EBS Students Spend Week With Young Global Leaders

Talks given by World Economic Forum reps highlight social issues for MBA cohort at top European school

Students quizzed remarkable speakers on their achievements during a five day visit

EBS students were treated to talks with inspiring figures last month when 11 of The World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders visited the school.

Key speakers included and Adam Bird, Director McKinsey & Company, and Orzala Ashraf Nemat, founder of Humanitarian Assistance for the Women and Children of Afghanistan, who shared her experiences of working in a war zone. You can read student Vikram Mehta’s blog post about her talk here.

One of the highlights was a presentation by Christian Wenk, former Swiss triathlon medallist who in 2000 was left with permanent complete paraplegia after a bicycle accident. MBA student at EBS Julian Theobald, himself a professional Formula 2 race driver, said he was particularly struck.

“I was really impressed by his very positive attitude towards what happened to him and his relaxed will to overcome all obstacles,” Julian says. “To me he was the most impressive because one could take away his spirit for private life as well as business and sports.”

Fellow student Mariano Groppo adds: “Our stereotypes of how a successful person should be were demolished. What all the speakers have in common is a belief in their dreams and the drive for working to make them become reality.”

Young Global Leaders are chosen by the World Economic Forum to “represent the future of leadership, coming from all regions of the world and representing business, government, civil society, arts and culture, academia and media, as well as social entrepreneurs.” Every year between 100 and 200 are appointed through a rigorous nomination process.

Following the talks, students set up a Facebook group to stay in touch with the Young Global Leaders who visited. EBS has since announced plans to repeat the event for MBA students in 2012.