Archive for category: Press Release

Jordi Gual will rejoin IESE Business School as a professor of economics at the end of this week. He rejoins IESE´s faculty after finishing his duties as Chairman of CaixaBank, a position he has held since June 2016.

Prof. Gual first joined IESE´s faculty in 1987, where he developed his academic activity until 2005, the year in which he joined the ‘la Caixa’ group. Before taking on the post of Chairman, he was CaixaBanks´s Chief Economist and Executive Director of Strategic Planning, and Director-General of Planning and Strategic Development of CriteriaCaixa.

Among other positions, Prof. Gual is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Telefónica, Vice President of the Círculo de Economía and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Real Instituto Elcano and the Barcelona Mobile World Capital Foundation.

He has been an Economic Advisor at the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs of the European Commission in Brussels, and a member of the Advisory Council of Economic Reactivation and Growth (CAREC), of the government of Catalonia

Jordi Gual holds a PhD in Economics from the University of California (Berkeley) and is a Research Fellow of the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) in London. He has published extensively on banking and European integration, regulation, and competition policy.

• This week a case study exploring how Vall d’Hebron University Hospital was able to effectively manage the COVID-19 crisis was discussed for the first time in an IESE MBA class
• The case is available for sale from today on the portal IESE Publishing, allowing it to be debated by students from business schools across the world.
• IESE Business School has been using the case method as a learning methodology in the business world for more than 60 years.

 A case study exploring how Vall d’Hebron University Hospital managed the first wave of the COVID-19 crisis was presented today in class to IESE MBA students by IESE professor and author of the case, Jaume Ribera, and the managing director of the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, Albert Salazar.

During the class, Dr. Salazar explained how Vall d’Hebron was able to transform itself during the first wave of the pandemic so that it could manage the greatest health crisis experienced by the Hospital. In this class, Dr. Albert Salazar presented the Vall d’Hebron management model and the main operational decisions that made it possible to face the first wave of the health crisis. For his part, Jaume Ribera, IESE professor and Academic Director of the Center for Research in Healthcare Innovation Management, led the discussion of the case, attending to all the proposals, presentations and questions from the students, and drawing out the learning points for other hospitals and business managers.

The IESE professor explained that “investigating how the pandemic was managed in a hospital like Vall d’Hebron is important, since up to now there has not been anything written about pandemic management in a hospital.” With this case study, “we have been able to see a real example of the evolution of the different phases of a crisis, and how it fits into the future strategy of a hospital center.”

The case method

The case method is a learning methodology based on learning by doing, which aims to prepare students for making strategic decisions in companies through the practice of real situations. It is the main learning methodology at IESE, but not the only one.

The students who have discussed the case in class belong to the IESE MBA Program, which is made up of more than 700 students, more than 80% of whom are international. They have an average age of 29 years. The program, which is taught in English and lasts between 15 and 19 months, was chosen by The Economist as the best MBA program in the world this past January.

This case joins the more than 200 case studies written by IESE professors in the last three years, reflecting IESE´s aim of always being up-to-date in the analysis of business problems that arise in the classroom, which include cases of current topics, like Netflix, Barça or Spotify, among many others. At IESE, the cases students study are not just based on superstar big name leaders but the real practical problems faced by managers in variety of contexts, including in developing countries, in small businesses, and in environments where corruption is rife, helping to bring to life the varied situations leaders may encounter.  

A radical transformation of Vall d’Hebron since the beginning of the pandemic

The management of the pandemic has been based on two axes, according to Dr. Salazar, managing director of Vall d’Hebron: “the need to work on any project in collaboration with all the region´s actors and, internally, to strengthen multidisciplinary teams. COVID-19 has shown us that breaking the traditional silos, sharing knowledge and working jointly across specialties, levels, doctors and nurses, can make it possible to achieve far superior results in terms of patient care.”

In Vall d’Hebron, the transformation started very early, even before there was a single case in Catalonia. The Hospital anticipated the arrival of the pandemic by drawing up protocols for action against COVID-19 and contingency plans that proposed up to a dozen scenarios in which, in the worst cases, ICU beds would triple and hospitalization would double. At the end of January 2020, a Coordination Committee was also created made up of the Hospital’s management team and the leaders of the specialties most directly involved in the pandemic. In the committee meetings, which are still held, the evolution of the pandemic is analyzed and management decisions are taken based on the situation.

In anticipation of the avalanche of incoming demand, hospital management believed that all of Vall d´Hebron´s professionals (doctors, medical residents, nurses, etc.) should participate in the challenge. To this end, an innovative decision was made: instead of areas of specialty, everyone would participate in “COVID-19 teams;” each team would be led by a doctor in a specialty key to managing the pandemic (such as infectious diseases, epidemiological preventive medicine, pulmonology, etc.), with anesthetists supporting intensive care doctors (since their work in the operating room had been greatly reduced during the pandemic with the postponement of nearly all scheduled procedures.) These teams, which participated in emergency, hospitalization and critical care services, were key in managing the crisis; without the collaboration of professionals from other specialties, it would have been impossible to meet all the pandemic needs.

Likewise, an emergency public procurement model was designed in order to obtain the necessary PPE supplies, services and materials. Around 800 workers, including those in administration, doctors, pharmacists, etc. were sent home to continue their work remotely and thereby mitigate the risk of contagion. All outpatient visits were suspended and appointments were conducted online or by telephone. The home delivery of medications was also promoted. Family visits to patients were also suspended. As of today, non-COVID-19 patients are allowed visits in certain time slots, but COVID-19 patients are only allowed visits during the end-of-life process.

Another key aspect is internal communication. Through weekly, streamed information sessions, all hospital professionals are kept informed of the latest news and any changes that may be applied to face the crisis. All information is also hosted on a sub-intranet, which was created ad-hoc for all communication related to the coronavirus.

Future challenges and new collaboration with IESE

Coping with the pandemic is an on-going challenge. During the first and second waves, Vall d’Hebron continued its transformation to face the challenge of different future scenarios. As part of this, on February 16 2021, the hospital inaugurated its new Garbí building, a multipurpose space dedicated to the care of patients with COVID-19 in Vall d’Hebron. The building has 56 acute beds and 32 critical and semi-critical beds and concentrates the care of patients with COVID-19.

IESE and Vall d’Hebron will also continue their collaboration to transmit the Hospital’s management model during this pandemic. In the near future, Dr. Salazar will offer other classes at IESE that delve into the key aspects of Vall d’Hebron management.

About IESE Business School

IESE is the graduate business school of the University of Navarra. It is one of the world’s most international business schools, with campuses in Barcelona, Madrid, Munich, New York and São Paulo, and programs offered throughout Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. For more than 60 years, IESE has been at the forefront of management education and leadership development. It has done this through offering transformational educational experiences to more than 50,000 entrepreneurs and executives. IESE´s mission today remains the same as it was back when it was founded in 1958: to educate and inspire leaders who wish to have a positive and lasting impact on people, business and society. This effort has been recognized by the Financial Times ranking, which for the sixth consecutive year has positioned IESE as the number 1 school in the world for executive education. Web: www.iese.edu

• WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management and IESE Business School are launching a unique Executive Education program aimed at improving corporate and supervisory board member effectiveness. The international program, which starts in May 2021, will be taught in Düsseldorf, Munich and Barcelona.

February 2, 2021. The joint High-Performance Board Member Program of WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management and IESE Business School enables participants to enhance their executive impact by focusing on the critical issues and strategic challenges facing organizations today: digitization, stakeholder management and how to successfully counteract corruption. The program combines a dynamic practical approach with methods academically proven to get results, including interactive lectures, team-based projects, case studies and guest speaker sessions with distinguished supervisory board members from some of Europe’s largest companies.

“In a business landscape characterized by constantly evolving challenges, the High-Performance Board Member Program provides top-level executives with critical strategic tools for shaping the future of their organizations to secure long-term success,” states Professor Dr. Serden Ozcan, Chair of Innovation and Corporate Transformation at WHU. “Participants will benefit from the cooperation between the two highly ranked Business Schools,” he adds.

The program is designed for senior-level executives who currently serve on corporate boards and those who aspire to transition into this role, as well as senior managers who seek to engage more effectively with their board.

Marc Sachon, professor of Production, Technology and Management at IESE Business School, says, “by drawing on the deep expertise of both institutions and by collaborating with their high level C-suite peers, participants will learn how to boost overall board performance and drive business value.”

The three modules of the High-Performance Board Member Program will take place on the WHU campus in Düsseldorf, followed by IESE Business School´s campuses in Munich and Barcelona, comprising seven days in total from May 31, 2021 to September 08, 2021. Participants will be taught by world-class faculty from both institutions, including the program´s Academic Directors: Professor Dr. Serden Ozcan, Chair of Innovation and Corporate Transformation, as well as, on the part of IESE Business School, Professor Marc Sachon, Ph.D., Professor of Production, Technology and Management.

About WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management:

WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management is an internationally oriented, privately financed business school with university status, located in Vallendar and Düsseldorf. At WHU, more than 50 faculty members research and teach in the fields of management, finance and accounting, economics, entrepreneurship and innovation, marketing and sales, and supply chain management. WHU’s high level of research competence is the result of a focus on three fundamental research principles: quality, internationality, and relevance for teaching and practice.

WHU’s strategy is based on four core values: excellence, entrepreneurship, strong cohesion, and a cosmopolitan culture. An atmosphere characterized by openness, curiosity, diversity, and equal opportunities is of utmost importance to WHU. Further information.

About IESE Business School:

IESE is the graduate business school of the University of Navarra. It is one of the world’s most international business schools, with campuses in Barcelona, Madrid, Munich, New York and São Paulo, and programs offered throughout Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. For more than 60 years, IESE has been at the forefront of management education and leadership development. It has done this through offering transformational educational experiences to more than 50,000 entrepreneurs and executives.

IESE´s mission today remains the same as it was back when it was founded in 1958: to educate and inspire leaders who wish to have a positive and lasting impact on people, business and society. This effort has been recognized by the Financial Times ranking, which for the sixth consecutive year has positioned IESE as the number 1 school in the world for executive education. Further information.

• The Economist’s 2021 WhichMBA? Full-time ranking highlights the educational experience of the program, potential to network and career opportunities for graduates

Madrid/Barcelona. January 21 2021. IESE Business School´s MBA program has been ranked the best MBA program in the world, according to The Economist´s WhichMBA? 2021 Full-time ranking, released today.

The Economist ranking assesses full-time MBA programs across four broad areas: the creation of new career opportunities, personal development opportunities and educational experience, salary enhancement, and the potential to network. IESE´s position at the top of the list reflects its high scores across all four categories.

In particular, the ranking highlighted the exceptional educational experience that IESE´s MBA offers its participants, which is based on close collaboration with diverse classmates and faculty, innovative learning methods and personalized feedback. It also highlighted the rich opportunities for networking, due to the global reach of IESE´s international alumni network of more than 50,000 executives across the globe.

IESE´s program also scored well for the post-graduate salary of its MBA alumni, and for the new career opportunities that are opened up for graduates after studying an IESE MBA. In fact, 96% of IESE´s MBA class of 2019 received a job offer within three months of graduation, according to MBA CSEA reporting standards. This reflects the work of the school´s Career Development Center, which organizes numerous activities, resources, support, career forums and fairs throughout the year for students.

Marc Badia, Associate Dean for MBA programs at IESE Business School, said:

“At IESE, our focus is on creating a transformational educational experience for students, one where they get stretched and challenged both in and outside the classroom. This result is a confirmation of our ability to maintain the highest standards across all aspects of our MBA. It takes a tremendous team effort to make the MBA so transformational for students, and it’s great to see that recognized.”

This is the fourth time that IESE´s MBA has been ranked no.1 in the world by The Economist. The result also follows a continued strong performance in other international rankings for IESE´s MBA and other programs in recent years, including being ranked no.1 in the world for a record sixth straight year by the Financial Times for Executive Education.

When IESE Business School launched its full-time MBA program in 1964, it was Europe’s first two-year MBA program. Since its inception, it has continually innovated. Today, the program offers students a unique international experience, with roughly 85% of the class coming from abroad. The curriculum also covers the latest business topics such as AI and big data, and allows students to customize the program further to their needs by earning a concentration in specific topics (such as Data Analytics & Digital Business or Entrepreneurship & Innovation) along with their MBA diploma.

IESE´s full-time MBA is taught in English from the school´s campus in Barcelona, with the option of completing the program in either 15 or 19 months, offering even greater flexibility and choice to participants.

Full information on The Economist’s WhichMBA? 2021 Full-time ranking.

More information on IESE’s latest rankings.

• New IESE research shows a strong link between the world´s largest asset managers’ engagements with companies and a reduction in CO2 emissions of their portfolio companies

• Using new data, the paper “The Big Three and Corporate Carbon Emissions Around the World”, forthcoming in the Journal of Financial Economics, suggests company engagements by BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street can offer a complementary approach to tackling climate change

Climate change is one of the most pressing global issues we face as a society. While ´Big Business´ is frequently criticized for its role in increasing greenhouse emissions, in recent years leading corporate figures such as BlackRock CEO Larry Fink have publicly committed to focusing on environmental issues. Yet up until now, there has been scant data on whether these corporate efforts are starting to have any effect.

New research by IESE Business School professors, forthcoming in the Journal of Financial Economics, sheds light for the first time on the role that BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street Global Advisors (the so-called “Big Three” largest asset managers) are playing in reducing carbon emissions around the world. The Big Three have come to dominate the global corporate landscape in recent years. Significantly, the study´s findings suggest that the world´s largest asset managers are having a positive impact in reducing the CO2 emissions of their portfolio companies.

The Big Three and Corporate Carbon Emissions

The paper “The Big Three and Corporate Carbon Emissions Around the World”, accepted by the Journal of Financial Economics, is coauthored by IESE professors Jose Azar, Miguel Duro, Igor Kadach and Gaizka Ormazabal.

In the paper, the authors examine if: a), the Big Three are engaging with their portfolio companies on environmental concerns; and b), whether these engagements are actually effective in reducing carbon emissions at those companies. To do so, they analysed two novel datasets: carbon emissions data for a wide cross section of firms between 2005 to 2018, complemented with data on Big Three engagements with their portfolio companies. 

Unlike previous studies that look at institutional investors in general, the authors claim they focus only on the Big Three due to their unique characteristics and position in the global economy. Together the Big Three manage $16 trillion and control approximately 20% of the shares of the S&P 500. In addition, the authors focus on carbon emissions as opposed to environmental scores. According to them, this is important, “as changes to a firm´s environmental score could reflect “greenwashing” rather than actual environmental improvements.”

The key findings

The paper finds that:

• The Big Three focus their engagement efforts on large firms with high CO2 emissions and in which these investors hold a significant stake.
• Consistent with this engagement influence being effective, the study shows a strong and robust association between Big Three ownership and a subsequent drop in carbon emissions
• This pattern becomes stronger in the later years of the sample period, when the three institutions have publicly committed to tackling environmental issues.

The paper also shows how, beyond altruistic reasons, there could be several economic incentives for the Big Three to engage with firms on environmental issues. One reason could be a belief that reducing CO2 emissions increases the value of their portfolio (reflecting a growing awareness of the financial implications of climate risk); another is that pushing firms to reduce carbon emissions can help attract or retain clients sensitive towards environmental concerns.

ESG engagement as a complement to carbon pricing

According to the authors, “one of the main conclusions of our research is that the Big Three, contrary to what many believe, have both the incentives and the means to get CO2 emissions reduced. And our empirical evidence suggests that, through engagement with their portfolio companies, they have already been playing a positive role in this important dimension of corporate governance.”

Still, they caution that the magnitude of these carbon reductions may not be enough on their own to tackle the climate challenge we face. As such, the authors stress that the research points to how the big three could contribute to reducing world carbon emissions, alongside other approaches already underway or under study, such as carbon pricing.

“Climate change is a major global problem which requires coordinated global action” say the authors. “That´s where the unique size and reach of the Big Three may help. While the Big Three´s importance to the global economy is controversial, their almost supranational status means that, when they engage with companies on environmental issues, they can avoid the global coordination issues that hinder the quick implementation of other full-scale regulatory solutions. In doing so, our research suggests that they can offer a complementary way of addressing climate change, alongside other efforts.”

Access the full paper “The Big Three and Corporate Carbon Emissions Around the World.” 

-.ENDS.-

About the authors:

Jose Azar is a Visiting Professor of Economics at IESE Business School and an Assistant professor at the University of Navarra. 

Miguel Duro is Assistant Professor of Accounting and Control and Academic Director of the Center for International Finance (CIF) at IESE Business School. 

Igor Kadach is Assistant Professor of Accounting and Control at IESE Business School. 

Gaizka Ormazabal is Associate Professor of Accounting and Control and holder of the Grupo Santander Chair of Financial Institutions and Corporate Governance, at IESE Business School. He also serves as academic director at the IESE Center for Corporate Governance.