Innovation & Strategic Management
Your Professors
PRESENTATION DESIGN PPT.
DESIGN THINKING.
Benjamin Beeckmans is a Solvay graduate turned into a serial entrepreneur passionate about innovation and online businesses. After holding various positions in finance and marketing at Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola, he founded Bluecorp, a software development company based in Sri Lanka and Teatower.com, a manufacturer and online reseller of tea-based products. Benjamin is in charge of the Brainstorm & Boost and e-marketing & e-commerce programs at Solvay Entrepreneurs and a regular coach for entrepreneurial projects. He is also President of the web businesses professional association and runs the e-commerce Entrepreneurship Program at EFP in Brussels.
Besides work, Benjamin is an active board member in several nonprofit organizations.
Jean-Pierre is currently:
• Partner at New Science Ventures LLC, a New-York based Venture Capital firm which invests in early and later stage companies using novel scientific approaches in the life sciences and information technology sectors worldwide
• Non-executive board member of several companies and non-profit foundations
• Professor at ULB-SBSEM where he teaches business unit and corporate strategy, and board member of Solvay Executive Education.
From 1980 until 1994, JP was successively a consultant, engagement manager, Principal and Director at McKinsey and Co. Inc, in Paris, France. He also co-led McKinsey’s Change Management practice worldwide.
From 1999 until 2002, JP was CEO of GIB Group, the leading Belgian retail holding group and a BEL-20 company, and, from 2002 until 2013, CEO of D’Ieteren, also a BEL 20 company and a multibusiness group (Carglass Worldwide; D’Ieteren Auto, the Belgian distributor of VW Group’s car brands; and Avis Car Rental EAMEA).
Jean-Pierre is a graduate of Solvay (1970) and Harvard Business School (MBA 1973), and holds a PhD in Applied Economics from ULB (1978).
SPECULATE – MANAGING THE FUTURE.
Christian is professor for Strategic Communication at the Berlin University of the Arts. He worked at different universities across the world like Germany (Univ Munich, Technical Univ Munich, Univ for Television and Film), US (Virginia Tech Univ) and Belgium.
As an entrepreneur, Christian co-developed and co-design two innovations (SOCCAFIVE and J-TENNIS) in the sports sector, and cofounded companies that market new methods for market research and gaming. He published in journals like Marketing Science, Journal of Business Research, and Journal of Consumer Behavior, and has written books on TV series and about the impact of marketing on consumers and society.
FIELD PROJECT.
As C-Level international Marketing and Strategy professional, Laurent Bouty brings more than 20 years of international experience in Marketing, Sales, Strategy and Leadership. He has a broad Marketing experience (from Marketing Strategy to Communication) including latest trends like analytics, social networks and mobile gained in Telecommunication, Advertising and Financial sector. Laurent has a strong marketing execution orientation in highly complex industries through team development and best practices implementation.
CRITICAL THINKING.
STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION.
Martine George (SBS-EM faculty) holds a MBA and a PhD in physical sciences. She has over 25 years of professional experience, including 15 spent developing business analytics teams within large organizations from different industries. She is Professor of Management Practice at Solvay Brussels School. Passionate about developing talent and organizations in business analytics, she is also ICF professional certified coach, facilitator & trainer.
INNOVATION MANAGEMENT.
An all-round Innovation Expert with almost 30 years of global experience in the consumer goods industry (Procter & Gamble). A track record of innovation-driven results through leadership of programs and development of people and organizations across the globe. On the ground working experience in Europe, North America, and Asia. Built specific expertise in Innovation Leadership: how leaders assume accountability to build an organizational culture deep into their organizations – where each individual is in flow, growing amazing relationships in winning teams that produce breakthrough results.
Recently directed experiences and expertise to help leaders connect with self and their people to make their organizations thrive in today’s VUCA times – as well as inspire juniors to aspire be such leaders.
INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY.
Highly accomplished, result-driven leader with 20 years of international experience in corporate finance, capital markets, strategy, marketing, business development, corporate governance and laws. Providing financial and legal advice to corporate clients and high net worth individuals to foster international expansion and restructure existing businesses. Strategic advisor to C-level offering pragmatic solutions to drive cash flow and returns, and build resilience against financial crises. Led IPO of a leading international hotel group on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm; subsequently responsible for its entire financial management. Grew businesses organically through competitive bids, cross-border M&As and joint ventures. Streamlined balance sheets through divestitures and carve-outs. Broad experience with transactions including due diligence, market feasibilities and valuations. Part-time professor at SBS-EM (ULB). Proactive leader with strong analytical, communication and interpersonal skills. Extensive experience in coaching diverse and multi-cultural audiences. Solid academics possessing multiple Masters degrees. Extensive travels on five continents.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT.
Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez is the world’s leading champion of Project Management and Strategy Implementation. He is the creator of concepts such as the Hierarchy of Purpose featured by Harvard Business Review, or the Project Manifesto; which argues that Projects are the lingua franca of the business and personal worlds from the C-suite to managing your career or relationships.
Antonio’s research and global impact in modern management have been recognized by Thinkers50 with the prestigious award “Ideas into Practice”. Author of the book “The Focused Organization” and speaker at events worldwide. Antonio is a pioneer and leading authority in teaching strategy execution and project management to senior executives at top Business Schools.
He is Director of the Program Management Office at GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines and past Chairman of the Project Management Institute (www.pmi.org).
Previously he worked as Head of Project Portfolio Management at BNP Paribas Fortis. Prior he was Head of Post Merger Integration at Fortis Bank, leading the largest takeover in financial service history: the acquisition of ABN AMRO. He also worked for ten years at PricewaterhouseCoopers, becoming the global lead practitioner for project and change management. Antonio is an Economists; has an MBA from London Business School; and Insead’s International Director Program.
CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION WORKSHOP.
Mark Raison will serve as Scientific Director of this programme. He is “the” European specialist in creativity. He runs his own company (Yellow Ideas.com) and he’s been training and counselling dozens of companies such as L’Oréal , LVMH, Groupe Danone, Cartier, L’Occitane, Unilever and more… He also teaches creativity at EDHEC Lille, the Milan Creative Academy and… Solvay Brussels School. He’s inspiring, provocative and so funny that you want more of it each time! Mark is the author of “Osez la créativité” (2014) , “Stratégie & Créativité” (2015) et “Réveiller sa créativité” (2016).
STRATEGIC MARKETING BOOTCAMP.
Dr. Sandra Rothenberger (SBS-EM faculty) has been active since 2001 in the scientific and has been focusing her research and teaching on Strategic Marketing, mainly in the areas of Strategic Pricing and Consumer Behavior. She has an international research network and teaching background with various European, American and Asian Universities and Business Schools. She is currently chairing the research unit of Strategy, Governance, Marketing and Innovation at the Solvay Brussels School of Economics & Management. Dr. Rothenberger has published in several research journals, including the European Management Journal, Journal of Product and Brand Management, Journal of Relationship Marketing and Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, co-authored and co-edited research monographs andpublished books on Strategic Pricing and Strategic Management. Her business and industry experience includes consultancy of small and medium sized companies as well as supervisory board activities in European multinational corporations.
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY STRATEGY.
DIGITAL INNOVATION.
With a PhD in economics and management from Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Nicolas van Zeebroeck (SBS-EM faculty) is now Assistant Professor of Information Systems and Digital Business at Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management (SBS-EM) at ULB. During his post-doctoral research funded by the FNRS, he was invited as a visiting scholar at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2009. His main interest is in how ICT transforms business processes and business models. In particular, he looks at the impact of ICT on the organisation and performance of business and research, with a particular emphasis on the contribution of ICT to R&D and innovation. His research has appeared in several scholarly journals, including Management Science, Research Policy, Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Journal of Intellectual Capital, Information Economics and Policy, Scientometrics, and Pattern Recognition and has been presented in over 30 international conferences and seminars. He has also served as a strategy consultant for private and public organisations, advising companies mostly on issues relating with ICT, business processes, and knowledge management.
STRATEGY.
Bruno Wattenbergh is today Senior Advisor and Innovation Ambassador for EY Belgium (ex-Ernst & Young).
Having started his career as a consultant, Bruno has been for 25 years an expert in entrepreneurship and SMEs. He has been engaged in developing structures dedicated to the creation of enterprises and, in particular, the Brussels Enterprise Agency, which he founded in 2003 and manages until this day. Moreover, he was also the President of the Brussels Guarantee Fund whose mission is to warrant bank loans to SMEs (€ 30mio in 2012). He is best known for sharing his vast knowledge and experiences by giving lectures and classes on the subject of strategy and entrepreneurship at various universities, including HEFF, Solvay Brussels School, Tongji (China) and ICHEC. In 2011, he has been appointed as MBA Professor by Solvay Brussels School and teaches Business Model Innovation. Bruno is the current Academic Director of the AMISM program (Advanced Master in Innovation and Strategic Management).
Bruno also has a solid reputation with media in general. A national radio airs a daily chronicle on the subjects of entrepreneurship, economy and business strategy which he animates. He is also the creator of the reality TV emission on RTBF on the subject of entrepreneurship named Starter!. Bruno is Member of several business planning competition jurys such as Start Academy and Enterprise. He is coaching technological startups.
Bruno studied in Belgium, in the US, and in the Netherlands. He holds a degree in management, a degree in Labor Sciences, an advanced degree in Management and a Certificate in Strategy and Innovation from MIT. He has completed a specific Master in Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Netherlands.
ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR & LEADERSHIP.
Susan West holds a Bachelors degree in Romance Languages from Princeton University (United States) and a Masters in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University (United States). Her passion for business and psychology led her to an international career in human resources where, during the past 20 years, she has been working with some of the Fortune 500’s top global executives. Susan’s career spans multiple industries in Europe and the United States. She was Senior HR Business Partner at Citibank during the $140 billion merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group, then moved to AlliedSignal as Director of Organization & Leadership Development just prior to its merger with Honeywell International, Inc. She also held leadership positions at Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck & Co., Inc. in Performance Consulting and Corporate Talent Management. In 2006 she established a consulting practice in Brussels dedicated to helping leaders and their teams meet today’s business challenges. She is a member of the adjunct faculty at Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management where she teaches in the MBA and other Executive Education programmes.