The Bocconi Alumni Association Gathers Global Leaders in London
The third edition of the Bocconi Alumni Global Conference will be held in London on 20-21 March 2015 under the title "Europe at the crossroads: the responsibility to manage the future we all share". The event will provide a unique opportunity to exchange ideas with prominent personalities from the world of international business and finance. The event will also see the launch of a Global Alumni Scholarship Fund for top performing students attending the Master of Finance or the Master of International Management offered by Università Bocconi.
The Bocconi Alumni Association (BAA) – a convener of a community of over 90,000 former students of Università Bocconi -will dedicate the two-day gathering to the challenges Europe is facing namely restarting growth (expansion versus austerity), financing the economy and how Europe will cope with pressures resulting from global competition.
The Bocconi Alumni Global Conference is part of a University and BAA programme to foster exchanges between Alumni and to enhance its global network in 100 countries. The Global Conference moves to a different continent every year to reflect the international character of the Bocconi Alumni community. After Asia (Singapore) and America (New York), this year the conference comes to London, a European financial hub. In London, the Bocconi Alumni community comprises about 2.500 former students, many of whom hold high-level positions within firms, banks and financial institutions at both UK and international level.
The conference will be structured in five sessions, starting on the 20th March with a panel dedicated to the European growth and the expansion versus austerity dilemma. The topic will be addressed by: Guido Tabellini (Professor of Economics at Università Bocconi), Jörg Asmussen (Bocconi Alumnus of the year 2013 and State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs - Germany) and Agnès Bénassy-Quéré (Chairperson of the French Council of Economic Analysis).
The second session, dedicated to the Relationship between Finance and Growth, will see the participation of: Nikhil Srinivasan (Group Chief Investment Officer at Generali), Vittorio Grilli (Chairman Corporate & Investment Bank Emea at J.P. Morgan), Raffaele Jerusalmi (Executive Director Capital Market London Stock Exchange Group & CEO of Borsa Italiana) and Douglas Flint (Chairman of HSBC).
The third session will focus on Global Competition. The speakers are: Vittorio Radice (CEO of La Rinascente), Neelie Kroes (former Vice-President of the European Commission) and Ann Cairns (MasterCard's President of International Markets).
The fourth session, dedicated to Leadership in the framework of growth and learning, will see the participation of: Vittorio Colao (CEO of Vodafone Group) and Diego Piacentini (Senior Vice President of International Consumer Business at Amazon.com).
The conference will close with a high-level discussion between Lord Peter Mandelson (Chairman of Global Counsel) and Mario Monti (President of Università Bocconi) on the current debate of the UK's place in the EU.
This edition of the Bocconi Alumni Conference brings along a new significant initiative: the creation of the Global Alumni Scholarship Fund, aimed at funding scholarships for committed students attending the Master of Finance or the Master of International Management offered by Università Bocconi. Part of the conference registration fees will be devoted to the Fund. Each scholarship amounts to 35,000 euros and covers tuition and housing fees for two years.
"The Conference plays an important role for the Alumni allowing them to actively engage with the Bocconi community and to discuss Europe's economic and political development through an open and constructive exchange of ideas, in the best tradition of our University", said Mario Monti, President of Università Bocconi.
"This year, after Singapore and New York, the Bocconi Alumni Global Conference somehow comes back home – to Europe, to London. At home, because Bocconi now regards the European prospect as a domestic prospect. France and Germany are the most represented countries among the newly enrolled students and the London Chapter of the Bocconi Alumni Association counts more members than any other Foreign Chapter", added Andrea Sironi, Rector of Università Bocconi.
Pietro Guindani, President of the Bocconi Alumni Association said "This year's Global Conference will mark an important turning point: for the first time, the event will represent not only a learning and networking opportunity, but also a chance for rewarding merit and valuing talent by earmarking part of the registration fees to sustain the Global Alumni Scholarship Fund, which will allow funding scholarships of 35,000 euros each".