CEIBS Vice Chairman and EFMD Global President Eric Cornuel has been honored with the prestigious Shanghai Magnolia Gold Award for his outstanding contributions to Shanghai’s international development and cooperation. 

For over 20 years, Prof. Cornuel has shaped the future of global management education as Global President of EFMD, the world’s largest network for management development. EFMD is globally recognised for its EQUIS accreditation and BSIS framework, benchmarks of excellence for business schools, MBA programmes, and corporate universities worldwide. 

Prof. Cornuel joined the CEIBS Board of Directors in 2007 and has served as the school’s Vice Chairman since 2023. In 2012, representing the EU, he co-led negotiations with then-CEIBS Chairman Zhang Jie to sign the 20-year CEIBS Extension Agreement. He was also instrumental in recruiting global leaders such as Romano Prodi, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, and Dominique de Villepin as CEIBS Distinguished Professors. His leadership has expanded CEIBS’ European presence, including the launch of the Zurich campus in 2015, and strengthened partnerships with top European business schools.

This award comes at a historic moment: 2025 marks 50 years of China–EU diplomatic relations. As CEIBS celebrates this milestone, the recognition of Prof. Cornuel highlights the importance of fostering mutual understanding, academic excellence, and sustainable collaboration between Europe and China through business education and leadership development.