Prof Dr. Martin Boehm at the World Knowledge Forum 2012, Seoul

The Great Breakthrough: New Solutions for Global Crisis was the theme of the 2012 of the World Knowledge Forum in Seoul, South Korea. 4 IE Faculty members lend their expertise and insights in understanding the unprecedented challenges that leaders will have to confront in the 21st century.

Organized around the theme of Creative Leadership, IE presented a series of lectures of significant value to executives and leaders of global firms. The underlining questions were:  How should corporate management look like in 2013? How should we utilize the opportunities and where should we find the engine for the new growth? What could be the pre-requisite for creative leadership, and what kind of strategies and imaginations do we need?

The Dean Prof Dr. Santiago Iñiguez participated in the session “Global CEO Roundtable” and spoke on the changes occurring in business school education and the training of executives in the face of tumultuous global trends.

The IE Breakout sessions were sought after as the topics appealed to the audience and revealed important drivers for their businesses:

Professor Steven D’Souza highlighted in his lecture Beyond Human Capital- Leadership and Social Capital the power of building social capital and harnessing the power of our social networks. Using research and several cases from the field, we shared counter-intuitive insights for leveraging relationship building techniques for professional success.

During his lecture on Leading in times of uncertainty, Professor Paris de L’Etraz highlighted some of the key concepts of developing managers and professionals who are better prepared to excel and lead under conditions of uncertainty and change. His lecture demonstrates that analytics are helpful but not always the best tools for leadership during times of rapid disturbance and disruptions in the market.

Finally, Professor Martin Boehm shared his understanding of the strategic role that brands play in driving business growth and profitability in his session on Building Successful Brands. Using research and cases, he showed why brand management from the lowest levels of the organization can ultimately build a brand that’s worth its reputation.

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