André Hoffmann MBA’90D and his wife Rosalie
Thanks to the exceptional generosity of an alumnus and his wife, INSEAD has established a new institute that aims to transform business and society on a global scale.
In August, André Hoffmann MBA’90D and his wife, Rosalie, presented INSEAD with a €40 million commitment—the largest gift by an individual in the school’s history—to create the institute, aptly named the Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society.
Through a broad range of research and teaching activities, the Hoffmann Institute aims to uncover new and actionable insights about ethics, gender balance, humanitarian operations, social impact, sustainability, tech for good, wealth inequality and other pressing topics at the intersection of business and society.
“We are deeply grateful to André and Rosalie Hoffmann for their extraordinary support,” says Dean Ilian Mihov. “They have made a significant contribution to the positive, real-world impact of INSEAD on business and society.”
A transformative force
The institute is dedicated to advancing business as a force for good and achieving the next level of social impact.
To realise those goals, it will focus on supporting research, facilitating learning, engaging partners and modelling best practices that “contribute to delivering business value with positive societal impact,” says Katell Le Goulven, Executive Director of the Hoffmann Institute. “The institute is envisioned as a transformative force at INSEAD and beyond. It aims to forge leaders, managers and entrepreneurs who align the interests of their organisations with pressing social and environmental challenges.”
This vision, André Hoffmann notes, aligns with his personal views on how individuals and organisations can drive meaningful change.
“Transformational change towards true sustainability will not take place without a new generation of leaders who are willing and able to change the status quo,” he notes. “This institute is poised to help future leaders understand the importance of societal and environmental returns alongside the traditional financial approach, creating shareholder value while lifting up people and protecting our planet.”
Championing sustainability worldwide
A member of the board of SystemIQ, Hoffmann helps transform economic systems in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. He is the Vice Chairman of Roche Holdings, Switzerland, a highly innovative pharmaceutical company established by his great grandfather in 1896. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum and of the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in San Francisco.
Hoffmann also focuses his efforts on nature conservation and sustainability. He served on the boards of Wetlands International, the Global Footprint Network and WWF International as Vice-President for seven years. He is the President of Fondation MAVA, a leading European conservation foundation committed to conserve biodiversity, and President of Fondation Tour du Valat, a world-renowned research institute primarily active in the conservation of Mediterranean wetlands.
At INSEAD, Hoffmann has served on the Board of Directors, Alumni Fund Board, National Alumni Associations and as Chair of the Audit Committee. He and his wife have championed thought leadership at the school in many ways, including by establishing the André and Rosalie Hoffmann Chair in Family Enterprise.
In keeping with their commitment to sustainability, the Hoffmanns gave a generous gift to INSEAD’s Leadership Development Centre on the Asia Campus in 2015. The centre was awarded a Platinum Green Mark by the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore for its incorporation of best-practice environmental design and construction.
