Dear Alumni,
As I near the completion of my first year as President of the INSEAD Alumni Association (IAA), I continue to be amazed by the spirit of volunteerism that drives our unique model of alumni relations. The dedication and commitment with which our alumni offer their time and energy to activities around the school and to strengthening the lifelong bond between themselves, is truly remarkable and has I am sure, in no small measure, contributed to the world finally knowing what we have known all along – that INSEAD is #1.
This year the IAA celebrates the 55th year of its founding. Forty seven National Alumni Associations, six National Alumni Clubs and seven Global Clubs catering to the specific needs and interests of a diverse 50,000 + strong alumni body is no small task. The IAA facilitates the workings of these associations and clubs by acting as a catalyst for new global initiatives, by providing a framework for their operations and by motivating them through continuous interaction to provide the best value proposition for their growing membership.
With valuable feedback compiled from our members and with the help of the Executive Committee of the IAA, we shared our three year Strategic Plan at the Annual Volunteers Meeting in the fall of 2015. After the necessary buy in from our members, we shared the same strategy with the Board of Directors of INSEAD last February. This was part of our on-going efforts to strengthen our institutional relationship with the school and align our interests across all stakeholders.
The Strategy focuses on key areas of IAA functional responsibilities as well as proposes measures for the long term institutional and financial sustainability of the IAA. Broadly, it envisages enhancing the value proposition for our members through new initiatives in lifelong learning and alumni services while consolidating the past gains made in career development and mentoring. The Strategy focuses on contributing towards institutional branding by leveraging the talented pool of alumni across various geographical and economic sectors. The National Alumni Associations and Clubs will remain the focal points for effective delivery of alumni services and they will be further facilitated by impact training and assessment. Finally the IAA, as an apex body of volunteer associations needs to lead by example. As such the Strategy focuses on strengthening its management function by ensuring robustness in its governance structure and sustainability in its financial flows. A strategy of course is meaningless without effective follow through and it is part of our current efforts to ensure that a detailed action plan is implemented with the timelines and responsibilities acceptable to all our members.
I plan to come back to you over the course of the year as we unveil new initiatives. It is our hope and desire that you will participate wholeheartedly in these activities with the same level of enthusiasm and joie de vivre that mark your time spent at INSEAD.
