The startup Shakers, a digital community and talent platform, won the ‘Global Award for the Most Scalable Company’ among over 4,500 participants at South Summit Madrid 2024, held from June 5-7. Founded by Nico de Luis (EMBA'21) and part of IESE's WeGrow 2024 scale-up initiative, Shakers was also the winner in the ‘Future of Work and Talent’ category. The startup uses AI to connect freelance teams with companies, ensuring the "best match". Clients include Microsoft, Telefónica, or Inditex. Congratulations to Nico de Luis and the Shakers team – way to go, Shakers!

Poets & Quants has published its annual 'The Best & Brightest MBAs: Class of 2024,’ and Markus Kaschnigg has earned a well-deserved spot on the list. Markus's academic journey has been nothing short of stellar, completing the first year of the MBA with one of the top academic records at IESE. During his time at IESE, Markus was an active member and mentor in the Private Equity & Venture Capital Club, and was the winner of the International Private Equity Competition.
In the words of Deputy Dean Marc Badia, "Markus’s journey is not only one of academic excellence but of exceptional positive, deep, and lasting impact on our MBA community." We are very proud to have Markus as part of the IESE community. Read the full interview.

On June 11th, IESE hosted the third edition of the Digital Innovation Forum. The event emphasized the need for SMEs to embrace emerging technologies to stay competitive.  Featuring sessions on innovation strategies and collaboration with startups and corporations, 170 attendees learned to integrate advanced technologies, create and expand open innovation strategies, collaborate with deep-tech entrepreneurs, and leverage cutting-edge technologies for business growth. Professor Mª Julia Prats and Executive Director Josemaria Siota from IESE's Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center moderated lively panel discussions with innovation experts from top corporations like Damm, Mediapro Group, and RACC, to name a few! Hungry for more? We’ve got you covered.

IESE has been selected as a core partner for the Barcelona Deep Tech Summit (BDTS), jointly with Aldea Ventures, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Mobile World Capital, and Tech Barcelona with a common goal: to boost global collaboration between corporations, deep-tech startups, and and research centers globally. 
For the first time, the November 2024 summit will be part of the Smart City Expo World Congress. This next edition will focus on building and scaling deep-tech startups, access to deep-tech investors, corporate venturing, and more. Key verticals include energy transition, industry 4.0, digital health, and space. The 2024 edition will also see investors offer support to budding ventures.

Entrepreneurship is in IESE's DNA, reflected in the diverse activities and coursework. Recently, entrepreneurship clubs and participants from master's programs attended entrepreneurial sessions with IESE professors, engaged in visits, panels, and networked with alumni and industry leaders. For GEMBA'25 participants, highlights included a panel hosted by Professor Jose Martin Cabiedes in Madrid, visits to Norrsken’s House in Barcelona, and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center with Professor Mª Julia Prats. The MiM Entrepreneurship Club hosted a panel with top entrepreneurs in Madrid, while the EMBA Munich Entrepreneurship Club organized a session about entrepreneirship, sustainability and circularity. During their time in Spain, EMBA'25 Brazil participants attended a panel by Professor Yuliya Snihur. Read all about it in our blog!

The EuroTeQaThon 2024, held at École Polytechnique, France, from June 8-10, saw 21 teams pitch innovative solutions to real-life challenges associated to the theme "Enhancing connections for sustainable futures" in three categories: Nature, Technology, and People. The teams TUM FarmElf, HEC Revolty, and DTU Ahead of New secured top honors in the Nature, Technology, and People categories, respectively. 
The EuroTeQaThon event finished with the announcement of the 7 teams invited to the Ignite Bootcamp at IESE Campus in Barcelona from July 26-31. They are DTU WeScreen, L’X Rebuttufiers, Taltech UTER, TUM FarmElf, CTU Visionary, TU/e PastEcho, and HEC Revolty. Congratulations to all participants! 

In collaboration with the IESE Africa Initiative, the latest  IESE Business School Insight magazine draws on the expertise of our academic partners in Africa to shine a light on innovative solutions coming out of the continent in five high-impact areas: infrastructure/energy, agriculture, healthcare, retail and banking.
Leveraging expertise from African academic partners, the magazine showcases novel approaches and resilience from the continent’s business leaders and offers global takeaways from the IESE alumni, featured executives, and companies. May this report inspire optimism about the future, just as it has for the leaders featured within.

Professor Kandarp Mehta examines women's negotiation experiences in family businesses through interviews with 12 women in leadership roles, as part of the book “The Power of Inclusion”. Professor Mehta's study identifies key challenges: lack of recognition, negotiation power, and role conflict. Women overcome these by adopting strategies such as forming alliances, demonstrating competence, formalizing negotiation processes, negotiating with a family-focused perspective, having role models, and leveraging positive stereotypes. The author suggests that family businesses can become more inclusive by encouraging female leaders early, formalizing negotiations to reduce biases, and exposing young female members to inspiring role models. Find the study here.