BelCham & Vlerick IGMO Mission
Dear Entrepreneur,
The time has finally come: we are heading to New York City and Boston, two of the world's most dynamic hubs for business, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Throughout the mission, we will explore the stories and strategies of leaders building businesses in the United States, gaining firsthand insights into navigating a complex geopolitical landscape, seizing opportunities in highly competitive markets, and understanding the realities of doing business across the Atlantic. The program brings together experienced leaders and ambitious entrepreneurs, leading academics, innovative companies, and influential institutions, complemented by unexpected experiences and opportunities for deeper exchange.
We look forward to making this a truly memorable journey, and one that continues to spark ideas long after we return home.
Day by day
The programme may still change through cancellations or additions. Items marked as to be confirmed are not final.
What you will work on
Financing the AI Buildout
Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh
The lecture will discuss the massive investment wave in data centers, power, and computing infrastructure needed to support AI. The paper asks how large this buildout could become, how it will be financed, and what it means for companies, capital markets, and the broader economy.
Entrepreneurial Leadership & Innovators' DNA
Jay Rao
Without entrepreneurial leaders, there is no entrepreneurship or innovation. Unfortunately, both innovation and entrepreneurship are highly abused and misunderstood terms. Luckily, we humans already have a little entrepreneurial being inside each one of us. We all have entrepreneurial skills.
Unfortunately, we use these skills opportunistically, accidentally, fearfully, jealously (FOMO), and at times intentionally. However, if we know exactly what entrepreneurial leadership skills are, and more specifically what my own skills are, then we can be more intentional about it and hence more effective leaders. This session will delve into understanding entrepreneurial leadership.
Innovation Dynamics: Gorillas v Chimps v Monkeys
Jay Rao
The world evolves and progresses through the competitive dynamics between large, medium and small enterprises. Understand the fundamentals of this competitive game through the lens of the Gorillas, Chimps and Monkeys model. How can monkeys outsmart gorillas? How can gorillas fight back? How can chimps succeed while sandwiched in the middle?
Who you will meet
The panel speakers at One Equity Partners and at the open-source AI panel are added as soon as they are confirmed.
Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh
Earle W. Kazis and Benjamin Schore Professor of Real Estate and Professor of Finance
Columbia Business School
His research focuses on the intersection of real estate, asset pricing, and macroeconomics. His work has earned multiple prestigious awards and is widely recognized internationally, with research featured in major media including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Bloomberg, and the Financial Times. A Belgian native and University of Ghent alumnus, he has held leadership roles in major finance and real estate associations and has advised institutions including the Federal Reserve, Moody's Ratings, and Norway's sovereign wealth fund.
Jay Rao
Professor of Strategy & Innovation
Babson College
Dr. Jay Rao teaches extensively in Babson Executive Education, specializing in innovation, entrepreneurial leadership, innovation culture, and customer experience innovation, and teaches MBA courses on innovation and entrepreneurial leadership. Coming from an 85-year-old family business, he has served on several international innovation advisory boards and has led executive programs and consulting engagements for global organizations including Google, Novartis, Honeywell, Medtronic, Bayer, Fidelity, and the U.S. Navy. He is the author of The Discipline and Culture of Innovation, and his research and business cases on innovation, transformation, digital strategy, and leadership have been published and used internationally.
Sophie De Smedt
Ambassador
[Organisation to add]
Introduces the visit to the United Nations. [Short bio to add.]
Alexander De Croo
UNDP Administrator and UN Under-Secretary-General
United Nations
Speaker session during the visit to the United Nations. [Short bio to add.]
Jeroen Audenaert
[Title to add]
[Organisation to add]
Speaker session at MIT and Watson Labs. [Short bio to add.]
Goldman Sachs
Daan Struyven, Ingrid Tierens and Katrien Carbonnez
Tour and speaker session
[Titles, photos and short bios to add. Split into three cards once you have them.]
Before you travel
Both Babson College workshops ask you to arrive prepared. Read the case and fill out the template as far as you can, you can refine it during the session.
Mission Impossible
Confronting Childhood Malnutrition in Vietnam
The case behind Entrepreneurial Leadership & Innovators' DNA. Read it before the first Babson workshop.
Battlefield Exercise
Gorillas, Chimps & Monkeys
Fill out the template for your own business: one market, one product, one competitor. Fill out as much as you can, you can refine it during the session.
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