Archivo de 2010

The IE Partners Club organized a Holiday Bake Sale, bringing together Partners from around the world as we celebrated the winter holidays. Many cultures were represented with special holiday treats, like Brazilian Chocolate Mousse and Chilean Almond Cakes. IE students welcomed a well deserved snack break as they scooped up the cookies and cakes and headed back to class.

El IE  Partners Club organizó una venta navideña de galletas y pasteles que reunió a las partners provenientes de distintas partes del mundo aprovechando también para celebrar el comienzo de las vacaciones de invierno. Diferentes culturas se vieron representadas con sus especialidades culinarias, tales como los brigadeiros de Brazil y la tarta de nuez chilena. Los estudiantes del IE estaban encantados disfrutando su break acompañados de galletas y bizcochos antes de continuar con sus clases. 

La venta navideña  fue una maravillosa oportunidad para que las partners de Noviembre 2009- 2010 y Abril 2010 se conocieran y compartieran un poco de su cultura… también fue una buena oportunidad para recaudar dinero para el club.

The group also worked in teams organized by Madrid neighborhoods to share local recommendations. From markets and restaurants, to parks and bookstores, the Partners shared their Madrid tips with each other.

Las partners del IE se reunieron en Pinar 9 para planear ideas y eventos para el próximo año. Después de una pequeña introducción que hizo cada una, que incluyó en poner a las partners en pareja y establecer un punto a conversar, el grupo presentó diferentes ideas y actividades para el año. Algunas de éstas son los “Mocha Monday”,  “Thirsty Thrusdays”, excursiones por el día, visitas a museos y mucho más.

El grupo también trabajó en equipos organizados según sus barrios en Madrid con la idea de compartir recomendaciones locales. Desde mercados, restaurantes, hasta parques y librerías las partners compartieron sus tips de Madrid.

Under the title of “China, Japan and India, driving forces behind the global economy”, IE Business School and Casa Asia organised a conference in the aula magna at IE on 29 November last.

At the moment, the transfer of economic and geopolitical power from West to East is taking place quickly mainly due to the strength of Asian economies. Furthermore, the context in which international challenges arise is changing and is set to change almost as much or even more than the challenges themselves over the coming years. From Europe, Asia is seen as a great opportunity thanks to its high growth rates, demographic factor, the need for infrastructures and the increase in the middle classes. From Asia, Europe is seen as a market with high consumer rates based on the technological capacity of its businesses, the relevance of their brands and the level of excellence in the design of certain products.  Taking this two-sided Asian-European view into account, IE Business School and Casa Asia organised a one-day event to analyse the interests of Asian businesses in Europe and vice versa. The aim was to show all the potential of Europe’s relations with the main countries in Asia (Japan, India and China) in general and, in particular, Spain’s relations with them from a business viewpoint.

The conference was held with two roundtables involving consultants, lawyers and entrepreneurs who analysed the experience of Asian companies in Europe and the experience of European companies that have been successful in Asia.

The first roundtable was chaired by Amadeo Jensana, director of the department of economic programmes and cooperation at Casa Asia, who made a general analysis of how more and more Asian companies are setting up in Spain. In reference to China, he commented that the country’s entry into the WTO in 2001 brought with it an increase in the internationalisation of its businesses; however, there have been few Chinese companies today that have entered the more developed markets of the European Union or North America, since their main destinations are Latin America and Africa. Nevertheless, China is gradually finding its place in Europe and there are cases today of associations between large Spanish enterprises, such as Telefónica and Repsol, with Chinese businesses. According to Invest in Spain, Chinese investment in Spain is characterised by the absence of a stable trend and by high-level but occasional transactions. Amadeo referred to India as a country that is also investing abroad and its investments have increased thanks to the growth of its economy, the strength of its leading enterprises and acquisitions and mergers by Indian companies with businesses from different countries in sectors such as the car industry, pharmaceutical products, information technology, energy and other industries. The case of Japan differs from China and India since its investment in Europe began some decades ago; however, its economic growth is not currently as fast-moving as that of the two Asian giants. Japanese companies in Europe usually belong to the car industry or to manufacturing and technology products, especially electronic articles.

This roundtable focused on the fact that when people speak about Asia, they almost always do so in reference to the business opportunities the continent offers and ignore how Asian countries are trading in Europe, as well as the growing number of Asian companies that are setting up in the European Union. The speakers on this table, who have a wealth of experience with Asian companies that have set up successfully in our country, were Rocio Belda, partner and member of the Asia desk at Garrigues; Alan da Silva, executive director of the India desk and partner at PriceWaterhouseCoopers; Tomás Zumárraga, former managing director of Bridgestone España and chairman of the Shacho Kai association of non-Japanese managing directors at Japanese enterprises. The three spoke of the growing number of examples of Asian businesses that are setting up in Europe.

The second roundtable, chaired by the Dean of IE Business School, Santiago Iñiguez, involved the participation of Kareen Hatchwell, Member of the Board and Director of Institutional Relations of the Excem Group,  Jesús Sierra González, International Commercial Director of the Isolux Corsán Group, and Juan Luis González Andersson, former Business Development Director of the companies Inditex and Carrera y Carrera, all of whom gave a first-hand account of the business culture, organisation and internationalisation strategies of some of the leading Spanish enterprises in Asia.

The roundtable focused on the more common but no less important subject of the experiences of Spanish enterprises in the three Asian countries. In view of the latest international economic figures, Spanish SMEs and multinationals need to gain better positions in the countries that will be the driving force behind the economic recovery, such as China and India, and not worry so much about other markets whose economic growth forecasts are lower. Our businesses have a long way to go to consolidate their positions in Asian countries, since there is perhaps no other region in the world with such an important absence of Spanish investment as Asia. This absence can be seen not only by the absolute investment figures that correspond to our country, but also by the huge potential the region offers in the context of the global economy.

Whatever the case and although the presence of Spanish businesses in Asia is still low-level, the trend is changing slightly, and these three speakers analysed the type and characteristics of some of the companies that have now taken the step and are trading in the area. Kareen Hatchwell, from Excem Group, Jesús Sierra González, from the Isolux Corsán Group, and Juan Luis González Andersson, former Business Development Director of the companies Inditex and Carrera y Carrera, gave us a fantastic account of the main difficulties they have had to face while setting up in another country, as well as the most effective procedures they have been able to uncover, turning their experiences into examples for entrepreneurs considering the option as a future strategy for their company.

Seguir leyendo…

Monday, 29 November – The IE Lebanon Club held a dinner on Monday evening for alumni and current students. The event was hosted by IE and attended by William Davila and Sabine Yazbeck from IE’s International Development Office in Madrid. The dinner was held at Rosé restaurant in Gemmayze where around fifteen guests enjoyed dinner, drinks and dessert in the courtyard. The attendees discussed the ongoing activities of the IE Lebanon Club Beirut Chapter as well as those of the chapter in Madrid. This is one of many events held by the IE Lebanon Club to strengthen the network of IE alums and students in Lebanon.

Lunes, 29 de noviembre. El Club del Líbano del IE celebró una cena el lunes por la noche para antiguos alumnos y estudiantes actuales. El evento fue ofrecido por el IE y a él asistieron William Dávila y Sabine Yazbeck, de la Oficina de Desarrollo Internacional del IE en Madrid. La cena tuvo lugar en el restaurante Rosé, en Gemmayze (un barrio de Beirut), donde unos quince invitados degustaron la cena, las bebidas y el postre en el patio. Los asistentes conversaron acerca de las actividades en curso del Chapter de Beirut del Club del Líbano del IE y de las del Chapter en Madrid. Este es uno más de los eventos organizados por el Club del Líbano del IE para consolidar la red de antiguos alumnos y estudiantes actuales en el Líbano.

On November the 2^nd 2010, Christina Westbrooks, Louise Doumet, Wael Kechli and George de Chadarevian went to the very charming Spanish embassy in Lebanon to meet with his H.E. Juan Carlos Gafo – Ambassador of Spain in Lebanon.

After a small accompanied wait around the embassy quarters, the club members met with the Spanish Ambassador in his personal office. As would any typical meeting in Beirut, it started with a cup of coffee and a brief political discussion, then quickly enough the discussion shifted to the IE Lebanon club Beirut chapter, its activities and the ways in which the backing of the Spanish embassy in Beirut could help the club improve its status in a way that would benefit all of the IE Lebanon Club members, and the relationship between Lebanese students and Spain.

The present club members were all very pleased to notice that the Ambassador was filled with enthusiasm about this new club and both parties agreed on the following main points:

• The IE Lebanon club will be invited to the cultural activities (Conferences and talks, exhibitions, fairs, theaters, movies….) organized by the Spanish embassy in Lebanon.
• The IE Lebanon club – Beirut Chapter, will have to forward the invitations of the events to all the IE alumni resident of Lebanon.
• The Spanish embassy will help in finding new scholarships for the potential new Lebanese students applying to IE.
• The IE Lebanon club, Beirut Chapter, will do its best to represent their school at every occasion by attending the different events organized by the Spanish embassy.
• The Ambassador gave the club members a contact inside the Spanish consulate to follow-up all consular matters with directly.

The meeting ended with a souvenir picture in the embassy gardens, and a promise from both sides to keep in touch for a lot of future collaboration.

El 2 de noviembre de 2010, Christina Westbrooks, Louise Doumet, Wael Kechli y George de Chadarevian visitaron la preciosa embajada española en el Líbano para reunirse con S.E. Juan Carlos Gafo, Embajador de España en el Líbano.

Tras una breve visita guiada por la sede de la embajada, los miembros del Club se encontraron con el embajador en su despacho privado. Como ocurre siempre en Beirut, la reunión empezó con una taza de café y una breve conversación sobre política, para pasar rápidamente al IE Lebanon Club Beirut Chapter, sus actividades y las formas en que la embajada española en Beirut podría ayudar al Club a mejorar su estatus, de tal forma que todos sus miembros y la relación entre los estudiantes libaneses y España salgan beneficiados.

A los actuales miembros del Club les alegró comprobar que el Embajador estaba entusiasmado con este nuevo club y ambas partes acordaron los siguientes puntos básicos:

• El Club del Líbano del IE será invitado a las actividades culturales (conferencias y charlas, exposiciones, ferias, obras de teatro, películas…) organizadas por la embajada española en el Líbano.
• El IE Lebanon Club Beirut Chapter tendrá que remitir las invitaciones a los eventos a todos los antiguos alumnos del IE que residan en el Líbano.
• La embajada española prestará su ayuda para encontrar nuevas becas para aquellos estudiantes libaneses que quieran estudiar en el IE.
• El IE Lebanon Club Beirut Chapter hará todo lo que esté en su mano para representar al Centro en todo momento al asistir a los diferentes eventos organizados por la embajada española.
• El Embajador puso a los miembros del Club en contacto con un funcionario del consulado español para que puedan tratar cualquier cuestión consular directamente con él.

La reunión concluyó con una fotografía de recuerdo en los jardines de la embajada y la promesa de ambas partes de mantenerse en contacto para incrementar la colaboración en el futuro.

On October 21^st 2010, IE Lebanon Club Beirut Chapter coordinators Wael Kechli and George de Chadarevian paid an introductory visit to Dr. Ahmad Ezzeddine – President of the Lebanese-Spanish Friendship Association.

The discussion revolved around potential means of collaboration between IE’s Alumni in Lebanon and Spain as a country, as a people and possibly as a destination for business opportunities. Additionally, the issue of scholarships was put on the table; Dr. Ezzeddine’s association which does sponsor students who fit certain criteria was open to the idea of having some scholarships for Lebanese students who want to study at IE.

Now that there is a mutual agreement for collaboration, future meetings will be held to discuss specific issues.

El 21 de octubre de 2010, los coordinadores del IE Lebanon Club Beirut Chapter, Wael Kechli y George de Chadarevian, realizaron una visita de presentación al Dr. Ahmad Ezzeddine, Presidente de la Asociación de Amistad Líbano-Española.

La conversación se centró en las posibles formas de colaboración entre los antiguos alumnos del IE en el Líbano y España como país, como pueblo y quizás como destino para lograr oportunidades empresariales. Además, se puso sobre la mesa la cuestión de las becas, ya que la asociación del Dr. Ezzeddine financia a estudiantes que cumplen con una serie de requisitos y podría estar interesada en crear varias becas para estudiantes libaneses que deseen estudiar en el IE.

Puesto que existe un acuerdo mutuo de colaborar, en el futuro se celebrarán reuniones para tratar cuestiones concretas.

On 30 November, the IE Alumni Association and the IE School of Arts and Humanities organised a workshop on perspectivism-based plots under the title of Become Somebody Else, in which we had the opportunity to hear speakers such as Julia Altares, scriptwriter for many of the most popular TV series; Yolanda García Serrano, scriptwriter and film/theatre director, winner of a Goya for the best original script, and Cocolo López-Jamar, TV producer.

The course/workshop brought out the participants’ creativity, turning them into actors for a day and revealing the importance of empathy and how it can be used. The class was divided into groups and each one was given a subject for which they shared out and played the characters. The students defined the characters beyond their own reality and argued for or against their subject. The interventions were recorded so that the students could then see their own interpretation.

The characters they played included smokers, non-smokers, asthmatic waiters, owners of smokers’ bars, people who sold alcohol to minors, minors who consumed alcohol, angry neighbours, members of the police force, bosses, employees and union representatives, etc. The experience of becoming an actor for a day was unique and particularly enriching for professional and personal development.

El pasado 30 de noviembre, la Asociación de Antiguos Alumnos del IE e IE School of Arts and Humanities organizaron el taller Perspectivismo argumental, bajo el título Conviértete en otro, en el que tuvimos la suerte de contar como ponentes con Julia Altares, Guionista de muchas de las series de televisión de más audiencia; Yolanda García Serrano, Guionista y Directora de Cine y Teatro, ganadora de un Premio Goya al mejor guión original; y Cocolo López-Jamar, Realizadora de TV.

En este curso/taller, se ejercitó la creatividad de los participantes haciendo que estos se convirtieran en actores por un día, poniéndose de manifiesto la importancia de la empatía y como esta se puede ejercitar. Para ello, se dividió la clase en grupos, a quienes se les dio un tema sobre el que ellos se repartieron los personajes que cada uno interpretó. Los alumnos definieron los personajes ajenos a su realidad y desde ese personaje defendieron o rebatieron el tema seleccionado. Las intervenciones se grabaron y todos los alumnos pudieron ver su interpretación.

Entre los personajes que se representaron, había fumadores, no fumadores, camareros asmáticos, dueños de bar de fumadores, vendedores de alcohol a menores, menores bebedores, vecinos indignados, policías, jefes, empleados, representantes sindicales, etc… La experiencia de convertirte en actor por un día fue única  y muy enriquecedora para el desarrollo profesional y personal.

The Third IE Bar of the Month (BOTM) of alumni in Beirut took place on Tuesday, December 7th at Ferdinand’s Pub in Hamra. It was a nice, relaxed gathering of alumni and a great opportunity to meet up with friends. The next BOTM event will take place first Tuesday of next month. Same place, same time!

El tercer Bar of the Month (BOTM) de alumni de Beirut tuvo lugar el martes, 7 de diciembre en Ferdinand’s Pub en Beirut. Fue una agradable y relajada reunión de alumni y una gran oportunidad para encontrarse con los amigos. El próximo evento de BOTM tendrá lugar el primer martes del próximo mes. Nos vemos en el mismo lugar a la misma hora!

Yago Ruiz-Morales delivered a lecture entitled “The Embassy of Ruy González de Clavijo to Samarkand, 1403-1406, a Madrileño at the Court of the Great Tamerlane”.

Yago is a specialist on this episode, as obscure as it is spectacular, as unknown in this country as it is exotic.

Clavijo was indeed the first Ambassador of Europe to Asia, as all previous European travelers to Asia had been one of the “four Ms” – merchants, missionaries, messengers, or mercenaries , but the first ambassador , with that title, was Clavijo.

For a few weeks in early 1403 Segovia had become the world’s capital of diplomacy, as the Ambassador of Tamerlane, the world’s most powerful leader, didn’t go to Paris, London, or Rome – he went to Segovia to visit King Henry III at the Alcazar!

The Castilian King then sent his chamberlain, Clavijo, as Ambassador to Tamerlane’s capital, Samarkand, a three-year trip.

Clavijo’s narrative is an extraordinary book, a compilation of history, geography, ethnography and indeed adventure, unsurpassed by any other travel book, including the much-acclaimed Marvels by Marco Polo. The whole legend of Samarkand and its extraordinary architecture and beauty is based, in the West, exclusively on Clavijo’s amazing descriptions.

And yet… the book, and the man, are virtually unknown in Spain.

Yago Ruiz-Morales pronunció la conferencia “La embajada de Ruy González de Clavijo a Samarkanda, 1403-1406, un madrileño en la Corte del Gran Tamerlán”.
Yago es especialista en este episodio, tan oscuro como espectacular, tan desconocido en este país como exótico.

Clavijo fue de hecho el primer Embajador de Europa a Asia, pues todos los viajeros europeos anteriores a Asia habían sido uno de los “cuatro Ms” – mercaderes, misioneros, mensajeros, o mercenarios, pero el primer embajador, con ese título, fue Clavijo.
Durante unas pocas semanas a principios de 1403 Segovia se convirtió en la capital mundial de la diplomacia, pues el embajador de Tamerlán, el caudillo más poderoso del mundo, no fue a París, Londres o Roma – fué a Segovia!
Enrique III, el rey castellano, envió entonces a su chambelán, Clavijo, como embajador a la capital de Tamerlán, Samarkanda, en un viaje de tres años.

La crónica de Clavijo es un libro extraordinario, una recopilación de historia, de geografía, de etnografía, e incluso de aventura, sin parangón con cualquier otro  libro de viajes. La leyenda de Samarkanda y su extraordinaria belleza se basan, en Occidente, exclusivamente en las asombrosas descripciones de Clavijo.
Y, sin embargo, … el libro, y el personaje, son prácticamente desconocidos en España.

Last November 24th the students and alumni involved in ieOut & Friends, the LGBT ie network held their annual event, LGBT@WORK which objective is increasing awareness about the best practices in LGBT Diversity Management at workplace and academia. Once again, in this fourth edition the event was sponsored by IBM.

Juan José Güemes did the Opening remarks and underlined that this event materializes two of the most important values of IE Business School, Diversity and Entrepreneurship.

The panel that was moderated by Celia de Anca IE Center for Diversity Director, counted with Andreas Citak IBM Global Business Development Executive Client Director for GLBT and Diversity Solutions Europe & CEEMEA & Head of Global GLBT Marketing: he presented IBM LGBT best practices and shared their vision. LGBT Diversity must go further than Retention of talent and attractions of candidates further to IBM Diversity includes the following areas of change: Legislation, Demographics, Culture, and Relationships.

Margarita Alonso presented her research developed under the IE Center for Diversity, a comparison between the LGBT Model in United States and Spain. Main conclusion was that it is not possible to make a “copy and paste”. Although Spain has one of the most inclusive laws there are very few exceptional companies that are implementing LGBT best practices apart from IBM and other multinationals.

Jordi Gonzalez and Jose Luis Lázaro presented LoQueSurja a internet series created by a group of Valencia University Students. With no money and a semiprofessional camera they have created a series for people to connect with the real lives of LGBT people, without stereotypes and fake glamour. They have had cameos of Alaska, Paco León, Luis Merlo and Carmen Machi among others that have granted them 2 million visits in Spain and Latin America. They left us a very optimistic message “If you want, you can”

The participation of Judge Fernando Grande-Marlaska is the testimony of normalization. He alerts about the importance that normalization involves all society, he agrees about the importance of the Corporation labour to grant inclusion and same opportunities to LGBT talent but companies and big cities cannot be ghettos of wellbeing only for qualified professionals and sophisticated citizens. Homophobia is present in all society including youth and children.

El pasado 24 de noviembre, estudiantes y antiguos alumnos miembros de ieOut & Friends, la red LGBT del IE, celebraron su evento anual (LGBT@WORK). Su objetivo es incrementar el conocimiento de  las mejores prácticas en la gestión de la diversidad LGBT en el trabajo  y la academia. Una vez más, esta cuarta edición estuvo patrocinada por IBM.

Juan José Güemes pronunció unas palabras de bienvenida y destacó que este evento materializa dos de los valores más importantes del IE Business School: la diversidad y el carácter emprendedor.

El debate moderado por Celia de Anca, directora del Centro de Diversidad del IE, contó con Andreas Citak, Director de LGBT y soluciones de Diversidad para Europa y CEEMEA, y jefe de Marketing LGBT global de IBM Global Business Development Executive Client. Citak presentó las mejores prácticas LGBT de IBM y compartió el enfoque de su empresa: la diversidad LGBT debe ir más allá de la retención de talento y de la atracción de candidatos. IBM Diversity incluye las siguientes áreas de cambio: legislación, grupos demográficos, cultura y relaciones personales.

Margarita Alonso presentó la investigación que ha realizado en el Centro de Diversidad del IE, una comparación entre el modelo LGBT en los Estados Unidos y en España. Su principal conclusión fue que no es posible hacer un «copia y pega». Aunque España tiene una de las legislaciones más incluyentes, hay muy pocas empresas que estén poniendo en marcha las “best practices” LGBT, aparte de IBM y otras multinacionales.

Jordi González y José Luis Lázaro presentaron Loquesurja una serie de Internet creada por un grupo de estudiantes de la Universidad de Valencia. Sin dinero y con una cámara semiprofesional han creado una serie en la que se puede conectar con las vidas reales de jóvenes LGBT, sin estereotipos ni falso glamour. Han tenido cameos de Alaska, Paco León, Luis Merlo y Carmen Machi, entre otros, con los que han logrado dos millones de visitas en España y Latinoamérica. Nos dejaron un mensaje muy optimista: «si quieres, puedes».

La participación del magistrado Fernando Grande-Marlaska es el testimonio de la normalización. Este juez destaca que la normalización es algo que implica a toda la sociedad y está de acuerdo con que el trabajo corporativo es importante para lograr la inclusión y la igualdad de oportunidades del talento LGBT. No obstante, las empresas y las grandes ciudades no pueden ser guetos de bienestar solo para profesionales cualificados y ciudadanos sofisticados. La homofobia está presente en toda la sociedad, incluidos los jóvenes y los niños.