May 29, 2021. Shanghai – Over 300 participants tuned in to the 2021 Female Leadership Forum today across two campuses and ten cities. Now in its third year, the event focused on the theme of “Leading without Limits” and explored the concept of overcoming the obstacles that society and self-doubt imposes upon women. By empowering women to lead a life without limits and inspiring men to engage without hesitation, the aim of the forum was to break open the preconceived notions that might limit our world views around diversity, inclusion, and modern leadership.

As the first inter-university event co-organised by CEIBS, Global Women Connect, and Nottingham University Business School China (NUBS), the forum featured participants from each stage of the leadership lifecycle. From NUBS came the younger generation of undergraduates yet to embark on their future careers; from CEIBS came young professionals in the process of accelerating their careers; and through Global Women Connect came industry professionals in search of deeper purpose.

With contributors from both start-ups and multinational corporations, the event was hosted by CEIBS MBA Women’s Leadership Network President and MBA 2022 student Jay Wong. CEIBS Assistant Professor of Management Emily M. David, began the event by sharing research behind how labels can limit our thinking, and encouraged everyone to think of three things they achieve every day.

Head of Enterprise Sales at Bloomberg China, Jean Saw then reinforced the importance of diversity and organisational support for women, while Founding Partner of TSol Soundari Moukherjea shed a light on the strategies we can employ to combat unconscious bias. Founder of SoGal Ventures Pocket Sun, who was featured on the cover of Forbes magazine as part of their Asia 30 under 30 feature, inspired the audience by highlighting the courage we all gain when doing things in service of others.

After a coffee break catered by Shanghai Young Bakers, a female-led charity initiative that trains disadvantaged Chinese youths in French bakery and patisserie, Stephanie Liu took to the stage.

Formerly of Siemens Healthineers, Stephanie challenged the audience to reflect on their immunity to change with an interactive exercise to get them all engaged. The final event of the day was the “Leading without Labels” panel discussion with leaders from Aptar Group, B Corps China, Blackmores and ThermoFisher Scientific. The panellists encouraged women to “be selfish” in advocating for themselves in their career, to embrace the need to find purpose in their work in order to truly achieve a work-life balance, and the importance of letting passion guide your choices.

This event was powered by Bloomberg and sponsored by A. Lange & Söhne, ABinBev, Blackmores, JLL, Centent Brosea, ClassPass and LÜUNA naturals.

May 27, 2021. Shanghai – CEIBS and Becton, Dickinson & Company (BD) today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work together on case development, real-world teaching, student internships/employment and talent training.

CEIBS Vice President and Dean Ding Yuan stated during the ceremony at the school’s Shanghai campus that he is looking forward to co-operating with BD Medical.

“We believe that both parties can benefit from case development and knowledge creation – there is a lot we can do together,” he said.

Prof. Ding added that partnerships with some of the world’s top case libraries – including Harvard and Ivey – ensure that the CEIBS’ cutting-edge management knowledge will continue to contribute to global business education and economic development.

“Every year, CEIBS professors develop many in-depth cases around outstanding companies, and help summarise and refine their innovative practices and management experience,” he said.

BD Global Senior Vice President and Greater China Region General Manager Deng Jianmin echoed Prof. Ding’s words during the event and expressed his confidence in the new co-operation.

“BD Medical can provide CEIBS with rich medical professional content, while CEIBS can provide excellent talent for BD Medical. I believe this co-operation will create more opportunities for both parties,” he said.

An alumnus from the CEIBS EMBA Class of 1996, Mr. Deng is active in the development of the school’s alumni community and credits CEIBS with playing a pivotal role in the advancement of his career.

“I was able to successfully transition from being a doctor to being a corporate leader, and I couldn’t have done this without studying at CEIBS. I’m very happy to promote this co-operation and to continue to give back to the school,” he said.

Mr. Deng also serves as President of the Shanghai Jing’an Branch of the CEIBS Alumni Association and Honorary President of the Medical Device IVD Special Committee of the Alumni Medical and Health Industry Association.

About BD  

BD is one of the largest global medical technology companies in the world and is advancing the world of health by improving medical discovery, diagnostics and the delivery of care. The company supports the heroes on the frontlines of healthcare by developing innovative technology, services and solutions that help advance both clinical therapy for patients and clinical process for healthcare providers. BD and its 65,000 employees have a passion and commitment to help enhance the safety and efficiency of clinicians' care delivery process, enable laboratory scientists to accurately detect disease and advance researchers' capabilities to develop the next generation of diagnostics and therapeutics. BD has a presence in virtually every country and partners with organizations around the world to address some of the most challenging global health issues. By working in close collaboration with customers, BD can help enhance outcomes, lower costs, increase efficiencies, improve safety and expand access to healthcare. In 2017, BD welcomed C. R. Bard and its products into the BD family. For more information on BD, please visit bd.com.

May 26, 2021, Shanghai – The pace of change in business today is having massive implications for how companies recruit and how professionals approach their careers, Pandora China General Manager Jacques Roizen told a CEIBS Executive Forum audience at our Shanghai campus tonight.

“Hiring the right talent has become one of the most important and hardest things to do, because at the current pace of change, job descriptions have to adapt in real time for changes across the ecosystem,” Mr. Roizen said.

A hundred years ago, he explained, people were recruited largely based on their physical strength, as the work they were being hired to perform was essentially manual. By comparison, about thirty years ago, companies started hiring people based on their experience.

“Back then, it was about, are you capable of doing the job you’re going to do tomorrow? Have you done it before? Have you done it well before? And, what is your track record in this particular job?” he said.

With technology, market dynamics and ecosystems undergoing such rapid transformation, however, Mr. Roizen emphasised that it has now become impossible to predict if someone’s past experience will be relevant to the task at hand tomorrow. And, nowhere is this more true than in China.

“Now, you really have to hire someone based on their potential,” he said.

Potential, as it turns out, is difficult to assess. As a result, Mr. Roizen continued, it is necessary to consider different proxies when considering job candidates.

“The proxy that makes the most sense is intellectual curiosity, because it allows you to understand how flexible someone’s approach and mind is,” he said.

Therefore, for job seekers, he went on, it is equally important to demonstrate to employers that you are a capable talent willing to adjust to different landscapes and complexities.

“When you’re thinking about the next phase of your career, you need to show that you’re interested in other industries and roles, frameworks, systems,” Mr. Roizen said.

On one hand, he explained, job seekers in China are lucky to be in one of the most exciting business and consumer markets in the history of the world; on the other hand, working in China means being constantly challenged and really needing to embrace transformation.

“It is a fast-moving, evolving situation, so it’s a lot harder to work in China than in Europe. You have to get used to it,” he said.

Pandora is a global contemporary jewellery company with more than 1,500 employees and over 200 stores in more than 70 cities in China. For more information about upcoming CEIBS Executive Forums and other events, visit our events page here.