People & Cultures
People, cultures and ideas
from all around the world
Piše Ana VUKOV
I arrived at the Paris airport Charles de Gaulle. As soon as I arrived there I noticed the usual diversity of people and cultures, characteristic for big cities like Paris. That October day it was raining and thundering persistently without cessation. I felt like seeking rescue in one of the taxis which would take me to a comfortable Paris hotel-but my destination was INSEAD, Fontainebleau. I managed to find the local train which would take me to Fontainebleau and while travelling, I observed the outskirts of Paris, wondering how my encounter with Europe’s most prestigious business school INSEAD would look like. At that occasion, I did not succeed in interviewing the school’s Dean, Professor Gabriel Hawawini, as I only participated at one of INSEAD’s information sessions. But the Dean’s Press department kindly assured me that Prof. Hawawini would be interested in an interview and that he would gladly respond to EPOHA’s invitation. INSEAD is one of the world’s largest graduate business schools. Founded in Fontainebleau (France) in 1957 INSEAD remains unique in its cultural diversity of its participants, faculty and staff, which the school continues to develop on three continents. The Europe campus, a modern 8 hectare campus is located at the edge of the forest Fontainebleau (65 km south of Paris) which is famous for being the home of Napoleon, and the summer residence of French kings. The school’s facilities include more than 11.000 square meters of office space, 28 amphitheatres and conference rooms, more than 1.000 PCs and workstations and extensive library resources. The MBA (Master of Business Administration) programme has 870 participants from more than 70 countries, the Executive MBA with 58 participants from 26 countries and INSEAD’s Executive education programmes have more than 7.000 participants each year representing more than 90 countries and 2.000 companies worldwide.
Gabriel Hawawini, the Henry Grunfeld Chaired Professor of Investment Banking, is Dean of INSEAD since August 2000. He received his master in chemical engineering from the University of Toulouse (1972) and his doctorate in finance from New York University (1977). Prior to joining INSEAD in 1982, he has taught at New York University, Columbia University and the City University of New York where he was the recipient of the “Presidential Award for Distinguished Faculty Scholarship” (1982). During 1988, he was a Visiting Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where he received the “Helen Kardon Moss Anvil Award for Excellence in Teaching”. In May 2004, he was presented with the “Fulbright Award for Global Business Education”.
Gabriel is the author of twelve books, two online courses and over seventy research papers in the areas of value-based management, risk estimation and asset valuation, portfolio management, and the structure of the financial-services industry. His most recent book --“Finance for Executives: Managing for Value Creation”-- has been translated into Chinese (2004). Prior to his appointment as Dean of INSEAD he consulted with a number of firms on the implementation of value-based management systems. He is on the board of directors ...
