Belgium-based Strategic Advisor Charlotte Van Hautekerke helps founders, shareholders, and CEOs of privately owned and investor-backed businesses structure governance, strategy, and decision-making. She explains how IMD’s Leading Sustainable Business Transformation program helped her view sustainability not simply as an environmental topic, but as a strategic leadership challenge that shapes how organizations govern, decide, and position themselves for the future. 

How is your current role linked to sustainability? 

One of my recent projects involved the carve-out of a sustainable impact business unit, alongside a liquidation closely connected to circular economy initiatives in the fashion industry. Sustainability increasingly forms part of these strategic discussions because it directly affects long-term value creation, risk management, and how businesses position themselves for the future.

How would you describe your experience of Leading Sustainable Business Transformation in a few words?

Eye-opening, practical, and very thought-provoking. It helped me see sustainability much more clearly as a strategic leadership challenge.

How well did the blended format of the program (live virtual, online, and three days on campus) work for you?

I found the format worked really well. The online elements allowed me to absorb the material at my own pace, while the live sessions created space for discussion. The three days on campus were particularly valuable because that’s where the conversations really deepened and we could exchange experiences with other participants.

What did you think of the content of the program?

I appreciated how well balanced the program was. It combines scientific grounding, strategic frameworks and practical tools. It helped translate sustainability from something that can feel quite abstract into something leaders can actually integrate into strategy and decision-making.

How did your interaction with other participants contribute to your learning experience? 

That was honestly one of the highlights. The group was very diverse in terms of industries, backgrounds, and seniority levels, and everyone brought very real challenges from their organizations. Hearing how others approach sustainability in practice made the learning much richer.

Leading Sustainable Business Transformation participants choose a sustainability challenge to work on during the program. Can you give examples of those challenges? 

Participants worked on a wide range of challenges. Some focused on reducing environmental impact in operations or supply chains, while others looked at how to embed sustainability into corporate strategy or governance.

My own focus was on how leadership and governance structures can better support long-term sustainable value creation, particularly in relation to circular economy models in the fashion industry and the role of impact investing in humanitarian initiatives.

What did you most enjoy about the program?

The quality of the discussions. The faculty brought strong perspectives, but there was also a lot of learning from the participants themselves. It created a very open and intellectually stimulating environment. IMD has exceptional faculty, which clearly contributes to the depth of the experience.

What are your key takeaways?

One of my biggest takeaways is that sustainability transformation is not only about environmental initiatives. It is fundamentally about leadership, governance, and how organizations make strategic decisions for the long term. I would recommend the program to anyone who wants to better understand how sustainability connects to business strategy.

Can you share a concrete example of how you’ve been able to use any of the tools or frameworks you learned on the program?

One thing I’ve already started doing is thinking more systematically about how sustainability priorities connect to strategy and stakeholder expectations. That perspective is particularly useful when advising leadership teams or boards on long-term strategic decisions. As leaders, I believe we also have a responsibility to consider the broader impact of the businesses we help shape.

How has your program experience influenced the way you approach your role?

It has definitely influenced the way I frame strategic discussions. In my role, I often sit very close to leadership, helping structure governance, strategy and decision-making. I now more consciously bring sustainability into these conversations, because it plays an important role in long-term value creation, risk management, and how organizations prepare for the future.

In one line, why should a peer consider Leading Sustainable Business Transformation now?

Because it fundamentally changes the way you think about leadership, strategy, and the long-term impact businesses can have.