaboration with IAF office
- Generate funds from the alumni and organise events for the IAF annual campaign and assist with reunion initiatives, all in collaboration with the IAF Office at INSEAD
- Help identify major prospects and plan best approach in liaison with IAF Central Office
- Maintain regular contact with the IAF Director and assist with fiscal and other matters relating to the IAF
- Maintain contact with donors and cultivate potential donors and volunteers
- Represent the IAF at alumni meetings as appropriate
- Attend IAF Board meetings, normally at least twice a year, with other telephone Board meetings as appropriate (up to another 2 per year). The principal meeting is held in Fontainebleau, generally in the spring
- Help to identify successor
Sharyanne McSwain, MBA'91J, US INSEAD Alumni Fund
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INSEAD on Facebook
INSEAD graduates in the U.S. are meeting up on our new Facebook group. Please join our group 'INSEAD USA' on Facebook and invite your fellow INSEAD alumni who are living and working in the U.S. to join. Please feel free to post any old or new photos about your INSEAD memories and start a discussion on our discussion board. This is YOUR group to use as you see fit. Let's get all two thousand of us in the U.S. onto our Facebook group and show our fellow INSEADs in Taiwan and Japan that the U.S. has a very active group!
Frances Pordes, MBA '91J, President, Central Region
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Four Incredible Tri-State Alumnae Join Dean Frank Brown to Help Recruit Women MBAs
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For Carol Fedida (MBA ‘86), meeting prospective female INSEAD MBAs is about showing them that one need not always take the road most travelled. Her varied career path has taken her through London’s bustling financial sector, on the road and around the world in an 18 month career break spent travelling to pastures new, back to London’s financial district in the role of budding entrepreneur, opening a flower business in London supplying receptions in the city, and finally, trading tea and biscuits for coffee and cookies, she made her way across the Atlantic, where she manages the portfolio of investments she made during her 10+ years of successful growth and awaits her next big idea. On 29 April 2009, Carol was joined by three equally impressive INSEAD alumnae: Ripa Rashid (MBA ‘00), Veronica Wong (MBA ‘03), and Maureen O’Regan (MBA ’83) for the INSEAD Women Leading Business panel chaired by Frank Brown. More than 100 female INSEAD MBA prospects gathered to hear each of these women share their stories about how the INSEAD MBA helped them achieve success in their careers and their lives. From technology to securities, non-profits to start-ups, married to single, law to mathematics, each panellist brought to the discussion unique career, academic and life experience. However, like Carol, most credited their INSEAD experience with helping them develop the confidence and contacts they needed to carve out their unique path to success. |
After the panel discussion, the group of MBA prospects and panellists were joined for drinks by 40 additional INSEAD alumnae who had gathered at the same location to attend the first INSEAD Sustainability Roundtable held in the US. 'Fantastic', 'Motivating', 'Amazing', and 'Inspiring’ were all words heard (or overheard) used by the attending prospects to describe the event, and the New York INSEAD office received several follow up emails from attending women came thanking us for putting on the event. The real thanks, though, goes to the INSEAD alumnae who kindly volunteered their time. Their candid and passionate sharing their thoughts, memories and insights made the event an incredible success. Increasing gender diversity on the MBA programme has been a key priority for INSEAD over the past several years. Since 2005, the percentage of female enrolment has more than doubled, from 14% to 29%. As with all of our recruiting efforts, alumni engagement in our activity has been a key factor in our success. If you are interesting in learning more about INSEAD’s commitment to increase gender diversity on the MBA and related initiatives or would like to get involved, please contact Cassandra Pittman. |
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Cassandra Pittman, Assistant Director of Marketing for INSEAD North America
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Wanted… Jobs, Jobs, Jobs
Sad but true, we have not had even one new job posting originating from any of our alumni in the last three months. The only opportunity came from our friends at Grandes Ecoles (AAGEF) for a marketing internship in New York City with Lacatlis Group. This is truly disappointing.
Now more than ever in these truly trying times of global recession, jobs are desperately needed, even by our star alumni, not just in financial services, but in every industry and economic sector.
How can we help?
- Alumni, reach out and help each other. Do you have any openings in your organization, For-profit or Non-profit where our alumni might fit in? Do you know of anyone hiring elsewhere? Do you know of any openings coming up in the new year? Let other alumni know by posting those opportunities on our Web, either directly or by e-mail to me.
- Chapter Presidents – please appoint career services persons for your regions so that there is someone to focus on this important issue and to help unemployed alumni in the region.
- Chapters – please organize periodic career-networking events, with or without outside speakers or panelists. These events can not only facilitate exchange of ideas, provide leads, guidance and counsel, but also act as morale boosters.
INSEAD’s newly launched CareerLink (see below) is a vast improvement over job search tools previously available to us and should alleviate the pain in the search process. Fellow alumni, if you are not already members of our national association, please join now for only $75 a year, so that you are eligible to access CareerLink.
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Bubble to Trouble - A Well Attended Career-Related Seminar in NYC
Nearly 40 alumni and our friends from Grandes Ecoles attended a career-related seminar in New York City on April 23. Its highlight was a presentation by Antonio Fatas, INSEAD Professor of Economics and Portuguese Council Chair Professor of European Studies who is on a sabbatical at IMF in Washington, DC, for a year. His macroeconomic view was titled “From bubble to trouble: a reflection on the state of the world economy” in which he painted the big picture of today’s global economic situation, its challenges and trends and future outlook. Prof. Fatas was followed by Pamela McNeill, Assistant Director, Alumni Career Services who spoke on “INSEAD’s recently re-launched lifelong alumni career support services.” Ms. McNeill walked us through the newly launched CareerLink, which is a vast improvement over the job search, job posting and career development tools previously available for our alumni and employers worldwide. |
![]() Left to right: Prof. Fatas, Tommaso Trionfi, Pam McNeill, Jag Rao |
We want to thank Ms. McNeill for sponsoring this successful session.
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INSEAD CareerLink, A Rich and Readily Accessible Resource for Career Move
Are you looking for a job? Or, are you planning to move to a new job? If you are an employer or headhunter looking for INSEAD graduates to hire? Then you should go to INSEAD CareerLink where you can post your resume in its elite CV bank to make yourself visible to employers and headhunters who also post any job openings in their targeted job boards. It also has online career development tools.
CareerLink represents a new generation in career market database with its job bank and our CV pool, which efficiently brings together job seekers and job providers, including headhunters. It is the result of years of effort by INSEAD and the International Alumni Association in gathering user requirements, planning, developing, testing and now the execution of enhanced career search tools that many of us have been asking for. Its timing is most opportune in the current worldwide economic climate -- sub-prime mortgages, financial meltdown, credit crunch, recession, and consequent unemployment and high job demand. Let us try to make the best use of it whether we are searching for employment as a new graduate, looking for a career change, or seeking INSEAD alumni to hire for our organizations.
Since access to CareerLink is available only to members of national INSEAD alumni associations, we hope this will prompt our alumni who are not currently members to join the U.S. alumni association or, in the case of discontinued membership, to rejoin.
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Job Listings from AAGEF – A New Resource
We are pleased that our reciprocity agreement with Association des Amis des Grandes Ecoles de France (AAGEF) has enabled us to share open positions with a larger pool. In other words, AAGEF advises us of new openings in their database and we provide them with ours. This has appreciably expanded the size of the job listing and therefore the opportunities available to our alumni.
Jag Rao, Vice President, Careers, MBA, '64
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Job Search Made Easier On INSEADUSA Web Site
We are currently exploring the migration from our InseadUSA Web site to the worldwide INSEAD Connect and its associated CareerLink with its targeted jobs board and elite CV bank plus online career development tools. This exercise and the conversion will take a few more months. In the meantime, we have made it easier for you to navigate the jobs database in our current web site. The latest jobs available can be accessed by clicking the Careers tab on the home page. Since space is limited there, other recent job postings can be accessed either by clicking For additional listings go to the Job Postings page or by clicking Job Postings and Jobs- 2 on the primary menu.
Jag Rao, Vice President, Careers, MBA, '64
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Northern California and Northwest region, Song Bac Toh, MBA '05J, co-President
May 14 - Liana Burtsava hosted the Prana Happy Hours that was also open to Ivy Plus alumni. We had over 130 RSVPs and over 150 people showed up to enjoy drinks and conversations. It was a good crowd. There were INSEAD videos playing on the wall and a few lucky winners walked away with wines that were raffled off.
May 27 - Jesus Aragon organized a well attended panel discussion on innovating in the recession at SAP Palo Alto. Our fellow alumnus at SAP, Prakash Nanduri, was one of the panelists. Michael Aidane got us the sponsorship by SAP Labs. We had over 65 people at the event taking up every available seat in the room. The enthusiastic crowd stayed and mingled for another hour and a half after the panel was over.
A very satisfied Haas alum told me, "Your event is so much better and more energetic than many others. I have to tell other Haas alums to come to INSEAD events!" Score one for brand building! :)
Photos from the panel event
We'll also be holding a small informal drinks event in San Francisco on June 11 when Prof. Loic Sadoulet visits San Francisco, so interested alums have a chance to meet up with him. Richard Pulliam will be hosting this gathering.
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Frances Pordes, MBA '91J, President, Central Region
Stanford + MIT + Ivy + Friends Mixers
Boulder
Thursday, June 11
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Jill's at the St. Julien Hotel & Spa
900 Walnut St. (downtown Boulder)
No host
Contact Darren Johnston, MBA '93
Denver
Thursday, June 18
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Forest Room 5
2532 15th St.
No host
Contact Howard Sankel, JD '95, MBA '96
Fort Collins
Thursday, July 2
5:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Cafe Vino
1200 S. College Ave.
No host
These happy hours are fun networking events held on the first Thursday of the month in Fort Collins, on the second Thursday in Boulder and on the third Thursday in Denver. Whether you're married or single, come have some fun and make new friends-you never know whom you'll meet.
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Jamie Rutledge, MBA'99J, President, South Central Region
June 22, 2009
Keith Ferrazzi Presents Who’s Got Your Back: The breakthrough program to build deep trusting relationships that create success – and won’t let you fail.
Disregard the myth of the lone professional “superman” and the rest of our culture’s go-it alone mentality. The real path to success in your work and in your life is through creating an inner circle of “lifeline relationships” – deep, close relationships with a few key trusted individuals who will offer the encouragement, feedback, and generous mutual support every one of us needs to reach our full potential. Whether your dream is to lead your own company, move up the corporate ladder, overcome the self-destructive habits that hold you back, or make a difference in the larger world, Who’s Got Your Back will give you the roadmap you’ve been looking for to achieve the success you deserve.
Keith Ferrazzi, the internationally renowned thought leader, consultant, and bestselling author of Never Eat Alone, shows us that becoming a winner in any field of endeavor requires a trusted team of advisors who can offer guidance and help to hold us accountable to achieving our goals. It is the reason PH.D candidates have advisor teams, top executives have boards, world class athletes have fitness coaches, and presidents have cabinets.
In his Who’s Got Your Back keynote, Keith will introduce you to his 9-step program for building the ultimate team-based success strategy – in fact, he will help start putting the principles and tactics into practice, right in the room.
The keynote is an interactive, transformative experience for sustainable change. In the first part of the 60-minute talk, Keith leads participants through a series of exercises to shift their mindsets from isolation to connection.
July 14, 2009
Tequila Tasting and Charity Event (details to be provided)
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Darach Chapman, MBA '04D, President, Florida
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On April 27, the Miami alumni recently had the pleasure of an evening with Frank Brown, hosted at the beautiful Key Biscayne residence of Ridgely Cinquegrana ('86D) and Elizabeth O'Connell ('93J). We had graduates from 1966 through 2003 and also the welcome company of Jose de la Torre, a former INSEAD professor who is now on the Faculty at Florida International University in Miami. Frank regaled us with stories of progress and development at the school and warmly received the constructive feedback and suggestions one would expect from a group of alumni never short of an opinion. Also the alumni present shared with the Dean how Insead has shaped their careers.
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Brigitte Morel-Curran, MBA'78J, Midwest Regional President (acting)
| On May 30, the Chicago Alumni got together for a fun and relaxing evening at Wildfire. The occasion to say goodbye to our friends Arndt Ehrlich (MBA '86D) and Sibylle, who are on their way back to Germany (they have a wonderful home for sale in Valparaiso on lake Michigan, if anyone is interested). And to welcome to Chicago Alexandra Ananides (MBA '95D). Good food and great get together! | ![]() |
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Internship – Marketing, Lactalis Deli, New York City
Description:LACTALIS GROUP
- 2nd largest food company in France
- 1st largest dairy company in Europe
- 8th largest cheese manufacturer in the US
- 9.9 billion dollars in worldwide sales
- Key brands worldwide : PRESIDENT, SOCIETE, SORRENTO, RONDELE, BRIDEL, LACTEL…
- Subsidiary of Lactalis group specialized in the manufaturing, import, and marketing of Specialty Cheeses in the US, Canada, and Latin America.
- Key brands on the US market : PRESIDENT, RONDELE, GALBANI, SORRENTO, SOCIETE
MISSION
Time: 1 year starting October 1st 2009
Marketing Assistant Mission:
To assist the Product Manager in every aspect of the operational conduct of all marketing activities related to Lactalis Deli’s domestic ranges of products, in a pro-active, dynamic, and result-oriented way.
Scope of activities include, but are not limited to: packaging, trade and consumer promotions, market research, POS development, new product launches.
Profile
- BA or MBA with specialization in marketing
- Some practical experience through prior internships or professional experiences
- Perfectly bilingual English/French
- Capacity to adapt to US/French business cultures
- Open-mindedness, strong implication, capacity to understand/analyze/react, creativity, pro-activity, organizational skills, team work ability
- Interest in foreign cultures, in food as part of a lifestyle; cheese amateur
Internship compensation (40 hours/week)
- $1,850/ month net + Metrocard
- 5 days vacation/semester
- Trip to the US + passport visa fees
- End of internship bonus depending on performance appraisal
Contact:
Please send resume and cover letter to Ms. Marjolaine Besnard, Senior Product Manager
Posted on: 06/01/2009
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US INSEAD Alumni Association National Executive Team
| Tommaso Trionfi, President | Ellen Cohan, Vice President, Public Relations |
| Brigitte Morel, Executive Vice President, Regions | Jag Rao, Vice President, Careers |
| Yusuf Khapra, Vice President, Human Resources | Evan McCordick, Treasurer |
| Carol Cunningham, USIAA Administrative Coordinator | Bob Stillerman, Vice President, National Communications |
| Raj Singh, Vice President, Faculty Relations |
Other US INSEAD Contacts
| Frank Brown, Dean | Roberto Buaron, President, US Council |
| Tom Barry, President IMEF | Sharyanne McSwain, US INSEAD Alumni Fund Representative |
| Mary Lee Rieley, Executive Director, INSEAD Americas office |
US INSEAD Alumni Association - Regional Presidents
| Christian Mazzi, David Martin, co-Presidents of New England [Boston] (Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Delaware, Vermont) | Richard Pulliam, Song Bac Toh, co-Presidents of Northern California (Northern California) |
| Frances Pordes Phillips,
President of Central [Denver] (Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, North/South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas) |
Brigitte Morel-Curran,
Acting President of Midwest [Chicago] (Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan) |
| Darach Chapman,
President of Florida [Miami] |
Open
President of Southeast [Atlanta] (North/South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee) |
| Somit Goyal, Carlos Montemayor, Co-Presidents, DC (Virginia, W. Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, DC) | Alexandra Shaforost,
President of SoCal (Southern California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona) |
| Jamie Rutledge [Houston, TX], Johann Tse [Dallas, TX], co-President of South Central (Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana) | Matt Williamson,
President of NY, TriState & PA (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania) |
| Dustin Hindman, President, Northwest (Washington, Oregon) |
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