2024 proved to be yet another exciting and exceptional year for CEIBS and the Global EMBA (GEMBA) programme specifically. As we step into the Year of the Snake it’s the perfect time to look back on the past Year of the Dragon, and reflect on both the individual and collective achievements made across the GEMBA community.

Let’s remind ourselves of a few of the moments that made 2024 so special. 

ACHIEVEMENTS

· GEMBA Hits FT #1 Global Ranking

Four consecutive years at #2 on the prestigious Financial Times EMBA Ranking was already an outstanding achievement, but last year GEMBA finally took the top spot.

This was a moment of genuine global recognition for GEMBA, one that every student, alum, and member of the faculty and wider CEIBS staff felt immensely proud to witness.

· Long-Serving GEMBA Class Finally Graduates!

After battling through the unique difficulties of the coronavirus pandemic, the GEMBA 2021 cohort were able to officially graduate. After 30 months of study (6 more than the average programme duration), the class were delighted to reunite and complete their epic journey together.

·2024 Cohort Joins GEMBA

November saw the latest intake of exceptional business leaders come together for the first time to begin their GEMBA journey.

Together, they represent one of the most diverse and experienced cohorts in the programme’s history. We look forward to seeing the amazing things they will no doubt accomplish in 2025.

GEMBA CIRCLE

Inaugurated in 2023, GEMBA Circle is the latest student body designed to represents the needs, perspectives and priorities of the programme within the wider school community. 2024 was a transformative year for the programme, with plenty of individual and group accolades to recognise and honour.

·Student/Alumni Clubs – New Blood

2024 saw the addition of two new clubs to the growing roster of shared interests held by GEMBA students and alumni.

The Golf Club and Going Global Club have both enjoyed an excellent start, hosting a series of events for their inaugural members. This brings the total number of GEMBA community clubs to nine.

·Alumni Stories – Highlighting Personal and Professional Growth

Our ongoing series of alumni stories gained eleven new episodes in 2024, each focusing on the accomplishments of individual GEMBA alums in and out of their business roles.

These stories help outline the broader mindset that modern business leaders need to succeed. Equally, they highlight the importance of personal motivations and the ability to seize upon industry-specific opportunities.

Alumni Story | Going Global from China – Interview with Mohsen Sabet
Alumni Story | Navigate the challenges in China's Cosmetics Industry
Alumni Story | China holds the future of automotive innovation
Alumni Story | Blockchain is gaining momentum and maturity
Alumni Story | GEMBA alumna Celine Chen joins P&Q's Best & Brightest 2024
Alumni Story | Getting Comfortable with Crisis Leadership
Alumni Story | Lawyer Alex Garmón de Celis on his Global EMBA
Alumni Story | Exploring the China-SEA Business Relationship
Alumni Story | Airbags to steering wheels to CTO – Interview with Fabien Dumont
Alumni Story | Innovating for the Future of Auto Luxury
Alumni Story | Social Enterprises Must be Sustainable to Survive

·Annual Symposium 2024 Explores China’s New Playbook

GEMBA is a lifelong learning journey, and 2024 demonstrated how an alum’s experiences with the programme can open doors to all manner of new professional opportunities.

In June, CEIBS GEMBA hosted its latest annual symposium at the Shanghai Campus, attracting a packed audience of around 300 participants, all eager to understand China’s economic, political and cultural transition into a position of greater international leadership.

·CEIBS Celebrates its 30th Anniversary

Three decades ago, CEIBS was founded with a guiding mission of promoting greater trust, cooperation and understanding between China and Europe, and by extension, the wider world.

Backed by this noble ideal, CEIBS has flourished into a global leader in business education, encompassing a community of over 32,000 alumni, current students, professors and support staff. Its Global EMBA was the first English-speaking EMBA available in the Chinese mainland. Today, our own GEMBA family stands at over 2300 alumni hailing from 40+ countries.  

30 years on, and both the school and the GEMBA programme are still going from strength to strength.

·GEMBA Alumni Reunion 2024

140+ alumni, representatives of GEMBA classes stretching back 20 years, gathered on campus to renew old friendships, make new ones, and further their lifelong learning journey.

GOING GLOBAL

CEIBS’ mission is to build bridges between China and the world, and GEMBA is central to that aim, as its students are instilled with a mindset of globally responsible leadership.

Each year, the programme seeks out new opportunities to help global companies of every size and sector understand the realities of breaking into the China market, as well as helping Chinese companies make a success of 出海 (Chuhai – expanding abroad).

·GEMBA Expands its Global Footprint

The Global Modules are a pillar of the GEMBA “experiential education” approach, and after years of disruption to international travel, 2024 saw them make a roaring return to form. A full 23 modules were delivered across the year, with seven of them occurring within the first three months.

Every country visited provided GEMBA students with a snapshot of unique business cultures practised around the world. Each module was a chance to see how the world’s respective nations, big and small, advanced or developing, approach the ever-evolving challenges of modern global business, teaching them invaluable lessons to take home.

·In-depth Dialogue with Chinese Biopharma Companies

May saw CEIBS host a fascinating dialogue between two internationally respected biopharma leaders (and GEMBA alums), Mike Chen, Founder and CEO of ACROBiosystems, and Gilbert Li, CFO of Pharmaron.

Between them, Mike and Gilbert outlined many of the most critical challenges for Chinese biopharma companies when preparing for their initial global expansion, along with the immense revenue generation and R&D opportunities this poses.

·Going Global Club Hits its Stride

Hosting not one but two events in its inaugural year, the recently founded Going Global Club provided attendees with a step-by-step guide to building overseas teams during their first event, while the second focused on the impact of the November US election on global strategy.

·Building Bridges Event Series Starts with Southeast Asia

The latest event series in the GEMBA annual agenda got off to a fantastic start in its first year. The first set of paired events examined the deep links between China and Southeast Asia.

The first leg of the series, hosted in Shenzhen, explored what both sides have to offer one another, and how Chinese companies can better prepare to make a successful debut in SE Asia. The second, which took place in Singapore, looked through the other end of the telescope, focusing on how Southeast Asian companies view and approach China as a business prospect, and how they might engage with its massive domestic market and technical expertise.

On 8th November 2024, representatives from leading Chinese firms and MNCs gathered at CEIBS Shanghai campus for the first half of GEMBA’s second series of “Building Bridges: China and Europe”. Former Prime Minister of France and CEIBS Distinguished Professor Dominique de Villepin delivered a compelling keynote on the challenges and opportunities facing Chinese companies entering the EU market amid an ever-changing geopolitical landscape.

CAREER FOCUS

·CEO Dialogues Explore the Realities of Global Leadership

2024 allowed GEMBA to host three new CEO Dialogues, each focusing on a different facet of approaching, preparing for, and ultimately making a success of a global-facing leadership role.

In January, Professor Ramasamy sat down with Cabot’s Executive Vice President Jeff Zhu to discuss big-picture thinking regarding the Chinese economy and where its evolving position leaves openings for professionals looking to move from local or regional roles to global leadership.

A few months later, the professor chatted with Stan Zurkiewicz, CEO of DEKRA, for an in-depth look at the strengths and weaknesses of Chinese leadership styles, and how non-Chinese leaders can adapt to it using “empathy through exposure”.

The final CEO Dialogue of 2024 was held in September. Professor Ramasamy quizzed Justin Wang, VP and Regional Head, Greater China, for SABIC, on how best to approach the often thorny problem of managing the relationship between a company’s HQ and its regional subsidiaries.

Collectively, these three dialogues gave the assembled audiences the chance to learn from the real-world experiences of global leaders who have forged their own paths in a time of unprecedented uncertainty.

Happy Year of the Snake – Make 2025 another Outstanding Year for GEMBA

Looking back on the many achievements, milestones and celebrations of 2024, the GEMBA programme is primed for another year of building on a three-decade-long story of unfolding success.

Keeping in mind the school’s original mission of fostering international cooperation and developing globally minded business leadership, GEMBA students and alumni are always ready to find new ways to build bridges, open dialogues, and generally pursue new avenues of academic and professional excellence.

Long may this attitude persist, into 2025 and the years to come. Happy Year of the Snake, everybody!