An evening at Greyfriars Kirk
NAA United Kingdom
On Thursday 24th April an INSEAD Scotland gathering was held at the historic Greyfriars Kirk, the first church to be built in Edinburgh after the Reformation. Paul Skipworth MBA’95J, Chair of the Scottish Sector, welcomed alumni to the second INSEAD evening at that venue. “Last year we ran out of daylight as Bert was half way through the fascinating stories and achievements behind the graveyard’s illustrious inhabitants so we had to finish it this year” he said. Bert Hutchings, a congregation member who volunteers at Greyfrairs to give tours proved to be a fount of knowledge on Scottish Enlightenment thinkers and notable figures who were entombed in Greyfriars grounds.
After the tour, Henry Wallace, the Greyfriars Organist, played a number of pieces on the Church’s famous organ. Paul Skipworth thanked Steve Lister, Operations Manager of the Kirk and husband of Lynne Lister MBA’91J for kind access to the Kirk and the private tours.
NEWS ROUNDUP – IAA Italy
By Massimo Scarcello, AMP Nov ’13
IAA Italy organised two events during the year’s second quarter. Summaries of these initiatives follow.
Campari Spirit
As announced in the previous issue of INSEAD Magazine, IAA Italy held its first meeting on Career Development on 8 April in Milan. This was a series organised in collaboration with Barclays.
We met with the Campari Group, the leading player in the global branded beverage industry. Two exceptional speakers introduced the Group: Luca Garavoglia, Chairman of Davide Campari-Milano Spa, and Giorgio Pivetta, Group HR Director, Davide Campari-Milano Spa. Giulia Belloni MBA’84D, IAA Italy President, moderated the roundtable discussion.
Luca recapped the extraordinary achievements by Campari Group since its 1860 establishment in downtown Milan where its founder, Gaspare Campari, invented the bright-red bittersweet aperitif. Today, Gruppo Campari is the sixth-largest player worldwide in the premium spirits industry (Source: Impact’s top 100 Premium Spirits Brands Worldwide by Company, February 2014) with a portfolio of over 50 premium and super-premium brands, marketed and distributed in over 190 markets for a total consolidated net sales of € 1,524.1 million (FY 2013 source Campari Group web site), according to the firm’s 2013 financial data published on its website. The Group employs more than 4,000 people (Source: Company Presentation 2014) and has been listed on the Italian Stock Exchange since 2001. Its growth is credited to a combination of its superior organisational qualities, such as marketing, innovation and financial discipline, as well as the firm’s acquisition of select local brands.
Giorgio introduced us to the Campari Group from the perspective of another important asset: the Campari people. At Campari, while they respect and preserve each person’s contribution in terms of the team’s diverse personal, cultural and professional backgrounds, the firm is also keen on harnessing these diverse talents in support of a shared way of doing business. In that spirit, they have coined a new word: “Camparista.” It refers to a passionate way of living the Campari values and sharing the same goals and beliefs. To succeed in this challenge, among other interesting and effective HR activities, the company developed the “Campari Way of People Management,” a training programme focused on enhancing the skills of those who have team responsibilities across the world. The company also launched the “Camparista Experience,” an internal online communication platform to express feelings and viewpoints about being part of the Campari Team.
The event left no doubt that the company is a very interesting place to work!
We wrapped up the IAA Italy event with a cocktail party in a superb location: on the rooftop garden of the Barclays Flagship store in Milan. Participants enjoyed the chance to admire the beautiful landscape and to continue exchange ideas.
Oil and Gas
Alumni gained valuable insights into the future of Europe’s gas market during a 21 May meeting at the prestigious PwC Milan offices, located at via Monte Rosa 91. Energy sources, technology and market dynamics were among the topics at this noteworthy gathering organised by IAA Italy.
Sharing their industry expertise with us were: Marco Arcelli, Upstream Gas Director, Enel SpA; Giorgio Biscardini, Vice President, Strategy&; Pier Filippo Di Peio MBA’98D, CEO Sorgenia Trading Spa; Rotislav Kazancev, Managing Director, Promgas SpA; and Massimo Nicolazzi, CEO, Centrex Europe Energy & Gas AG.
Pier Filippo introduced the evening’s subject by highlighting the energy and economic revolution triggered by shale gas in the United States. He analysed the impact that this source, which is natural gas trapped in certain rock formations called “schists,” could have on international balances in the delicate sphere of energy supply.
Giorgio said that the gas market for decades had been fairly predictable in terms of supply and demand. Yet, this arena has undergone a profound change in the past five years. This shift largely resulted from factors such as the reduction of fuel consumption brought about by the prolonged European economic crisis, as well as the entrance of new players onto the world stage, particularly the increase of shale gas production.
Massimo showed how new mining technologies, such as hydraulic fracturing (“hydrofracking”) and horizontal drilling, have enabled an increase in production of shale gas at competitive costs. These developments have allowed some countries (notably the U.S.) to become leaders in the production of so-called unconventional natural gas, transforming themselves from importers to exporters and causing an inevitable impact on the world gas market.
Marco contributed to the economic analysis by introducing five interesting paradigms that provoked requests from the meeting’s participants for in-depth analysis. His assessment considered Europe and the world gas market; subsidies in producer and consumer countries; Europe and shale gas production; Russian and European energy markets; and Italy and national production dynamics.
The final presentation, delivered by Rostislav, proved as compelling as those that came before it. In his discussion, he provided an additional point of reflection by considering the changes that had occurred in the market post-liberalisation and the resulting need to find a balance between the two key players: the importer, who wants to buy a product tailored for a given market; and the gas supplier, who plans enormous long-term investments to guarantee availability to different users.
Thanks to the hospitality of PwC, we ended the successful meeting with an excellent aperitif, eager for the opportunity to engage the presenters with additional questions.
