For Sally, stepping up to lead the Entrepreneurship Community in 2025 was a fantastic opportunity to combine her interest in new business ventures with her professional involvement in private equity and venture capital as a Managing Partner at ACE & Company.
The community of around 1,500 active members is dedicated to unlocking the entrepreneurial potential of alumni and connecting them with like-minded innovators, industry leaders, and seasoned investors.
“Working with my brilliant leadership team, we have a very clear objective to deliver impact measured by business outcomes,” she says. “It’s about connecting capital to business opportunities and building bridges across different sectors like hospitality, supply chains, technology, and AI, across global markets.”
The importance of giving back
Together with her leadership team, Sally, who hails from Singapore, aims to build a global community with something for alumni at every stage of the entrepreneurial journey – from early-stage startups and high-growth companies to turnarounds, family businesses, and publicly listed firms.
Once centered on Switzerland, the community is partnering with local clubs to bring timely, relevant ideas and events to alumni across regions.
“Whether you’re seeking partners, co-founders, market insights or lessons learned, the Entrepreneurship Community is the place to connect,” she says.
Sally is also looking for more volunteers to add to and support the leadership team.
“You’ll roll up your sleeves, activate your creative side, and lead initiatives globally and in the regions or sectors that matter most to you,” she says.
When asked how she balances her leadership role with a demanding executive job, Sally describes it as “the perfect place for a self-starter like me to contribute and give back to IMD.”
“It gives me an outlet to express myself beyond work,” she adds. “It’s very much an exchange of knowledge. It’s a balance and it’s about activating your network. It’s about the quality of the exchange, not the quantity.”
Building a strong entrepreneurial community
Sally is proud of the events her leadership team has built from the ground up, drawing on the most innovative themes, activating their networks, creativity, and commitment to delivering real impact. Positive feedback and growing numbers of returning participants show the approach is working.
Before starting the EMBA, Sally lived and worked across three continents – Asia, North America, and Europe – fueling her curiosity about cultures and how business gets done around the world.
Convinced that business is ultimately about people, she sees international experience as central to her professional journey.
Her journey from EMBA participant to alumni community leader
When changes at Sally’s company led her to reassess her strengths, ambitions, and next steps, she returned to the classroom to develop her skills. Her journey to the EMBA began with IMD’s General Management Foundation (GMF) program, delivered online during the COVID-19 pandemic. After comparing programs from several business schools, Sally felt IMD stood out.
Sally regards the fully digital GMF as delivering a truly global and transformational experience during COVID, bringing together a diverse international cohort. Its mix of leadership development, self-care, and an intensive 10-day module suited Sally’s learning style and busy schedule.
The experience convinced her to pursue the EMBA in person. Sally credits the program with strengthening her confidence, self-awareness, and leadership skills, while also sharpening her critical and strategic thinking.
Knowledge and networks
“People say you do an EMBA to change your career, to get technical knowledge, or to network,” she says. “I would say the combination between networks and knowledge is where the learning really happens.”
The program pushed Sally beyond finance. She explored a startup idea, helped another venture raise capital, and worked at the intersection of robotics and medicine – building skills, connections, and a portfolio of new projects.
It also opened doors to unexpected opportunities, giving her the confidence to enter unfamiliar territory and imagine the next chapters in her life.
After Sally graduated, she was made Managing Partner at ACE & Company on her tenth anniversary at the firm. She says the EMBA gave her a broad mandate to apply what she had learned at work.
“I moved from a functional management role into broader strategic leadership. The program exposed me to areas of business I had rarely encountered and gave me the chance to develop new, relevant skills.”
Learning alongside doctors, engineers, and scientists, for example, changed how she communicates financial and business ideas to different stakeholders.
“This gave me a whole new layer of learning, which allowed me to understand how to frame my financial pitches differently. It helped me to use my financial skills in a variety of new contexts and I didn’t really expect that.”
Just as importantly, the openness and vulnerability of her cohort led to deeper learning experiences.
“When our class coordinator and professors created space for vulnerability, my learning went through the roof,” she reflects. “Being vulnerable in a learning environment is a powerful catalyst. It builds bonds in the classroom that I believe can last a lifetime.”
