This page contains an outline of the various events to which Club members have been invited in recent years. Most, but not all, events have been organised by the Club.
Past Activity
This page contains an outline of the various events to which Club members have been invited in recent years. Most, but not all, events have been organised by the Club.
Date: 21 June 2017
Speaker: Dr Ina Toegel, IMD Professor of Leadership and Organisational Change
Professor Toegel’s fascinating talk was followed by a brief Club AGM and networking over canapés and drinks.
Venue: The National Liberal Club, Westminster, London
Attended: 60
Date: 25 May 2017
Speaker: George Kohlrieser, IMD Professor heading High Performance Leadership courses
Professor Kohlrieser’s masterly and entertaining talk was followed by networking over canapés and drinks.
Venue: The Music Room, Killik & Co, Mayfair, London
Attended: 60
Date: 22 November 2016
Speaker: Professor Didier Cossin, IMD Professor of Finance & Governance
Generously hosted by CMS Cameron McKenna LLP at their London headquarters, those present heard Professor Cossin deliver an entertaining and insightful talk on the importance of considering the effects of business decisions on the wider community and future generations.
Venue: CMS, Cannon Place, London
Attended: 50
Date: 13 October 2016
Members of the Club added to the great turn out for this event which proved to be an important platform for connecting social entrepreneurs and people excited about social innovation.
We congratulate the winners of the event, Project Mudra, who are building products that make Braille accessible for all; and Lensational, who work to empower women by providing training, cameras and a marketplace for women and girls all over the world.
Venue: Barclays Accelerator, Rise, London
Attended: Over 100
Date: 21 September 2016
Speaker: Andreas Schweitzer, Managing Partner, Arjan Capital Ltd
After a short talk on trading with Iran, Members & guests enjoyed an informal networking evening in luxurious surroundings.
Venue: The Music Room, Killik & Co, Mayfair, London
Attended: 60
Date: 28 July 2016
Speaker: David Aaker, Emeritus Professor & Brand Strategy Specialist
Members of the Club were invited to join David Aaker over breakfast to discuss the
importance of brand story-telling.
Venue: Prophet, London
Date: 30 June 2016
Speakers: IMD’s 2016 MBA class
Members & guests heard speakers from IMD’s MBA class of 2016 present a summary of the key issues emerging from IMD’s Navigating the Future conference that had taken place in Lausanne earlier in the month.
Venue: The Shell Centre, Waterloo, London
Attended: 50
Date: 19 April 2016
Speakers (in order of speaking):
Dominique Turpin, IMD President
Michael Wade, IMD Professor of Innovation and Strategy, Cisco Chair in Business Transformation & Director of Global Center for Digital Business Transformation
Carlos Cordon, IMD LEGO Professor of Strategy and Supply Chain Management
Pau Garcia-Milà, Author and Serial Entrepreneur
John Baekelmans, CTO Internet of Things Solutions at Cisco
Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever
Panellists:
Thierry Maupilé, Head of Strategic Ecosystem Group, Strategy Office, Cisco
Sarah McVittie, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Dressipi.
Gord Ray, Brand Development Lead, Instagram.
Carlos Sanchez, Founder and CEO of Orwell and Head of ipagoo
Emma van Dijkum, Head of Borrower Product, Funding Circle
An inspiring half-day session jointly arranged with IMD ending with a two hour networking session. Some of the comments:
“The very best of IMD – great venue, challenging, thought provoking and fun!”
“… a very good event. Good venue and good weather as well! All perfect. Paul Polman was fantastic, slapping everyone awake a little bit about our responsibility with the world.”
“…today went spectacularly well, great venue, great speakers, great organisation …”
“What a great event – as good as it gets”
“Paul Polman’s ‘wake up call’ speech at the end gave everyone a jolt (in a good way) and provided some great talking points – there was a real buzz during the networking session at the end.”
“An inspiring event. I truly enjoyed yesterday’s Forum.”
Venue: Kings Place, London
Attended: Over 200 from 14 countries and 4 continents
Date: 22 February 2016
An evening of socialising over drinks and canapes.
Venue: City Social, London
Attended: 22
Date: 20 January 2016
Speakers: Donna Miller, European HR Director, Enterprise Holdings
Richard Morton, Director of Communications, UBS
Members of the Club were invited to join speakers as they discussed the importance of employee engagement to ensure all are aligned for success.
Venue: Prophet, London
Date: 1 December 2015
Speaker: Gillis Jonk, author and one-time partner at A. T. Kearney
Gillis Jonk spoke of his work with Johan Aurik, A. T. Kearney’s Managing Partner in preparing their jointly authored book “The Future of Strategy” and shared some of the insights they had learnt before taking questions form the audience.
Venue: A. T. Kearney, London
Attended: 57
Date: 24 November 2015
Speaker: Professor Arturo Bris
Members were invited to attend Professor Bris’ presentation to the London module of a Dual EMBA course organised by IMD and the Cheung King Graduate School of Business, China’s leading business school.
Venue: The Landmark Hotel, London
Date: 3 November 2015
A networking buffet overlooking the lights of the City of London.
Venue: The Sky Pod Bar, London
Attended: 54
Date: 7 October 2015
Speakers: Chan Suh, Chief Digital Officer, Prophet
Brian Solis, Principal Analyst, Altimeter
Members of the Club were invited to join the main speakers as they discussed the imminent release of the a report “The Six Stages of Digital Transformation Maturity”.
Venue: Prophet, London
Date: 2 July 2015
Members and IMD’s 2015 MBA Candidates enjoyed an informal evening of networking
Venue: The Library, Mabel’s, Covent Garden, London
Attended: 50
Date: 17 June 2015
Speaker: Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO WPP plc
Generously hosted by CMS Cameron McKenna LLP at their new London headquarters, those present, Sir Martin gave a humorous insight into his approach to business and took questions from those present.
Venue: CMS, Cannon Place, London
Attended: 150
Date: 27 May 2015
Speaker: Tom King, Fine Wine Manager, Great Western Wine
A select group of members enjoyed a talk on emerging star wines from around the world followed by the opportunity to taste a selection of the wines discussed.
Venue: Orwell, Fenchurch Street, London
Attended: 18
Date: 30 April 2015
Speakers: Ian Cruickshank, CMO, RateSetter.
Justin Basini, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer at ClearScore
Jason Tavaria, serial entrepreneur in e-commerce, retail and technology
Members of the Club were again invited to participate in a discussion event hosted by Prophet at their London Headquarters and moderated by BBC Business correspondent Joe Lynham, on the subject of how new models disrupt long established methods of conducting business.
Venue: Prophet, London
Date: 19 March 2015
Speakers: Professor Mikolaj Jan Piskorski, IMD Professor of Strategy and Innovation
Rune Gustafson, President of EMEA Operations, Prophet
Members of the Club were invited to attend this business forum, hosted by Prophet at their London Headquarters and moderated by BBC Business correspondent Joe Lynham, on the subject of how ‘customer experience’ be designed
Venue: Prophet, London
Date: 9 March 2015
Speaker: Gaby Phillips, Lufthansa
Members and guests were given a behind the scenes tour of Lufthansa’s operation at Heathrow followed by a networking dinner in the Gorgeous Kitchen restaurant at tables overlooking the runway.
Venue: Heathrow
Attended: 17
Date: 15 October 2014
Speaker: Yasmin Amaratunga, Christie’s Research Specialist
Yasmin Amaratunga took a party of members on a personal tour around the display of post-war and contemporary art that went under the hammer the following day, providing background information about the artists and answering questions. The evening ended with networking over drinks in a local bar.
Venue: Christie’s, London
Attended: 17
Date: 11 October 2014
Speaker: Ralf Boscheck, IMD Lundin Family Professor of Economics & Business Policy
Members were invited to attend this IMD-organised event at which Profesor Boscheck outlined the global trends and issues that had been presented at the ‘Navigating the Future’ conference held in Lausanne a few weeks previously. He went on to enlarge on some of the topics that had been raised to assess their impact on industries, markets and regulations as well as on existing and potential business models.
Venue: The Lancaster, London
Date: 25 September 2014
Speakers: Alistair Conner, COO, UBS Wealth Management
Lance Batchelor, CEO, Saga Group
Mike DeNoma, CEO, glh Hotels
Clive Grinyer, Customer Experience Director, Barclays
Professor Jules Goddard, Fellow, London Business School
Members of the Club were invited to attend this business forum, moderated by Joe Lynham, on the subject of customer experience organised and hosted by Prophet at their London Headquarters.
Customer experience has taken on a new level of importance in the age of social media which has facilitated real-time, constant and hyper-visible feedback. In the light of the changing world as organisations move from having full control of their messaging to 24/7 conversations, the forum considered the preeminent role of customer experience in today’s business, attempting to answer questions such as – What does the modern customer experience focused organisation look like? How do you get there? How do you align technology, design, culture, roles and communications for a better business, most suited to today’s consumers?,
Venue: Prophet, London
Date: 27 March 2014
Speaker: David Sole OBE
Members heard how whisky is produced and learned about the many factors that give different whiskies their distinctive tastes before sampling a selection of Balvenie malts.
Venue: Caledonian Club, London
Attended: 21
Date: 5 March 2014
Speakers: Professor Charles Dhanaraj, IMD Professor of Strategy & Global Leadership
Kristof Fahy, CMO William Hill
Sarah McVittie, CEO Dressipi
Mark Qualter, Head of Strategy at RBS
Continuing the innovation theme, this event was organised in conjunction with Prophet at their new London headquarters. The discussion on the importance of growth in the light of newly found optimism in the markets considered how the business landscape had changed and how businesses could grow in a smart and sustainable manner.
Venue: Prophet, London
Attended: 57
Date: 13 January 2014
Speaker: Dr Khosro Ezaz-Nikpay, MD Zendegii Ltd and MD Enjoin Partners
Dr Ezaz-Nikpay, one-time senior partner with McKinsey and Company and specialist in innovation, considered why so many attempts at fostering innovation fail and offered a simple set of ideas that can improve the chance of success.
Venue: George, London
Attended: 32
Date: 3 December 2013
Speaker: Douglas Flint CBE, Group Chairman, HSBC Holdings
Douglas Flint has a deep understanding of China, its people, politics and business environment. He is a member of the International Business Leaders Advisory Councils for the Mayors of both Beijing and Shanghai, and a member of the International Advisory Board of the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai.
In November 2011 he gave the UK Alumni Club an enlightened and topical talk entitled “The next stage of growth in China – implications for the global economy” and agreed to speak again shortly after he had attended a roundtable session of the Mayor of Shanghai’s council.
His insightful presentation highlighted that China had only just started a new ten-year administration, and had already faced several challenges to the role it might play as the world struggles to emerge from the financial crisis. The whole evening carried the theme of China as the talk took place in the Hua Gallery which specialises in contemporary Chinese art and the catering was Chinese.
Venue: Hua Gallery, London
Attended: 78
Date: 2 October 2013
Touring Aston Martin’s state-of-the-art factory is usually a privilege accorded only to those who are lucky enough to be buying a new Aston, but Members had an opportunity of spending an afternoon being shown around the high-tec production facility.
Venue: Aston Martin, Gaydon
Attended: 30
Date: 11 June 2013
Speakers: Professor Ralf Boscheck, Lundin Family Professor of Economics & Business Policy at IMD, and Ravi Muttu, Editor of Business Life at the Financial Times.
The UK Club’s annual summer party has a tradition of combining pleasure with learning. The 2013 event was no exception, held in the glorious setting of Armoury House in the centre of London, guests were welcomed by a string trio playing pieces from Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert.
The Club’s annual general meeting took place during the evening.
Venue: Honorourable Artillery Company, London
Attended: 94
Date: 24 April 2013
Speakers: Jon Moulton, Founder of Better Capital & Arturo Bris, Professor of Finance at IMD
Professor Bris and Jon Moulton were talking about different countries, but they had a very similar message. Their presentations were entertaining but carried a serious warning. Government is too big and is preventing the stagnant economy from recovering. Government debt is too high and threatens to make future generations poorer. Getting the economy back on track will require tough measures that politicians have so far been unwilling to take. Sooner or later, pain is inevitable.
Focusing on his native Spain, Professor Bris said the only solution to the current problems is a strong structural and cultural change that convinces people not everything is free.
Mr Moulton was similarly gloomy about the UK.
“The public sector is too big, and the UK government just doesn’t want to deal with it. So the private sector becomes smaller and is less of a motor to drive things forward,” Mr Moulton said. “It’s a very immoral thing to do, running a big deficit. We’re living better today at the expense of those who follow us.” Both speakers said prolonged economic stagnation could lead to a dramatic change in political leadership in some parts of Europe.
Venue: CMS Cameron McKenna LLP, London
Attended: 70
Date: 12 February 2013
Speaker: Katherine Arnold, Christie’s researcher
Christie’s, the world’s oldest fine art auctioneer, has sold fine art, furniture, jewellery and wine since James Christie conducted the first sale in London on 5 December 1766. They moved in to their famous headquarters, 8 King Street, St. James’s, London, in 1823. This was a rare opportunity to see beyond the public rooms to some of the fascinating background to this iconic, world famous, business, and to view a forthcoming sale of post-1945 contemporary art, including works by artists such as David Hockney, Gerhard Richter, Francis Bacon, Peter Doig and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Venue: Christie’s, London
Attended: 28
Date: 23 January 2013
Speaker: Jeh Kazimi, Founder & CEO Breezie, Dr Daniel Kohn, Founder & CEO Zendegii and Manny Roman, COO Man Group PLC.
Members and their guests were able to question three successful entrepreneurs to find out how they think; how they manage set-backs; what it is that makes them successful – and anything else they felt like asking.
Venue: Man Group PLC, London
Attended: 32
Date: 15 November 2012
Private evening viewing of two NPG exhibitions
Venue: National Portrait Gallery, London
Attended: 30
Date: 15 October 2012
Speaker: Professor Dominique Turpin
Members were invited to attend this IMD organised session focussing on the key characteristics of global companies and considering the attributes of the mindset needed to help companies develop global leaders.
Venue: Grosvenor, London
Date: 19 September 2012
Speaker: Professor Dominique Turpin
Venue: The Queen’s Club, London
Attended: 43
Date: 3 September 2012
Speaker: Professor George Kohlrieser, IMD Professor of Leadership and Organisational Behaviour.
Professor Kohlrieser talked through his experiences as a hostage negotiator and about his latest research on Secure Base Leadership. Every organisation is a product of how its leaders think and interact. Secure Base Leaders create environments where teams focus on opportunity through creativity and innovation, seek out great ideas, and execute great strategies.
For this to happen, it is essential that the leader provides safety and trust for employees to push the edge and take risks. Only when an employee knows that their leader cares and stands behind them, can the defences in the brain shut down thereby allowing members of the team to really ‘Play to Win’. A defensive mindset produces fear resulting in ‘Playing Not to Lose’.
Venue: Infosys, London
Attended: 47
Date: 29 May 2012
Speaker: Dr Gertrud Traud, Chief Economist at Helaba Bank
His Excellency Ambassador Anton Thalman hosted members and guests of the UK Alumni Clubs of IMD and the University of St Gallen to hear a truly insightful presentation by Dr. Gertrud R. Traud entitled “The New Normal in the aftermath of the Financial Crisis and its impact on non-Eurozone members”
Dr. Traud gave an up-to-the-minute overview of the state of Europe’s economies, currencies and competitiveness as future growth trends cutting through economic cycles look set to be less steep than in the recent past, hence “The New Normal”.
Venue: The Swiss Embassy, London
Attended: 125
Date: 29 May 2012
Speaker: Douglas Flint CBE, Group Chairman, HSBC Holdings
At an evening sponsored by Cairneagle Associates, an international corporate finance and strategy consultancy, members and their guests heard Douglas Flint’s analysis of China’s remarkable economic progress, which he considered is likely to be the world’s largest before the end of the decade with the renminbi at some point becoming one of the world’s reserve currencies alongside the US dollar and the euro.
“It never ceases to amaze me just how much progress China has made in a short space of time. It’s ridiculous to say China is an emerging market. It’s a staggering powerhouse,” Mr Flint said.
IMD alumni contributed to a lively and well-informed discussion following Mr Flint’s presentation. Their questions focused on China’s aging demographic profile, the balance between exports and domestic consumption in its economy, its prospects compared to India, and its economic relations with Africa, including the possibility of Africa becoming in due course an RMB denominated trade region.
Venue: The Great Room at the Royal Society of Arts, London