This past weekend, the alumni community in the US demonstrated the incredible power of the INSEAD alumni network as they celebrated the Fourth Annual INSEAD Americas Alumni Forum in San Francisco. The Forum was launched in Chicago in 2011 and has now become the must attend Americas alumni event of the year. The Forum rotates to a new city in the Americas each year and is open to all alumni across all classes and geographies.
This year’s Forum addressed the topic of “Technology & Entrepreneurship” a perfect choice given the Bay Area and Silicon Valley setting. Star faculty from INSEAD and some of our most accomplished alumni make up the programme addressing topics such as the future of business, the growth of organisations, negotiation and blue ocean entrepreneurs.
An incredibly talented group of alumni volunteers, led by Dustin Hindman MBA’06J, Gopi Rangan MBA’07D, Liana Burtsava MBA’06J and Craig McKenna, INSEAD, worked many hours for more than a year to put together this top notch Forum weekend. The US IAA recognised several key volunteers for their outstanding contributions, Dean Ilian Mihov presented awards to:
- Oren Zeev MBA’94J – Entrepreneur of the Year
- Gopi Rangan MBA’07D – President of the Year
- Dustin Hindman MBA’06J – Volunteer of the Year
Special recognition was also given to Julio Pekarovic MBA’94D by Dean Mihov for his vision and direction of the INSEAD Americas Forum. Under Julio’s leadership the Americas Forum became an annual event and the concept of the Forum expanded across the globe. He grew the USA IAA membership rate consistently over his tenure and successfully re-organised the USA IAA association into metro areas allowing alumni volunteers to focus events at the metro/city level rather than the tri-state or regional level. Julio currently serves as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer for Quantcast and is President of the USA IAA and Council Member.
Our congratulations to all volunteers!
