With more than 1,500 members, the CEIBS Alumni International Chapter (CAIC) has been working to build a strong global community since its beginning in 2015. As a platform open to all CEIBS alumni, the CAIC helps connect members from different programmes and regional chapters around the world through a variety of regular events, activities and more. 2021 will be a big year for the CAIC as it prepares to elect a new core council this August. As such, it is time to reflect on some of the chapter’s highlights and achievements. In the first part of our special four-part CAIC council interview series, we talk with CAIC President Cedric Devroye (Global EMBA 2015) about reaching out to others, dreaming big and the importance of working together to build a stronger community.

CEIBS: Hi Cedric! First, for those who aren’t familiar with the CAIC, what is it?

Cedric: The CEIBS International Alumni Chapter was founded in 2015 by GEMBA and MBA alumni. The chapter is based right here in Shanghai. As such, we’re part of the Shanghai Alumni Association, which is the strongest pillar of our entire alumni community with no less than 6,000 members. We offer educational and community services, we come up with social and networking events. But, much more than that, the CAIC is based on the founding principle that alumni can make a difference not only to each other, but also to the community.

CEIBS: Who can join the CAIC?

Cedric: The chapter is exclusively for CEIBS alumni and students. That means that any alumni or student willing to communicate in English is welcome within our chapter. Nationalities don’t matter – whether you are American, Chinese, French or Korean – all are welcome. We started with a few hundred and are now more than 1,500 strong.

CEIBS: You were actually one of the founding members of the CAIC. Why did you decide to launch the chapter?

Cedric: I think, in my personal and professional life, I often tend to cross the floor, to cross the aisle, to reach out to others. That is what brought me to establish the chapter together with a few other alumni back in 2015, because we felt there was a need to have a platform that brought everyone together. At the end of the day, when we’re talking about students and alumni, the only thing that matters is the power of our network. It doesn’t matter so much whether one is from GEMBA or MBA or EMBA – we’re all part of the same school. That is precisely what brought me and the other alumni to establish the CAIC – one English speaking chapter uniting all.

CEIBS: Why is it important for the CEIBS community to be invested in a platform like the CAIC?

Cedric: The school’s very mission is to become one of the most respected business schools in the world by linking east and west and that is precisely what the CAIC is doing as well. The mission of the chapter is to build a stronger and better informed, more responsible, more engaged alumni community. And that mission is key also to our school. We bring more visibility for CEIBS within China and outside of China when it comes to the alumni community itself.

The official Inauguration of the CAIC’s Second Council in presence of the CAIC’s Honorary Advisor and CEIBS President (European) Dipak Jain

CEIBS: As the CAIC President, you head up the chapter’s core council. What is the council and what function does it serve?

Cedric: The council of the CAIC is the primary decision-making body of the chapter. We have five officers, myself and four other officers and, of course, a pool of 20 contributing council members. It is a group of incredibly dedicated volunteers who are there to guide the chapter in the right direction. So, together with the officers, we make sure that the chapter is effective and consistent in what it does.

CEIBS: What has your experience on the council been like?

Cedric: When I think of my experience in the CAIC, the feeling that dominates, by far, is gratitude. I feel incredibly grateful for having the other officers and the other council members on board, because I realise that it is only together that we can achieve something. I’m also very proud when we manage to set up big speaker events. In November 2017, for example, the CAIC invited Dominique de Villepin, the former Prime Minister of France, and in 2019 we invited the Undersecretary of State from the Obama administration, Francisco Sanchez.

A typical CAIC council monthly meeting (January 2021)

CEIBS: The current CAIC council will step down and make way for a new council this August. What is one wish or piece of advice that you have to share with the incoming leadership group?

Cedric: To put things into perspective, the first council established the very foundations of our chapter. When the second council came in, the council solidified these foundations and made sure that the chapter was publicly recognised as one of the most active and prolific chapters. What I hope will happen with the third council is that they will continue to build on those foundations. And if there is one wish that I would share with the third council, it is: Do remember to dream big.

CEIBS: Finally, what is one message that you would like to share with the rest of the CEIBS community?

Cedric: The most beautiful thing about our community is the fact that each one of us can make a difference to the community, but also outside of the community. When alumni or students come to me and say, we would like the community to do this or to do that, I then usually invite them to come forward with their initiatives and ideas, because they can have an impact on what we do. At the end of the day, what the alumni community looks like is because of what we bring in. So, there is so much that can be done even from an individual initiative.

For more information about CEIBS alumni and our global network of alumni chapters, please visit our alumni page here.