Archive for category: Press Release

• Boston Consulting Group, CEMEX, Telefonica, Airbus BizLab, BASF, BID Lab, Citi, Endeavor, IE, IESE Business School, Microsoft for Startups and South Summit are organizing Restarting Together, a global challenge for startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The initiative is designed to contribute to a fast-economic recovery and create a more resilient society in the face of a crisis like the current pandemic.
• The call for entries will be open from June 2 through June 30, 2020, on restartingtogether.com.
• The most promising solutions will showcase their project to a specialized jury on September 9, 2020, and the winners will share their vision with global leaders while having the possibility to receive acceleration support or investment.

June 2, 2020. Airbus BizLab, BASF, Boston Consulting Group, CEMEX, Citi, Endeavor, IDB Lab, IE, IESE Business School, Microsoft for Startups, South Summit and Telefonica announced today the launch of Restarting Together, a global challenge that seeks to boost innovative projects after the impact of COVID-19. The initiative aims to promote projects developed by entrepreneurs and SMEs that will contribute both to speed up economic recovery after the effects of the pandemic, and create a more resilient society, with more effective and sustainable capabilities against future similar crises. Through this joint initiative, this diverse group of industry leaders want to promote community engagement to build a better society.

The overall goal of Restarting Together is to find innovative projects that seek to expedite the return to normality after the confinement period caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This initiative also looks to identify projects to boost economic recovery in a sustainable way, aimed specially at improving employment, revitalizing the ecosystem of small businesses, and creating networks and financial aid mechanisms for crisis situations. Likewise, the challenge encourages entrants to propose solutions that bolster cities´ response for any type of crisis in the future, whether it be sanitary, economic or driven by environmental or climate change issues.

Interested participants can present their proposals from June 2 through June 30, 2020 by entering www.restartingtogether.com. Proposals will be evaluated based on their projects’ social and economic impact, feasibility, rapid implementation time, and degree of sustainability and innovation.

The nine most promising projects would be scheduled to participate on a digital Pitchday on September 9, 2020, where they would present their solution directly to the organizing companies´ representatives, who would select three winners to share their vision with global leaders from the supporting companies. The three winners would enjoy the possibility of receiving access to corporate resources from the organizing companies, including potential acceleration or investment. Additionally, all proposals should be available for development, promotion, and implementation by all, or some, of the companies organizing Restarting Together. The global and multidisciplinary focus of the industry leaders that make up Restarting Together allows for the implementation of these solutions, with the potential to achieve global results to make the strongest potential impact on society.

The organizers will offer participants their experience and knowledge in diverse industries, as well as the opportunity to build relationships with leading multinational companies, and possible access to investment capital.

For more information about Restarting Together and the registration process, please visit www.restartingtogether.com.

• New analysis by IESE professor Nuno Fernandes shows economic effects of outbreak are currently being underestimated, due to over-reliance on historical comparisons
• Report estimates GDP growth will take a hit ranging from 3.5-6% depending on the country, in a best-case scenario. If current halt in economic activity lasts until summer, the average decline in GDP would be close to 10.4%.
• Every extra month of shutdown accounts for approx. 2.5-3% of global GDP
• Argentina, Greece, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and Italy, will be amongst most affected; Nearly all countries to go into recession

March 23, 2020. Madrid. Today, Nuno Fernandes, Full Professor of Finance at IESE Business School, releases an updated report providing new forecasts for how COVID-19 will affect the world´s economy. While previous estimates relied on historical comparisons with SARs or the 2008/9 financial crisis, the report shows why simple comparisons are not possible, and instead uses a new model to calculate economic effects across industries and countries. In light of the report´s findings, a “global recession is almost inevitable” says Fernandes.

Unlike with previous crises, Fernandes points out that “this time, we are facing a combined supply and demand shock” exacerbated by a variety of factors, such as the highly integrated nature of today´s world economy and the key role that China, the center of the initial outbreak, now plays in it. The global pandemic has also come at a time when starting interest rates are low, and economic tools to combat the crisis are limited. “Central banks exhausted their firepower during the good times. There is almost no room for monetary stimulus to help sustain the coming risks,” he warns.

Taking into account this context, the report discusses how the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak is being felt across different industries and 30 countries. It finds that the economic costs of the crisis will hit some much harder than others. For example:

• Service-oriented economies will be particularly negatively affected, and have more jobs at risk.
• Countries like Greece, Mexico, Portugal, and Spain that are more reliant on tourism (more than 15% of GDP) will be more affected by this crisis
• Countries more reliant on exports will suffer disproportionally

The report also attempts a rough estimate of the potential global economic costs of COVID-19 under three different scenarios: a shutdown of 1.5 months (from mid-March to end of April), of 3 months (lasting until mid-June), and of 4.5 months (until end of July.)

Key findings:

In a mild scenario (the shutdown of economic activity lasts 1.5 months, from mid-March to end of April, with May as a recovery month):

• The U.S. is expected to enter into a recession, with GDP shrinking by nearly 2%. Overall, the crisis is expected to cost it nearly 4% of its GDP
• Most European countries will face significant recessions, seeing contractions of their GDP by 2% to over 4%. Judging from prior recessions, a decline in GDP of this magnitude will significantly increase unemployment
• Argentina´s economy will also be one of the worst hit, with its GDP estimated to shrink by about 5%
• In this scenario, nearly all countries analyzed will experience negative GDP growth, apart from China and India (although their growth will still be slashed from a pre-crisis estimate of 6% to below 2% in China´s case, and from around 7% to about 3% for India)
• Overall, for all countries analyzed, an average economic impact of 4.5% of GDP is expected

Full breakdown by country: base scenario of 1.5 months

Figures from “Economic effects of coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) on the world economy” by Nuno Fernandes. For the full tables, results and analysis, access full report here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3557504

*Expected GDP growth takes into account the (pre-crisis) expected 2020 GDP growth for each country and the economic costs of the COVID-19 crisis

If crisis measures are extended:

• On average, each additional month of shutdowns will cost 5%-3% of global GDP
• If extreme COVID-19-related measures last until mid-June 2020, the U.S. will see its GDP growth fall to about -5%, and both China and India will join the rest of the analyzed countries by entering into a recession.
• Most European countries will be very hard hit. For example, Greece and Portugal will see their GDP fall by nearly 9%, while Italy´s and Austria´s will shrink by over 8% and Spain´s by 7.5%. Meanwhile Germany, Switzerland and the UK will also see their GDP shrink by close to 7%
• Worldwide, if measures last until the end of July 2020, the average decline in GDP would be close to 10.4%. And the decrease in GDP could in some cases be around 14%

According to Fernandes, “if the ongoing crisis lasts until the end of the summer, the global economy faces the gravest threat seen in the last two centuries.”

As such, he urges global policy makers to act to avoid the worst-case scenarios. But timing is running out fast. “Overall, the potential impacts of this crisis are larger than any previously seen in history”, he says

Access the full report “Economic effects of coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) on the world economy” here.

March 11, 2020. IESE today has received confirmation that a participant in one of its programs in Madrid has tested positive for COVID-19. This is the first confirmed case of coronavirus on one of IESE’s campuses.

The case is a participant in IESE’s PADE program in Madrid. The participant has mild symptoms and is recovering at home, and last visited IESE’s campus on March 9. All of her classmates and others who have had close contact with her have been informed and are in quarantine.  

Following Madrid government recommendations to stem the spread of the coronavirus, IESE on March 11 moved classes delivered on its Madrid campus online. At the same time, as a purely precautionary measure, IESE also moved its full-time MBA students in Barcelona to an online format.

Switching its activities online has been one of the scenarios IESE was preparing for since the coronavirus spread from China to Europe and the rest of the world. IESE’s installed online capacities are strong, and have been deployed in other contexts. IESE has a virtual classroom, in which 80 participants can connect from all over the world in a fully interactive way, as well as a range of other remote learning options.

The Madrid campus remains open for employees and professors, so that they may support the online classes.

More information on how IESE is responding to the coronavirus crisis can be found on the Safety and Prevention page.

• IESE launches multidisciplinary project to shape managers in ethical use of AI

February 17, 2020. IESE Business School has launched a new Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Management Initiative, a multidisciplinary project that will look at how artificial intelligence is impacting management, and prepare executives to put Al to use in their companies in an ethical and socially responsible way.

Artificial intelligence, like electricity a century ago, is a general purpose technology that will touch every sphere of economic activity. That places new demands on managers to adapt to the changing competitive landscape, to transform their organizations, and to ensure that employees – and themselves — have the skills required. IESE’s new Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Management Initiative will meet those needs for research and education efforts by:

• Pursuing research that managers can put into action to lead their organizations and to strengthen the society in which they operate, through academic research, academic conferences and speaker series.
• Educating current and future managers on how to navigate the changes, across IESE’s extensive range of programs, from short focused courses to longer programs such as the MBA and Executive MBA.
• Engaging the broader business, academic and policymaking communities to promote the ethical use of technology and sense of responsibility towards those affected by the changes, through articles, workshops and outreach programs. 

“AI is as much a management challenge as it is a technological challenge,” said Dean Franz Heukamp. “With this initiative we want to help current and future managers, as well as policy makers, face the challenges AI presents, enabling them to shape the ways AI is used and ensure that it’s a force for good in society.”

The initiative, led by Professor Sampsa Samila, will bring together the work of IESE professors across a range of departments. The initiative’s current research areas include the use of AI in companies, the impact of industrial automation, and changing skill demands in the labor market. IESE also now offers the program Artificial Intelligence for Executives and students in many of the school’s programs can opt to take courses related to AI. 

• Business leaders from China, Nigeria and South Africa were awarded the prize in recognition of their work strengthening ties between their countries and Spain

Madrid. October 30 2019. Today, seven prominent business leaders from China, Nigeria and South Africa received the International Friendship Award in recognition of their contribution to economic development and job creation in their home countries and abroad. Spain’s Queen Letizia presented the awardees with the prize at IESE Business School’s Madrid campus.

The award winners, chosen by a jury of prominent global academic and business figures, were:

• Li Ka Shing, Chairman, CK Hutchison Holdings
• Ibukun Awosika, Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria
• Hong Tianzhu, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Texhong Textile Group
• Liling Qi, President, Puente China España and La Roca Golf Resort
• Lidan Qi Zhou, Founding Partner, Qimeng Global and Managing Director, Puente China España
• Iqbal Survé, Founder and Executive Chairman, The Sekunjalo Group
• Chen Xi, President, Sanquan Food Company

This was the third edition of this prestigious award, which was created by IESE professor Pedro Nueno after he received China’s Friendship Award, the Chinese government’s highest award for foreigners working to advance economic and social progress in the country.

Inspired by that award, Nueno decided to establish a prize for people from China who have made an outstanding contribution to the world; this year was the first time the award was open to people from other countries.

The 12-member jury was composed of academic and business leaders, including: Alfredo Pastor, emeritus professor at IESE; Antonio Argandoña, emeritus professor at IESE; Annette Nijs, founder of The China Agenda and president of BSN; Peter Lorange, president of The Lorange Network; and Jan Borgonjon, President of  Interchina; among others.

Dedication to business and progress 

The winners have long histories of promoting progress through business as well as philanthropy in projects that span the globe.

Li Ka Shing founded and led the CK Group for nearly five decades, building a global business with interests in ports, infrastructure, energy, real estate and more. One of Asia’s leading philanthropists, his Li Ka Shing Foundation has donated billions to education, medical services and research initiatives.

The award was collected on his behalf by Eric Ip, Group Managing Director of Hutchison Port Holdings.

Ibukun Awosika is the Chairman of the First Bank of Nigeria Limited and the founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Chair Centre Group. She is active in a variety of social causes, working to address youth employability, support women in business and foment entrepreneurship.

Hong Tianzhu is founder, Chairman and CEO of Texhong Textile Group, one of China’s largest textile companies, which has operations around Asia and Latin America. With more than 40,000 employees across the globe, his company has contributed to the economic development of China and many other countries.

Liling Qi is President of Puente China España and of La Roca Golf Resort, and has more than 20 years of experience in international trade with Asia. With an extensive professional and institutional networking platform in China and Spain, she serves in several Chinese public institutions and regularly organizes events in China and Spain to strengthen the relationship between the two countries.

Lidan Qi Zhou is a founding partner of Qimeng Global and Managing Director of Puente China España. She has more than 10 years of experience as a legal advisor for companies and institutions such as the Shenzhen and the Yiwu governments. She actively collaborates with ICEX and ACCIÓ to attract Chinese investment in Spain, while also promoting social and cultural understanding between the two countries.

Dr. Iqbal Survé is a physician, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Dr. Survé is committed to the development of Africa through the Sekunjalo Group, a values-based investment group. He has a philanthropic foundation that supports human rights, education, the arts, entrepreneurship and healthcare.

Chen Xi is President of Sanquan Food, China’s largest frozen food company, which produces one of the country’s best-known food brands. He has helped modernize and expand the company, which is known for its innovation, research and technological development.