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    Annual Report 2024 Sustainability Report 2024
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    IMD business school for management and leadership courses

    Governance

    2024 was a year of transition for IMD’s leadership. After eight years President Jean-François Manzoni stepped down to continue his distinguished career as a member of IMD’s faculty.  As President, he steered IMD securely through the COVID-19 pandemic, pivoted its strategic focus, and delivered a successful transformation of its programs and research portfolio to deliver record performance, doubling the size of the institution.

    Following a smooth handover during the summer, David Bach officially took the helm as IMD President on 1 September 2024, four months after being unanimously appointed by the IMD Supervisory Board.

    On taking up the role, he appointed a smaller, more integrated Leadership Team to drive forward IMD’s vision to become, and be recognized as, the world’s most impactful business school.

    Oversight, guidance and integrity

    IMD’s governance structure is composed of three layers: the Leadership Team, the Supervisory Board, and the Foundation Board. Our President is appointed by the Supervisory Board. Under his leadership, the Leadership Team sets IMD’s business goals, financial targets, and annual budgets, all in alignment with the strategic guidelines set by the Supervisory Board. 

    The President is responsible for proposing the structure and composition of his Leadership Team. He ensures the Supervisory Board is regularly informed about developments, actions, and results, and he delivers an annual activity report to the Foundation Board.

    Our quality assurance strategy is designed to foster a culture of excellence and innovation in learning and impact.

    The Foundation Board, IMD’s highest governing body, in conjunction with the Supervisory Board, ensures that IMD remains relevant to the evolving needs of the global corporate community.

    These boards are composed of key stakeholders, including CEOs from companies with deep learning collaborations, leaders of academic institutions, alumni, and a faculty representative.

    Please read our full report for information on financial governance

    The IMD Leadership Team 

    David Bach
    President of IMD, Nestlé Professor of Strategy and Political Economy
    Louis Leclézio
    Chief Operations Officer
    Peggy Le Roux
    Chief Financial Officer
    Misiek Piskorski
    Professor of Digital Strategy, Analytics and Innovation and Dean of Executive Education
    Stefan Michel
    Professor of Management, Dean of Faculty and Research
    Sarah Toms
    Chief Innovation Officer

    In 2024, the IMD Supervisory Board consisted of nine members:

    Michel Demaré
    Chairman of the Foundation and Supervisory Boards, Chair, AstraZeneca Plc
    Hanne de Mora
    Vice Chairperson of Foundation and Supervisory Boards, Co-founder, a-connect Group AG
    Gilbert Achermann
    Designated Chair of Sonova, Chair of Unilabs and Chair of Ypsomed, IMD EMBA 2000
    Hana Al Rostamani
    Group Chief Executive Officer, First Abu Dhabi Bank
    Liselott Kilaas
    Chair, Coala Life, IMD MBA 1987
    Jørgen Vig Knudstorp
    Deputy chair of the LEGO Foundation, board member of LEGO Group and of Starbucks
    Damien O’Brien
    Non-Executive Director, Ardagh Group and Redrock Leisure Group
    Woods Staton
    Executive Chair, Arcos Dorados, IMD MBA 1976
    Su-Mei Thomson
    Su-Mei Thompson
    Chief Executive Officer, Media Trust, IMD MBA 2001

    In 2024 the Foundation Board consisted of 51 members:

    Michel Demaré
    Chair, AstraZeneca Plc
    Hanne de Mora
    Co-founder, a-connect Group AG
    Gilbert Achermann
    Designated Chair of Sonova, Chair of Unilabs and Chair of Ypsomed, IMD EMBA 2000
    Christoph Aeschlimann
    Chief Executive Officer, Swisscom AG
    Hana Al Rostamani
    Group Chief Executive Officer, First Abu Dhabi Bank
    Tiina Alahuhta-Kasko
    President & Chief Executive Officer, Marimekko Corporation
    Abdulrahman Al Jadhai
    Former Chief Executive Officer, Elm
    Vinita Bali
    Non-Executive Director and board member, Syngene International Ltd
    Joan Beets
    Managing Partner, KennedyFitch GmbH, IMD MBA 2012
    Martijn Brenninkmeijer
    Chair, COFRA Holding AG, IMD MBA 1999
    Richard Carey
    Managing Member, Redwood Technology Ventures LP, IMD MBA 1996
    Boris Collardi
    Member of the Board, EFG International AG
    Jo Deblaere
    Owner, Blaarweyde
    Alain Dehaze
    Chairman and Member of Boards, GGE and Eiffel
    Jahangir (Jan) Doongaji
    Chief Executive Officer, Hilti Corporation
    Barbara Frei
    Barbara Frei
    Executive Vice President, Industrial Automation Schneider Electric, IMD EMBA 2007
    Harsh Goenka
    Chair, RPG Enterprises, IMD MBA 1979
    Michael Hengartner
    President ETH Board, IMD EMBA 2008
    Frédéric Herman
    Rector, UNIL
    Karen Huebscher
    Non-Executive Director and Chairwoman of the Audit Committee, Sandoz Group AG, IMD EMBA 2000
    Ilham Kadri
    CEO, Syensqo
    Jouko Karvinen
    Chairman of the Board, Finnair OYJ & Solidium
    Liselott Kilaas
    Chairperson Coala Life, IMD MBA 1987
    Jørgen Vig Knudstorp
    Deputy chair of the LEGO Foundation, board member of LEGO Group and of Starbucks
    Michel Liès
    Chairman, Zurich Insurance Group
    Margarita Louis-Dreyfus
    Chairperson of the Board LDC Board Louis-Dreyfus Commodities
    Jean-François Manzoni
    President and Nestlé Chaired Professor IMD (until August 2024)
    Geraldine Matchett
    Board Member, ABB
    Loïc Moutault
    President, Mars Petcare
    Martin Naville
    Chief Executive Officer, Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce
    Bernhard Nuesser
    Chief Executive Officer, Héron Optique et Audition, IMD MBA 1998
    Damien O’Brien
    Non-Executive Director, Ardagh Group and Redrock Leisure Group
    Adolfo Orive
    President and Chief Executive Officer, Tetra Pak
    Sami Rahal
    Chief Executive Officer, Deloitte DCE
    Philipp Rickenbacher
    Chief Executive Officer Julius BäR (until February 2024)
    Thomas Schineker
    Chief Executive Officer, Roche Group
    Thomas Schmidheiny
    Honorary Chairman of the Board of Directors, Holcim, IMD MBA 1972
    Mark Schneider
    Chief Executive Officer Nestlé SA (until August 2024)
    Ulrike Schwarz-Runer
    Managing Director, Senior Partner & Global General Counsel, BCG
    Stefan Seiler
    CHRO UBS
    Feike Sijbesma
    Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Philips and Co-Chair at Global Center on Adaptation
    Woods Staton
    Executive Chairman of the Board, Arcos Dorados, IMD MBA 1976
    Jakob Stausholm
    Chief Executive Officer Rio Tinto
    Mostafa Terrab
    Chairman and Chief Executive Officer OCP Group
    Su-Mei Thomson
    Su-Mei Thompson
    Chief Executive Officer, Media Trust, IMD MBA 2001
    Marie-France Tschudin
    Board Member, AXA, IMD MBA 2000
    Robert Uggla
    CEO, A.P. Møller Holding A/S
    Dolf van Den Brink
    Chief Executive Officer Heineken
    Martin Vetterli
    President, EPFL
    Penelope Warne
    Founder LawEverything
    John Weeks
    Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior, IMD
    Peter Wuffli
    Since 1 January 2020, former Foundation Board member and Chairman Peter Wuffli has attended Foundation Board meetings as Honorary Chairman.
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