MBA Alumnight event in London

ESCP Europe hosted the first MBA Alumnight event on the evening of Thursday 10th of May at the London campus. The event was organised by MBA students Amina Ndichi and Martin Elxnath from ESCP Europe’s MBA in International Management class as a way to provide networking opportunities with senior alumni from the school.

The evening started with a warm welcome speech from Professor Simon Mercado, Dean of the London campus. Students then were mixed with the alumni to sit in groups, where some of our senior alumni gave their expertise and knowledge in a series of round-table discussions. Our MBA students had the opportunity to network with the alumni, to discuss professional experience and career opportunities and to exchange ideas on current business trends.

Top-calibre alumni representing a myriad of corporate enterprises included:
- David Benchabo, Former Director of HR at Verifone
- Bozena Cosser, Director at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
- Roman Dahl, Senior Associate in Business Strategy at Google
- Lawrence Duquesne-Garner, Executive Director for Supranational, Sovereign and Agency Debt Capital Markets at Credit Agricole CIB
- Peter Lambrecht, Vice President and Head of Execution for M&A at ING Bank
- Joel Palix, CEO of feelunique.com, former CEO of Clarins Fragrance Group

The round table discussions were followed by a lively get-together around drinks and canapés. The successful MBA Alumnight event ended with many laughs and lots of insightful connections.

Meeting these Alumni was met by enthusiastic comments from our MBA students:

“It was an enjoyable evening with interesting and diverse alumni-guests – the perfect chance to discover insights about the UK market, hiring specificities and living conditions. All the guests had international experience that gave us an opportunity to discuss and compare industry development in different geographic locations. Great organization by our student representatives, thanks!” Natalia Kovylkina-Domine (Ukraine)

“The Alumnight was very well organised and a great opportunity for us to leverage the great alumni database of the school and learn from our former ESCP students. The group of alumni selected covered a great range of industries and job roles. From the CEO of a start-up to a Director at the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, we received advice on how best to approach the job market and how to best leverage the MBA as a boost to our career.” Nirmal Sebastian (India)

“The Alumnight organised by our student representatives brought together several alumni who work in a variety of industries and job functions. This event allowed us to spend an enjoyable night with great professionals who gave us useful information about their job and tips to succeed in our career. In today's competitive work environment, these connections can make a difference.” Maurizio Fanelli (Italy)