On November 28, the CEIBS Shanghai Campus hosted the inaugural CEIBS-IESE Business School APAC Search Fund Conference, bringing together entrepreneurs, investors, academics, and SME owners to explore the transformative potential of search funds. Professor Ian Simon delivered a compelling keynote, while Juan Naranjo, Associate Director of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center, closed the event. The conference also provided a wonderful opportunity to connect with IESE's Alumni chapter in China, strengthening ties with IESE’s entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem in Asia.

As 2024 draws to a close, we celebrate the IESE Startup and Entrepreneurship Club's impactful year. With over 350 members and led by second-year MBA students Luca de Montis and Aryan Tyagi, the club hosted workshops, networking events, and speaker series featuring top entrepreneurs. Pitch competitions offered aspiring founders valuable feedback, while visits to startups and incubators provided hands-on insights into the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Kudos to the S&E Club for a stellar year—here’s to continued success! Visit the Club’s LinkedIn page for more highlights. 

A Puerto Rico native, Professor Desirée Pacheco moved overseas after college to start a career in management consulting, which back then sparked her concerns about environmental and social challenges, leading her to academia to study sustainability and innovation to find solutions. Desirée sees entrepreneurship as a driving force for impactful change and believes in staying true to one’s vision. She’s inspired by her students’ dedication, her grandmother's resilience and Elinor Ostrom’s groundbreaking work on collective resource management. Her advice to future entrepreneurs? “Focus on building something meaningful, and the money will follow.” Read the full interview. 

We are thrilled to share that six IESE professors have been named among the world's top academics in Stanford University's latest list of the World's Top 2% of influential researchers. The list measures researchers’ impact across 22 disciplines in terms of the quantity and the quality of their contributions. Congratulations to professors Pascual Berrone, Domènec Melé, Sebastian Reiche, Yuliya Snihur, Xavier Vives and Christoph Zott. A special mention goes to professors Snihur and Zott from the Entrepreneurship department for their remarkable impact in the field.

Alberto Cabanes (EMBA'23 and IESE 40under40), CEO and Founder of Adopta un Abuelo [Adopt a Grandparent], has connected thousands of young people with older adults through his inspiring social enterprise. In the spirit of Christmas and social entrepreneurship, we invite you to join the 'Una carta para un abuelo' initiative to bring joy to elderly people spending the holidays alone. Access the link, follow the instructions, and share your message of love and warmth. Everyone is welcome to participate. Want to learn more? Check out this interview with Alberto Cabanes and discover how this project is changing lives. 

A group of IESE MBA students participating in the Turner MIINT (MBA Impact Investing Network & Training) competition is looking to invest $50,000 in a promising early-stage startup. They are specifically seeking startups in Agriculture & Food Systems, Education, Healthcare, or ClimateTech sectors that are currently raising between $500,000 and $2.5 million and have already secured a lead investor. Led by a committed group of MBA students, this is a great opportunity to gain funding and connect with MBA students dedicated to promoting innovation and impact. Interested? More information here.

How do entrepreneurial teams manage competing objectives? In their study published in SEJ, "Decision-making in entrepreneurial teams with competing economic and noneconomic goals," professors Jeroen Neckebrouck and Thomas Zellweger reveal how decision-making structures affect outcomes. Majority voting boosts economic results in stable settings, while unanimous approval excels in fast-paced environments, achieving both economic and noneconomic goals. The study shows that diverse goals can improve outcomes when matched with the right decision-making structure. Read the full study for insights.

Innovation isn’t just about creating something new—it’s about framing it in ways that resonate, persuade, and drive action.  Whether it's an AI startup pitching investors or an intrapreneur launching a bold vision, the narrative shapes the impact. With Professor Yuliya Snihur as one of the guest editors for the call for papers, The Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal (SEJ) invites contributions for its upcoming special issue: Framing Novelty: A Linguistic Approach to Understanding Entrepreneurship, Creativity, and Innovation. Find out more. Submission deadline: January 31, 2025.