Haas Thought Leaders Share Vision, Insights in Europe

Dean Rich Lyons and Adjunct Professor Henry Chesbrough recently traveled to London and Budapest to share the school's vision and the latest thinking on innovation. In addition, Professor David Vogel met alumni in Paris for a discussion on corporate social responsibility.

One highlight of the trip was a Haas symposium June 3 in Budapest, where U.S. Ambassador to Hungary and Haas alumna Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis (right), MBA 92, spoke on innovation in the former communist country.

Speaking at the symposium, titled "Path-bending Leadership in the 21st Century," Kounalakis paid tribute to a variety of Hungarian innovations ranging from the Rubik’s Cube to metal foam. Yet, she acknowledged, "many of the institutions that we sometimes take for granted in the U.S., which allow innovation to flourish, are still taking root” in Hungary. The symposium was held at Corvinus University which Kounalakis noted was known as Karl Marx University until 1989.

Lyons spoke on his vision of path-bending leadership in his opening remarks at the symposium and Chesbrough gave a presentation on open services innovation.

The event also featured a panel discussion with local business leaders in Hungary moderated by alumnus Nimrod Pais, MBA 06, who also served as MC for the symposium. The panel included alumnus Peter Hajdu, MBA 05, of Cisco. Switzerland Haas Alumni Network (HAN) Chapter President Urs Huber, MBA 93, and London Chapter President Jens Dueing, MBA 08, traveled to Budapest for the Haas events there. 

Earlier, in London, Lyons and Chesbrough met with alumni at a dinner May 31 hosted by Richard Simmons, MBA 72, and then at a June 1 reception and welcome party, where eight new admits were among the approximately 50 attendees. The welcome party was held in a former estate on the Thames River built in 1895 and hosted by Cal alumna Anna Hohare, BA 99 (Art Hist.), and her husband, Charles.

Separately, about 50 Berkeley and Berkeley-Haas alumni gathered in Paris on May 30 for a lively discussion with Professor Vogel and Daniel Hurstel, a partner at law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, on corporate social responsibility.

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