NEWSLETTER No 17 JUIN 2006

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1 NEWSLETTER No 17 JUIN 2006 BSL HAS GOT IT RIGHT Do you remember this headline from BSL Newsletter No15 in June 2005? The article showed how BSL s long-standing approach to business education pragmatic business from current, successful, business, practitioners - was receiving support from that venerable publication Harvard Business Review. From time to time we see other evidence that some schools are at last (slowly) waking up to the fact that business is a practical subject. But it is still amusing to read what some people write; as though they have made a startling discovery! This is from TOPMBA Careers Newsletter: The X Factor The skills recruiters want While generally accepted that soft skills such as the ability to network and negotiate effectively are needed by MBAs in their job search and subsequent career management, the teaching of such skills has not traditionally been seen as the role of the business school. Recognising that a very definite skills gap exists, many forward thinking schools are now offering such training as an optional extra, with some even making it a mandatory part of the course. If forward thinking schools are only now offering this, does that mean BSL, which has placed great emphasis on soft skills for the last twenty years, has special magical powers to see into the future? No. It s just that we are business people who know the factors that contribute to real business success, and pass these onto our students. Sounds like BSL got it right again. Dr Trevor J. Johnson REAFFIRMATION OF ACCREDITATION Unbelievably it is ten years since BSL was proud to become the first business school in Europe to receive full ACBSP accreditation. Because ACBSP is a serious organisation, accreditation is not something for which you pay a fee and receive lifetime membership. Over the last ten years we have had to submit a report, at the beginning every year and later every three years, to show how we continue to meet the accreditation standards.

2 After ten years the school has to go through the complete accreditation process again what is called reaffirmation. So, in January 2006 we submitted a 50-page report (plus 150 pages of appendices) called a Self Study. Three deans of business schools from the USA visited us in March to see if we do what we say we do! We had a chance to comment on their report (another 10 page document) before everything was submitted to the Board of Commissioners. Phew! A long process, but that s a measure of the importance and value of this accreditation. On 29 April we received an , Congratulations, the Board of Commissioners has granted you reaffirmation of accreditation. I will be attending the ACBSP Annual Conference in Chicago during June to receive our new certificate of accreditation. The quality of the BSL programmes, independently confirmed by ACBSP Accreditation and ISO 9001 Certification, is the reason BSL continues to be successful in the increasingly competitive environment of business education. Dr Trevor Johnson A FAMILY AFFAIR When Michael Greither enters the BBA programme in September 2006, he will cross paths with his sister Kristina (BBA 07). Their older sisters, Katrin (BBA 01) and Stephanie (BBA 02), as well as Stephanie s husband, Alex von Schönau (BBA 01) preceded them. The Greither family may have set a new BSL record (for the Guiness book?), but brothers and sisters, cousins and even twins have been attending BSL for almost twenty years. Flavio and Sabina Bucciarelli (both BBA 92) were among the first siblings to study at BSL. When Andriy Shevchenko graduates in September this year, brother Mykhaylo will be following him, entering in the BBA class of 08. Mohamed Al Thani (BBA 05) overlapped with brother Fahad, who in turn welcomed Abdulla (BBA 07). Celine Eros de Bethlenfalva (BBA 05) followed her brother Stephane (BBA 03). Brothers Alexey (BBA 04) and Maxim Morosov (BBA 02) were here at the same time as Hmayene and Leila Bouamatou (BBAs 04). Cédrine Wettengel (BBA 04) followed sister Géraldine (BBA 01). Twin brothers Aris and Vassilis Sakoulogiorgas received their BBA diplomas in Denis (BBA 05) and Ilya Shestakov also overlapped. Alexander Kassabov (BBA 02/ MBA 03) stayed on as brother Jaroslav finished BBA 03. Sisters Alisha and Schauna Chauchan were in BBA programme in The MBA programme has also seen brothers Amer and Faisal Abbasi (MBAs 92) and more recently Gys and Victor Oostenrijk (MBAs 01). Couples and spouses who met and married before, during and/or after their studies at BSL would require another article. The number of cousins who have been through BBA and/or MBA is almost too long to mention. And the beat goes on Some of the faculty realized they were getting older (and hopefully wiser) when Nina Kucera-Ubbesen joined the BBA class of 07. Nina s mother, the late Chris Kucera, graduated the MBA programme in We sometimes refer to BSL as a small family and even spanning over generations now, we re happy to keep it an extended family. Dr Charles Dufault

3 FRENCH-SPEAKING GRADUATION CEREMONY The Graduation Ceremony of the French-speaking MBA run by ESM in Geneva took place on April 6, 2006 in Château de Penthes. As usual, it was combined with the Tribune du MBA, a conference followed by a discussion. This year, the guest speaker was Mr Jacques Neyrinck, former professor at EPFL and former member of the Swiss parlement. The topic of his very interesting speech was how does advertisement work and what are the psychological mechanisms used sometimes to conceal the truth. Congratulations to the 17 new Graduates who went through the ceremony Promotion One FM! Graduates and some members of the Faculty Prof Jacques Neyrinck Prof Dufault representing BSL

4 Valentina Rampazzi, Geneva, LVMH Fashion Group Switzerland SA, Accountant for Christian Dior (Suisse) SA and Céline (Suisse) SA Bernd Rosemeyer, Hangzhou (China), BMW Automotive Trading Ltd (China), Sales Consultant for newly established dealerships in China Jean-Marc Schnider, Publier (France), CSS Assurance Switzerland, Marketing & Sales Director Raj Sen Gupta, New Delhi (India), got married and has a baby boy. Laurent Stieger, Lausanne, is working in the Marketing Department of Protecht SA Miguel Suarez, Lausanne VD, Orange Switzerland, Project Manager in Technical Division Stefan Ultsch, Stäfa ZH, Dow Europe GmbH, Specialty Plastics and Elastomere Development Scientist Katrin von Quadt, Vienna (Austria), Loud!On Communications, Missions Officer (Marketing, PR, events, misery locations and concepts) Eduard Walder, Buochs (Switzerland), Pilatus Aircraft Ltd, Regional Director, Trainer a/c Sales & Marketing Extramet AG On November 9, 2005, Extramet AG was awarded the Prix à l Innovation 2005 from Canton de Fribourg. Founded in 1980, Extramet has developed a new fabrication process enhancing the quality of hard metals. The hard metals are used to produce tools in the automotive and aeronautical industries, as well as in microtechnics and dental techniques. This new process has a positive impact on the quality of final products, in terms of duration of life of tools, machines and their cost. Hans-Jörg Mihm, a BSL alumnus, is member of the Board of Extramet AG. Vibro-Meter In September 2005, Vibro-Meter was classified the seventh best supplier of Airbus. Since its foundation, Vibro-times in the top ten suppliers of this European aircraft company. John Burns, Istvan Szabo, Pavol R Meter has been five ybarik and John Panteli are all alumni of our Executive MBA programme. SEGHEZZI PRIZE The Swiss Foundation for research and development Quality (SFAQ) will award the Seghezzi Prize for promotion of Quality Management for a written report in French, German or Italian in the field of Quality Management. The author must live in Switzerland or Liechtenstein and be under 35 years old. The report has to be sent before January 31, The amount of the prize is CHF For more detail, please contact Secrétariat SFAQ c/o SQS, Bernstrasse 103, P.O. Box 686, 3052 Zollikofen. Tel: W.A. DE VIGIER FOUNDATION In 2007, the W.A. de Vigier Foundation will award prizes worth CHF each to young Swiss entrepreneurs for innovative companies. The deadline for application is October 6, More info available at

5 BSL DINNERS It has become a tradition to organise two dinners a year with the Faculty and the students. One takes place in Winter (cheese fondue) and the other one in July to celebrate the end of the academic year. Here are some pictures to remind you of our last two dinners. BSL DINNER AT POCO LOCO ON JULY 27, 2005 Romaine Fernandes and Piyali Chakravarty Denis Shestakov and Celine Eros Francesco Belli, Sophie Garnier and Jana Vecerina Lorenzo Wiskerke and Karin Hempel Prof Schenouda and Prof Dufault Yacine Sidibe and Massimiliano Baroni Veronika Kochkanyan and Frédéric Narbel Dr Johnson, Carola Schweizer, Florian Führer, Frédéric Narbel and Philippe Giesbrecht

6 BSL DINNER AT CAFÉ DU CENTRE (LUTRY) ON FEBRUARY 9, 2006 Prof Sikora and Jana Vecerina Kabir Bose and Emilija Arnaudova Prof Rouiller and Prof Dufault Maram Tughar, Fanny Guerreiro, Shivani Dass and Prof Tsiklis Xin Yu Zhang, Lorenzo Wiskerke, Rolf Carsjens Nikita Ioudine and Svetlana Yurkina Aviv Miron, Anar Mahmudov and Emilija Arnaudova Frédéric Narbel, Philippe Giesbrecht, Dorothea Deeg, Nina Kucera, Stéphanie Greither, Tomas Edvinsson and Soheyl Almassi Noukiani Prof Gallwey, Prof Bafandi, Prof Dent, Carmen Yip, Xin Yu Zhang and Prof Pai

7 WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Marco Baiguini, Prangins VD, Cisalpino AG, Chief Commercial Officer. Marco Baiguini is also President of the business club Executives International ( Paul Binsfeld, Scottsdale AZ (USA), Company Nurse LLC, Founder and CEO. Paul Binsfeld is married with two children aged 11 and 8. Olivier F. Brack, Echallens VD, Laureate Hospitality Education, Regional Admissions Director Eastern Europe (Hotel & Hospitality Management Division) Richard Britton, London (UK), VisitBritain, Head of Technology. Initiated a change programme to transform the IT function of a marketing company, and turn it from a cost centre with outdated skills, into an internal agency offering e-marketing services (CRM, campaign websites, etc.). The hardest thing about the work is the people issues, and I am utilising a lot of the softer skills I gained from my studies. I plan to stick with this until the work is completed, and then offer my services doing interim management where failing businesses need transforming. Gregg Clopath, Bursinel VD, swam across Lake Leman on August 13, He was sponsored by his employer, Merz Pharma (Switzerland) to sustain the Swiss Alzheimer Association. Daniel Comment, Fontenais JU, Manufacture Ruedin SA (Swatch Group), Finance & Administration Manager. One daughter born on 19 th April 2005 Timothy Crowch, London (UK) and Oberägeri (Switzerland), RTI Ltd, Partner and Managing Director, Forensic Investigation for the Legal & Insurance markets Claude Deffaugt, Geneva, is a graduate of our French-speaking Executive MBA programme in Geneva. He was appointed Operations Manager of Migros France from January On February, an article dedicated to him was published in L Extension. Lilly Ding, Houston TX (USA), Technidd Chemi-Tech Co, Executive, responsible for Marketing and Sales Mikkel Dobloug, Norway, is working for Per Gynt Gaarden Hotel ( On January 2006, he was awarded the HSMAI prize for best marketing brochure at Oslo Plaza. Chetan Gokal, Mumbai (India), took up in 2002 the franchise for the world-renowned Patchi chocolates and after opening the Patchi store in 2003 has been marketing the brand with great success in India Julien Lagier, self-employed, Administrator of Simexa Group ( real estate in Switzerland. Recently married with Nour in Byblos Per Lausen, Denmark, Eldorado A/S, Director Larry Lautmann, La Tour-de-Peilz VD, Agency Team models, C.E.O. Website is Enrique Leal Berlie, Guadalajara (Mexico), Flextronics International, Divisional Controller in Guadalajara. Controls about 60M-70M USD. Will also manage the start up for a new operation site at Juarez (Mexico) in the border with USA. Three years old babygirl called Ana Sofia and a son born in September 2005 called Santiago Jef Matray, CEFCO Sàrl (Member of the Lemania Group of Schools), Trainer/teacher for adults. With the leaders of his church, opened a branche of Westlake Church Nyon in St-Sulpice (Lausanne area). Sylvain Moesching, NetSME ( Founder and Manager, was interviewed last year in Technos, a supplement of Bilan. Katrin Muff, Lausanne, runs a coaching company called Yupango ( A half-page editorial was dedicated to her company in the local newspaper Lausanne-Cités on th March 2006 Olga Naimouchina, Moscow (Russia), Nestlé, Marketing Department Dimitrios Noukakis, Préverenges VD, EPFL (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Project Leader, promotion & development Masters programmes of EPFL Dr John H. Nugent, Mc Kinney TX (USA), University of Dallas School of Management, Director Center of Information Assurance MBA and MMIA Programs, Associate Professor. Founded and lead the largest accredited graduate information assurance program in the U.S. designated by the U.S. National Security Agency & Department of Homeland Security as a national center of academic excellence in information assurance Fabienne Oberson, Geneva, worked in the marketing department of HSBC Republic. Joined Aurelia Finance in 2004 Johnny Ormstrup, Morges VD, Chocolats et Cacao Favarger SA in Geneva, heading the international operations as a VP of International Sales. Baby girl Johanna Victoria Perez Ducy, Santo Domingo (Domninican Republic), 3M Dominican Republic, Marketing Coordinator for Electrical Markets Division. Stefan Prebil, Cham ZG, Sandoz Pharmaceuticals AG, General Manager

8 LOOKING FOR A JOB? We remind you that BSL has partnered with Top MBA Careers to provide: - free access to a searchable data base of international jobs - a calendar of networking events and training courses - membership of an online directory of MBAs - links to local career coaching specialists - a host of careers and company information. To gain access to this site you simply send an to Marjorie Schönauer (info@bsl-lausanne.ch). You will receive an invitation allowing you to set up a unique account. Other interesting websites are: (Accountancy & Finance, Banking, IT, Management & Strategy) OPEN NIGHTS This year again, BSL organised Open Nights to promote the Executive MBA and the DBA programmes. These events took place in Geneva, Lausanne, Basel and Zug. We thank the members of the Faculty, as well as the current students and alumni who helped us promoting BSL: Prof Gallwey, Prof Gamage, Prof Pai, Prof Sikora, Daniel Comment, Tim Crowch, Daniel Gast, Alain Gisiger, Alistair Horman, Claude Jaccard, Edyta Mrozinska, Marco Piermartiri and Pascal Ravessoud. EDDY-PAUL NICOLLIER Sadly we have to report the death of Mr Eddy-Paul Nicollier, Director of Lemania, on Monday, May 15, Mr Nicollier started to work at Lémania in He played a key-role during the transition between the second and the third generation of Du Pasquier family at the head of the company, as well as in the development of the group. Mr Nicollier was a member of the board of BSL. NEXT GRADUATION CEREMONY We remind you that our next Graduation Ceremony will take place on Saturday, September 23, 2006 at 6 p.m. at the Beau-Rivage Palace Hotel in Lausanne-Ouchy. All the alumni are welcome to participate in the ceremony and the apero. Av. Dapples 38 Box 160 CH-1001 Lausanne - Switzerland Tel Fax bsl@iprolink.ch