For the third year in a row, a group of IMD Alumni got together for a day-and-a-half long event exclusively for accomplished female executives who are proud veterans of IMD’s EMBA and MBA programs.
Organized by committed IMD Alumni: Gabrielle Ortais, Joan Beets, Sophia Shilimindri-Jaquier, Hagit Jarne-Goldshtain and Inês Silva, the event brought together IMD faculty as well as external experts and gave participants the opportunity to exchange experiences, network and grasp new trends on the international business horizon. The theme of this year’s event was Career 4.0 – The Future of Work.
The organizing committee opened the event with an enlightening discussion on the future of work. They explored the effects automatization, robotics and the ongoing digital revolution, and how market trends will change the way executives navigate and lead in tomorrow’s world of employment.
Professor Mike Wade led a discussion on digital transformation, building on research from the Global Center for Digital Business Transformation, an IMD and Cisco Initiative, on how participants’ companies will face new competition from outside of their industries. Wade stressed that going digital is not an end in itself but should be viewed as a means to achieve a business goal.
Other sessions led by IMD professors included “Organization design and ways of working in the digital age” by Stéphane J. G. Girod, and “Leading self with agility” by Professor Ina Toegel.
Additional presentations were given by Flores Candia who focused on “Digital transformation: A practical experience” and Ruud Rikoff who looked at “Occupations, skills and competences for industry 4.0”.
The organizers explained that the purpose behind the reunion was to give women executives the opportunity to inspire each other. They also discussed how since last year’s event two of them went through positive career changes sparked by reflections that came out of the event.
The IMD Alumni Network is a widespread but close-knit global community in a tightly interconnected and complex business environment. IMD’s mission is to accompany, assist and support IMD Alumni in their lifelong learning journey and in building powerful business networks.
