INSEAD Champions Business as a Force for Good

Fontainebleau (France), Singapore, Abu Dhabi 15 October 2018 – INSEAD, the Business School for the World, recently underscored its mission to develop responsible leaders who transform business and society by hosting The Force for Good Conference on the Europe Campus in Fontainebleau, France and launching the Campaign for INSEAD at the Château de Fontainebleau.

The Force for Good Conference

The inaugural INSEAD The Force for Good Conference was held in the afternoon of 5 October and brought together more than 620 attendees. The conference convened a diverse set of business leaders and prominent academics to share their views, experiences and strategies on how business can prosper and produce positive outcomes for society.

The conference kicked off with a rousing keynote address by Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, which connected the future of business with globally agreed sustainable development goals. Dean of INSEAD Ilian Mihov followed with a speech outlining his vision of business as a force for good. Ensuing sessions included presentations and panel discussions on how businesses can deliver value to societies through new tools and innovative frameworks, strategies and business models.

At the conference conclusion, INSEAD officially inaugurated the Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society. The Institute was established through a €40 million gift by INSEAD alumnus André Hoffmann MBA’90D and his wife Rosalie Hoffmann. The Institute aims to deliver new perspectives and innovative solutions to the most intractable global issues – transforming leaders and changing the world.

André Hoffmann, speaker at the conference and distinguished guest at the Campaign launch, says that, “Transformational change will not take place without a new generation of leaders who are willing and able to change the current management paradigm. Business schools must develop business leaders who lead with a deep understanding of the relationship between business and society – and practical knowledge of how to produce positive outcomes for both.”

André Hoffmann is Vice Chairman of Roche Holdings, the world's largest biotech company, and has longstanding ties to INSEAD, supporting many of the school’s key initiatives. This year, Roche has been recognized as the world’s most sustainable healthcare company for the tenth year in a row. Mr. Hoffmann is also a champion of conservation and sustainability. In early October, he was awarded the WWF’s annual Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Award, which honours and recognises valuable contributions made toward global conservation.

Campaign for INSEAD: “A Force for Good”

The same evening at the historic Château de Fontainebleau, where the first INSEAD classes were held 59 years ago, the Campaign for INSEAD was officially launched. Grounded in the school’s distinct vision, values and ventures, the €250-million capital campaign will fortify the school’s academic excellence, drive innovation and transform business and society on a global scale. The Campaign for INSEAD is ambitious and will strengthen the school’s ability to realize its vision.

Ilian Mihov, Dean of INSEAD, says that, “The challenges of today cannot be solved with yesterday’s thinking. Meeting our common challenges requires ingenuity of bold leaders who can champion business as a force for good. INSEAD is committed to developing these leaders. We launch the Campaign to align the goals of business with the goals of society.”

The conversation on the role of business in positive societal progress will continue at the INSEAD Alumni Forum Asia and Campaign Launch in Asia on 10 November in Singapore.

INSEAD calls for the support and generosity of its alumni, students, partners and friends to build the school’s capabilities to attract and develop the best faculty, produce the best research and draw the best academic talent. All contributions will support the mission to bring together people, cultures and ideas to develop responsible leaders who transform business and society.

To learn more about the Campaign, please visit the website. Follow INSEAD’s Campaign through official and social media channels via the hashtag #INSEADforGood. To find out more about upcoming Campaign for INSEAD events in Asia, the Middle East and the US, visit please visit the Campaign events webpage.

About INSEAD, The Business School for the World

As one of the world's leading and largest graduate business schools, INSEAD brings together people, cultures and ideas to develop responsible leaders who transform business and society. A global perspective and cultural diversity are reflected in all aspects of its research and teaching.

With campuses in Europe(France), Asia(Singapore) and the Middle East(Abu Dhabi), INSEAD's business education and research spans three continents. The school’s 145 renowned Facultymembers from 40 countries inspire more than 1,400 degree participants annually in its MBA, Executive MBA, Executive Master in Finance,Executive Master in Change and PhDprogrammes. In addition, more than 10,000 executives participate in INSEAD's executive education programmes each year.

In addition to INSEAD's programmes on its three campuses, INSEAD participates in academic partnerships with the Wharton Schoolof the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia & San Francisco); the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University near Chicago; the Johns Hopkins University/SAIS in Washington DC and the Teachers College at Columbia University in New York; and MIT Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In Asia, INSEAD partners with School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua Universityin Beijing, and China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai. INSEAD is a founding member in the multidisciplinary Sorbonne University created in 2012, and also partners with Fundação Dom Cabral in Brazil.

INSEAD became a pioneer of international business education with the graduation of the first MBA class on the Fontainebleau campus in Europe in 1960. In 2000, INSEAD opened its Asia campus in Singapore. And in 2007 the school began an association in the Middle East, officially opening the Abu Dhabi campus in 2010.

Around the world and over the decades, INSEAD continues to conduct cutting edge research and to innovate across all its programmes to provide business leaders with the knowledge and sensitivity to operate anywhere. These core values have enabled INSEAD to become truly "The Business School for the World”.

More information about INSEAD can be found at www.insead.edu.