November 9, 2020. Paris/Zurich – CEIBS, the Prospective and Innovation Foundation (FPI) and the Charles de Gaulle Foundation (FCG) recently co-hosted a special webinar on The Leadership of General Charles de Gaulle. The event was hosted in part to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of the former French President.

During the webinar, Former Prime Minister of France, CEIBS Distinguished Professor and FPI President Jean-Pierre Raffarin and CEIBS Vice President and Dean Ding Yuan were joined by Charles de Gaulle Foundation Director of Studies Professor Frédéric Fogacci, former President of France Georges Pompidou’s son Professor Alain Pompidou and former Essilor Chairman Xavier Fontanet for an exploration of the spirit and implementation of leadership in the context of de Gaulle’s life. The event was moderated by Senior Advisor to the Dean's Office at CEIBS Dr. Xu Bo.

In addition to his role as a Distinguished Professor, Prof. Raffarin has served as the Charles de Gaulle Chair in Global Leadership at CEIBS since 2018, when the chair was signed into existence as part of a three-year agreement between CEIBS and the FCG to carry out teaching and research on the meaning of global leadership and the development of relevant leadership skills.

In opening, Prof. Raffarin noted that leadership is a form of exercising power found throughout the world in all human activities. Nevertheless, he stated that it is defined differently in at least three major cultures.

“In American culture, leadership is of construction, of manufacturing – everything here can be learned. In Europe, it is rather a leadership of talent, character and destiny,” Prof. Raffarin said. “And, then, in Asia, it is more about strategic leadership – leadership which does not necessarily expose the leader.”

Drawing from de Gaulle’s own writings, Prof. Raffin then expanded on the European concept of ‘leadership of character’, describing it as something essential and important for society, while adding that a leader is a moral force who possesses character, circumstance, and an awareness of his/her destiny, as well as the spirit of enterprise.

“What is strong in this leadership of character is that [a leader] thinks of something and then executes it. [At the same time,] to govern is not to take care of everything – it is to be in charge of the essential, of what is important for a country and for its future,” Prof. Raffarin explained, adding, “This is why General de Gaulle embodies magnificently this European leadership. It is leadership that comes from consciousness.”

Citing CEIBS as an example of a co-operative leadership between China and Europe, Prof. Ding noted that despite having only been founded in 1994, the school has already climbed to the top of the international rankings and serve as an important bridge between China, Europe and the rest of the world.

“Behind this miracle, there was strong conviction and foresight on the part of European and Chinese leadership 26 years ago. We conducted a lot of strategic analysis and we showed that the school was really founded in the right place, at the right time, with the right structure,” Prof. Ding said. “But all that required leadership, a long-term perspective from both partners and, of course, a belief in the opening up of China [and] the potential of the Chinese economy.”

He added that with more than 70 faculty – including those from the US, Asia and Europe – CEIBS is well-positioned to offer multiple perspectives and techniques for learning about leadership.

“With this team together, we have managed to build a much broader perspective that touches both the technical learning aspects of leadership, the character and talent aspects, but also these strategic aspects found in China,” Prof. Ding said. “As a result, we have attracted not only Chinese students, but also students from all over the world to learn leadership in its much broader conception.”

On the question of how one can grow as a leader, Prof. Raffarin stated that while “it is the battles that make the general”, the right surroundings in which to develop confidence and analytical skills is just as important.

“A good leader, in terms of training, must, on one hand, first be given a general culture,” he said. “On the other hand, [a leader] must have the ability to understand others, to know how to listen as much as to speak, and to know how to ensure that he or she integrates the concern of others [and earns the] confidence of others.”

Prof. Ding also offered some examples of the fundamental elements of leadership – common in politics, business and management – taught at CEIBS.

“[Leadership] is very much linked with someone’s talent or character, but it can be learned. It involves having a capacity for analysis of complex phenomena and finding the essential,” Prof. Ding said. “But afterwards, in the execution, it is not to go into detail, but being able to motivate others and to be surrounded by a stable and inspired team.”

During the webinar, speaking on behalf of the FCG, Prof. Fogacci further emphasised the importance of the Charles de Gaulle Chair in Global Leadership at CEIBS and offered his theoretical perspective on the value of Charles de Gaulle’s leadership mechanics.

Prof. Pompidou also reviewed how his father President George Pompidou used the leadership of Charles de Gaulle to modernise France during the country’s economic reconstruction following the Second World War.

Finally, as the only entrepreneur on the panel, Mr. Fontanet explained the important role of Charles de Gaulle’s leadership in the rapid development of Essilor in the Chinese market.

October 31, 2020. Shanghai – CEIBS Global EMBA 2017 today celebrated the first anniversary of their graduation last year. The event also marked three years since the cohort first joined the programme in late-2017, when 80 executives from 20 countries and regions around the world started their 20-month Global EMBA journey our Shanghai campus.

Members of the Global EMBA Class of 2017 demonstrated a keen resoluteness and reflectiveness throughout their studies. Driven by these positive traits, they forged new dimensions for a Global EMBA class. For example, they were the first group to host company visits with different cohorts. These visits opened up opportunities for all classes, allowing everyone in the Global EMBA community to further their learning journey beyond outside of the classroom. This initiative created in-depth industry learning opportunities for both current students and alumni. The GE17 Accelerator was also a new initiative launched by the Global EMBA 2017 class which immediately earned a strong reputation in the Global EMBA community. Aiming to help entrepreneurs and current students and alumni alike to get from zero to one, the GE17 Accelerator created a truly holistic learning experience covering both theoretical frameworks and practices by way of insights from professors and guest speakers.

Isa Luo, Director of CEIBS Global EMBA Programme, gave a welcome speech for the reunion, in which she said, “It feels like only yesterday that we were celebrating your opening ceremony. I’m thrilled to see you coming together to celebrate your one-year graduation anniversary.”

Isa also reviewed the measures the school has taken in response to COVID-19, including the 40 online classes held in the early stages of the pandemic which ensured students could continue their learning without disruption. Furthermore, she highlighted the programme arrangements that have been in place since Shanghai campus reopened to classes in September.

Regarding the enrollment of the forthcoming cohort, Isa added, “Being a bridge for economic and cultural exchange between China, Europe and the world, CEIBS Global EMBA enrollment remains in great shape despite the uncertainties and changes brought by the pandemic. The Global EMBA 2020 class will start their Opening Residency Module on December 6 and the class will again be the largest English-language EMBA in Asia while maintaining our strict admissions criteria.”

There was also an important hand-over between the outgoing class committee and the new incoming class committee. Even after graduation, the class committee plays a critical role in ensuring the continued development of class activities and interactions while acting as an important bridge to the Global EMBA office. The new class committee reviewed the progress that the class had made so far and presented the future plan for the class. During the afternoon session, a roundtable was held to share everyone’s changes, challenges and gains since graduation.

CEIBS Global EMBA Project Manager Felicia Li expressed her gratitude to the outgoing committee for their contribution and support in staging various activities and events. She then extended her congratulations to the new committee and said she looked forward to working with them to connect everyone in the class no matter their location. Steven Yu, the new Class President, shared some news and updates of the class in 2020, including the progress of the class charity project and the great results achieved in the Gobi Challenge 2020.

The class also sat down to discuss “challenges and changes” in the afternoon. All of the alumni experienced changes during the programme and since graduation. Some changes were brought by the environment while some come from within. Facilitated by Yi Hou and Greg Harbin, participants shared their thoughts one by one. Topics included challenges and solutions during the pandemic period, careers in different industry settings and personal life changes. Many of the classmates have started a business since beginning their studies, while a large number have shifted their careers significantly. Alumni support is one of the most valuable assets the CEIBS Global EMBA community has.

As Reto Felber and Greg Harbin summarised: “This year has been a tough year for the world and hearing so many stories of transformation really made us keenly aware of how struggles can also bring wonderful changes and opportunities. These great events and activities that were prepared in times of such hardship really underlined our connectedness even after our studies have long finished. This is the spirit of CEIBS Global EMBA 2017.”

October 26, 2020. Shanghai – When searching for innovative solutions, large corporations shouldn’t be complacent when considering potential start-up partners, Professor of International Business and Strategy Shameen Prashantham told an audience of executives today in Shanghai.

Prof. Shameen made the remarks as a keynote speaker at an event hosted by the Economist Corporate Network entitled “Collaboration versus Distrust”, during he discussed his extensive research on the topic of business partnerships between organizations of differing sizes. He was joined by Jonathan Woetzel, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company, with whom he recently co-authored an article for Harvard Business Review entitled, “Three Lessons from Chinese Firms on Effective Collaboration”. Joseph Chu, Chief Digital Officer at Deloitte China, and Clas Neumann, Senior Vice President, Head of Global SAP Labs Network, also featured on the panel hosted by the Economist’s Mary Boyd.

The discussion expanded upon the basic premise of the article – that, despite a negative focus from some western sources on China as a systemic rival in IT, there have been some pioneering models for effective collaboration created in China which offer useful lessons for global executives and which can create growth in the digital realm and beyond.

Prof. Shameen explained that, just as in many other spheres, trust has always been an issue in business when it comes to collaboration between different entities, but that the benefits of working together create momentum to find a way around such issues.

“There are a number of assumptions which shape collaboration – the fundamental assumption being that partners can take advantage of you,” said Prof. Shameen, adding, “But there is also an assumption based on resources – one where companies have realised that resources shared with others can create value which couldn’t be created other ways. Hence, knowledge becomes a kind of resource.”

Ways of understanding business collaboration have expanded from the economic to sociological fields, explained Prof. Shameen, and have led organizations to shift their focus somewhat to consider the nature of human interaction.

“Social capital – the idea you have resources which are embedded in relationships – has led to resources not only being thought of as inside an organization, but also outside its boundaries,” said Prof Shameen, adding, “This has resulted in them being seen not so much as resources, but as something that must be actively managed like good will and trust – this kind of perspective emphasizes you actively think of resources outside the organizations.”

Many of the questions Prof. Shameen fielded from the audience focused on practical concerns when partnering with start-ups. He explained that resource dependence – the idea that when a firm starts dealing with another company they may actually become dependent on them – was a common fear.

“Social capital has a positive frame to it and it is seen as something good to have, but resource dependence highlighted the dark side of this – the idea you could become dependent on a partner,” explained Prof Shameen, adding, “One way of dealing with this is to absorb the partner, but this also highlights the fact that you can have huge power asymmetry, which leads companies to jostle with each other for control.”

Technology has profoundly impacted not only the nature of communication itself, but also opportunities for companies to work together. Much academic research on international business twenty years ago, for example, was focused on joint-ventures, said Prof. Shameen, and it stemmed from a feeling that when companies went into other markets, they felt they should get into a partnership.

“In the 1990s, strategic alliances in the business school world spoke of marriages, but I have a bit of a problem with this because the assumption of permanence is not necessarily there in inter-organizational relationships,” he said, adding, “There is a lot of interest in how western companies came into China and tried to teach the joint-venture partner in China about new technologies, or how to manage the governance of partnerships, and many lessons have been learned during this time which have global impact.”

Prof. Shameen continued that he believes that development has come full circle and now China is contributing very important lessons and innovations in partnership development. Some very small start-ups use huge global companies as somewhere they can learn the ropes as very much the junior partner before developing somewhat and moving on more comprehensive and involved relationships with big Chinese companies.

“Entrepreneurs have explained it to me as, ‘When we are really tiny we tiny we prefer to work with the Microsofts or SAPs of the world, and then when we get more confident, we want to talk to the likes of Tencent or Alibaba,” Prof. Shameen said.

Conversely, there is value in maintaining independence and not pursuing partnerships. Prof Shameen gave the example of Testin, a Chinese tech start-up which offers a testing platform for mobile phone apps. Despite lucrative offers from both sides of the tech duopoly of Tencent and Alibaba, the firm chose to maintain their independence as they felt neutrality would increase trust in their platform.

“One of the most fascinating companies I have studied is a company called Testin,” said Prof. Shameen, continuing, “My students go crazy and say, ‘Why would anyone in their right mind in China not align themselves with one side or the other?’, but Testin believed they would completely lose any credibility after they took such investment.”

One of Prof. Shameen’s central themes in his research is his concept of ‘dancing with gorillas’ – a metaphor he uses to illustrate the potential awkwardness of large firms partnering with start-ups. He said that despite the difficulties, both sides end up coming together because no matter the dynamics or imbalance of the relationship, they both come out of it with value or results they would not have otherwise gained. However, he told the audience that the bigger partner in the collaboration did not necessarily hold all the decision making power.

He further stated that there is now growing sophistication in big corporations in terms of how they engage with start-ups, having had their fingers burned in the past.

“Gorillas also realise they are trying to compete for the hearts and mind of partners and are trying to be seen as better gorillas than others," said Prof. Shameen, adding, “What Alibaba is doing with data sharing is offering opportunities to create value for partners, whereas Amazon is being tight-fisted with its data-sharing, and has no problem with introducing competing offerings on what their partners do,” he said.

“There are some firms who are fairer than others but in the long run these companies are competing for partners,” he concluded.