contents/acknowledgemets I cannot heap enough praise on all the people who have helped to put this together... but there is one particular person who deserves extra special mention...Tatiana has been absolutely key to this happening.. I am very proud to have put this together with her and she has managed to smile and keep upbeat through it all... thank you Tatiana .. the 8th wonder of the world! – Nick The Design Team (Queen): Tatiana Cogevina Logistics and Ops (i.e. a bit of everything) team: Nick Gray, Dan Schonfeld & Ashish Khanna Singapore based team: Genevieve Emond, Sven Cobben & Alison Retzlaff
Sections
Section A1................................7 Section A2..............................23 Section E1..............................39 Section E2..............................55 Section E3..............................71 Section E4..............................87 Professors............................103
Photos Team: Sonali Singh, Josep Forrell, Chris Angell, Bolei Cheng & Iain Bald
Welcome Week.......................106
Sections: Katherin Awad, Marsha Johnson, Chady Zein, Jenny Hayob (pronounced Haib btw!), Eylem Tougait, Oded Israeli, Chris Kemp, Frederic Martin & Colin Mutchler
Parties, Chateaux & Houses
Travels: Jose De Pablo, Michael Hauser & Vlad Glinberg Sales and promotions: Miha Zerko, Jacob Kirschenbaum & Demis Stratakis Partners: Snehal Khanna Administration: The IAA for the Grad DVD!, Emilie Jouno, Stephanie Villemagne, Antonio Fatas & Christelle Inacio Plus many other contributors: Nisha ParamjothiMJOTHI, Rasha Alibinera, Jun He, Melvin Liew, Carlos Lopez Rabadan, Ariadne Oliviera, Cameron Stevens, Alan Casey, Chistine Driscoll, Eskild Larsen, Lyon Shen, Yair Melmud, Yann Beck, Erik Lautier, Chris Rischard, Nina Smirnova, Germain Tubert, Carolina Clemente, Sophie Field, Daniella Borja, John Willson, Miguel Azaldegui, Emily Kerr, Guarav Ahuja, Guiseppe Stella, Fred, David Hobson, Vubby Gupta, Peter Mitterbauer, Jules Carrigan, Pierre Frecon, Nina Smirnova and many more… very sorry if I forgot to put your name here!
Message from Dean Fatas: We warned you that it would be fast. It all started with the opening ceremony in the last days of August 2005, just 10 months ago and now it is over. I hope we delivered on all our promises and that this was a year that you will remember as a year of change, of transformation and also a year where you had fun and made friendships that will last forever. You helped transform the school. Your class set a new record for the number of participants taking advantage of the campus exchange and pushed even further the concept of one school, two campuses.
Singapore.............................110 Fontainebleau.......................117
Parties, Chateaux & Houses
Mass Mail.............................126 Recruitment..........................131 SFTM....................................132
National Weeks
Singapore..............................136 Fontainebleau.......................144
Sports......................................159 Events
Balls.......................................167 Cabaret.................................169 Bands....................................170 Dash, Karaoke......................172
It is sad for us to see a class graduating. Given the diversity of your group, it is difficult to have just one image of your class. At the end, we will remember your class as a collection of individual memories and pictures. And I guess that this is what this yearbook is all about: a collection of pictures of many of the moments you all shared together, we all shared together, a collection of images that, when put together, create the collective memory of the Class of July 2006. Stay in touch and come back often to relive the stories behind those pictures.
Antonio Fatás Dean of the MBA Programme
Partners & Families..................187
Travel Leisure..................................173 Field trips..............................182 Greek Sailing........................184
Exchanges................................185
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demographics Interview with Class of July ‘06...
Estimated Job Profile Of Class in 15 Years 0.01%, 0%
5, 5%
0.01, 0%
10, 10%
Bartender
30, 30%
5, 5%
--‘So .. hi there.. lets start with where you are from?’
CEO Retired Linked-In Administrator Golf Pro Consultant Pro-Wakeboarder (Miha)
10, 10%
Excel Chart Specialist
40, 40%
Class Participation Did not talk in any class 5% 5%
9%
Gave one killer answer
18%
Should have shut up but didn't
27%
Teacher's Pet Abused the professor 36%
Snored
Weekends spent at....
28%
Bali
Home Paris
20% 1%
20%
1%
10%
School Attica National Week Parties
French Language Proficiency (Post Insead) 2%
Below level 3 Level 3 and above
--‘Wow .. thats quite some diversity you got there...’
--‘oh sorry.. I hadn’t finished... I also have 26 dual nationalities ...’
Bintan 20%
--‘Hi... well I come from quite a few places actually... Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus Rep. of, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark,Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan,Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom and the US of A’
--‘ok, so then in that case... what language do you speak?’ --‘Language.... hmmm, quite a few... Afrikaans, Albanian, Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, Basque, Belarusian, Bengali, Brazilian, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Farsi, Finnish, Flemish, French, Gaelic, Galician, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Hokkien, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Korean, Lebanese, Malay, Marathi, Marin, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Taiwanese, Tamil, Telugu, Teochew, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Xhosa… oh yeah.. and a bit of English!’ --‘My goodness.. with that profile you must have quite a few friends...’ --‘My man.. I have 458 of the greatest friends a person could wish for!’
98%
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introduction
Introduction
In August of 2005 we converged at INSEAD from around the planet to embark upon an epic journey. Armed with electrifying levels of energy we set off on a voyage of professional and cultural discovery. This edition of the International Geographic provides exclusive coverage on the incredible story of INSEAD’s MBA July 2006 promotion.
The trail picked up early, months before the official commencement of school. Having spent many weeks toiling over essays, recommendations and the GMAT, we waited anxiously for letters of invitation to join INSEAD. As these were extended – “On behalf of the Admissions Committee, it is my great pleasure to congratulate you on your acceptance to the INSEAD MBA Class of July 2006, starting in Fontainebleau/Singapore on August 29th 2005” – the implications of the life-altering decision we were about to make sank in. We made tentative forays into the world of NetVestibule and asked what we thought were dumb (but necessary) questions. We leased cars, found houses and housemates, prospected for partners, complained about finding apartments in Heritage, bantered about laptops and discussed money transfers. We met at pre-INSEAD dinners in cities around the planet and got a preview of the tremendous diversity that awaited us at INSEAD. We arrived at INSEAD’s two campuses full of excitement and with a passion to make the most of the year. In late summer evenings, we befriended our classmates around the carousel and at the Aussie bar in Fonty, or at barbeques around the Heritage and Dover pools. Wine and spirits flowed freely while we peppered each other with the questions – “So where are you from?”, “What did you do before INSEAD?” and “What’s your third language?” Still enjoying the thrills offered by Outward Bound and Arthur Keller, we were blindsided by Welcome Week. The reception that the Dec’05 CASH/CRASH, Sigma, Consulting, Barbarians, Renaissance/Raffles, VIP (and other) clubs had in store for us, was not only divisive but also incisive – perhaps to set the tone for our governance for the rest of the year. We quickly discovered that there’s nothing like tough times to bring us together, break down barriers and to get talking. As a promotion, we came out unified after this week – and in this respect it was a critical jump-starter for our short INSEAD experience. At our welcome address we were informed that at INSEAD, sleep was for wimps. This message echoed in our ears as our minds and bags became burdened with the weight of P1 course packs. “They expect us to read all of this? … before class? …and do the homework? … and group-work? Wait a minute”, we said, “aren’t there more important things to do – parties to attend, national weeks to organize and cultures to understand?” The wise amongst us promptly resolved to aim for the country club. Soon we settled into the rhythms of our sections and began to enjoy a semblance of routine. We got used to the idea of taking cabs from Heritage to INSEAD to get to those wicked 08:30 classes. DASH and dress-up (or down) days spiced up classes and creatively stretched our limited wardrobes. Champagne rule violations put a twinkle in our eye! Outside of campus, we explored Europe from Fonty and exotic locales from Singapore. We drank nights away at theme parties at chateaus in France and at the clubs in Singapore, and gossiped about Sockman and INSEAD relationships. All too soon, we were in the middle of P2 and struggled to make a decision on whether to pursue the campus exchange. In France, it wasn’t a tough decision to make. The allure of an equatorial Asian retreat during the brutally cold winter for most was almost too good to pass up. For some of us in Singapore, this would be the only time in Europe and despite the winter, we stepped up to the challenge. We overcame the hiccups of waiting lists and housing and broke records for class strength on the Singapore campus. The brave souls that chose to be in Fontainebleau kept spirits alive on campus and represented us extremely well in our welcome of the incoming
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introduction
promotion (they also got to ski a lot in the Alps, but that’s beside the point). Sections were reshuffled and we took on electives. New faces abounded, and with renewed passion we networked some more. Electives exposed us to some great professors in school. We complained about the extent of group-work that was now required, but like true MBA’s soon settled into the “divide and conquer”! Outside the confines of campus, each of us grew comfortable with a set of friends, the dinners became intimate, the camaraderie got deeper, and conversations turned towards the future. “Funk-n-bleau” and “Sing-n-pour” – our garage bands became fixtures at parties. With deep tans, high hopes and the Singaporean “-lah” on our tongues the majority of our tribe arrived back on the freezing Fontainebleau campus in P4. While some lucky souls persisted in Singapore to enjoy the equatorial paradise, for most P4 was a homecoming of sorts – it was great to see faces and places that had somewhat faded away in the turquoise waters off Thailand or on the pristine ski slopes of the Alps. The job hunt commenced and like lost sheep we offered ourselves as sacrificial lambs at the altar of the consultancies. For a couple of weeks, we looked our sharpest and felt our worst as we interviewed with one firm after another. Interviews done, we looked forward to a little vibrator action in our pockets from our mobile phones as we anxiously awaited calls from recruiters. The air on campus was thick with tension and most folks were at their wit’s end. The break between P4 and P5 helped restore normality and people relaxed with job offers gradually on the rise. To celebrate our campus experiences and field trips in Asia, Europe, Africa and the US over the course of the year, our Summer Ball was themed as the “Wonders of the World”. When the champagne ran out early, we promptly and aptly named our annual Cabaret “Blunders of the World”! One thing was certain – we had no dearth of creative talent on campus! Many a barbeque and frenzied party ensued as the end of P5 approached and we milked the most we could from those precious days. We were unwilling but as ready as we’d ever be to move on to the next stage of our journey – one that would undoubtedly be more personal. We spent our last few days on campus involved in uninspired efforts to finish coursework and on slow, lingering, bittersweet conversations about life after INSEAD. Our voyage together was a fulfillment of many dreams – of gaining knowledge, of changing careers, of starting businesses, of finding new friends, of finding a life-partner – and the birth of many more. While it may seem that INSEAD was all about parties, traveling and classes, much of the value of this year lies in moments that shall remain only in our minds and perhaps in individual photographic scrap books. Quiet one-on-one chats by the Lily pond, dinners in Paris, smokes outside the bar, long drives in the forest, study groups elevated into philosophical conversations, dancing on library desks, marathons and marathon Skype conversations, walks between school and Dover and Heritage… Indeed, this year was the greatest journey ever! It is the privilege of the yearbook team to have had the opportunity to capture our moments here and to fondly wish you…
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text messages So you were asked for text messages to yourself at the beginning of your time Insead... At the base of each page you will find them... for the long ones we have dedicated a few pages throughout the book... (how you felt you could write a 600 charachter text message is beyond me!!) Enjoy! Mark-E3 ‘ Suspend judgement, try everything, travel lots, spend time with friends ... and don’t get too distracted by classes.’---Silvia-E4 ‘ Remember what you came here for, listen more than ever, and SHARE the experience… INSEAD is all about the PEOPLE !!’---Alessio-E3 ‘ After two years in prison, the scope of the year is to enjoy as much as possible and to work the least is possible!’---Sven-A1 ‘ Let me think: what can one do in 10 months? Probably not so much... Thanks everybody for making this such a great year!’--- Marco-A2 ‘ First days in Singapore... After I found Barilla (Italian pasta brand) at Carrefour... “Thanks God, I will survive!!!”’---Dustin-E2 ‘ Remember, P1 & P2 will be busy but life returns to normal during P3. You are an expert in expectations management....’---Matthieu-E2 ‘ Get a job in IB asap (P2 max). Then go to Singapore to enjoy life. Come back to Fbl in P5 to enjoy the summer... DONE’--- Olivier-E3 ‘ Elected member of the INSEAD ‘No fear, No limit’ club during the first week. Would that be a sign for the coming year?’--- Jayant-A1 ‘ Work hard, party harder, live every moment and expect failure (in some form or another!) but make it a year to remember.’--- Sebastien-A2 ‘ Sebouille, pick your battles! On a side note, get some real world experience with Olay daily facial clothes before P2!’--- Kannan-E3 ‘ Become a consultant. Try out vices that were illegal in wahabizone. Bear with B-school as it might help make money later.’--- Magnus-A1 ‘ Singapore is the “Country of far, far away”. It’s not easy to keep in contact with family, friends and girlfriend at home.’--- Arnaud-E1 ‘ Stock plenty of wood 4 fire in the garden. Guess your house’s heating will be twice out of fuel in freezing fonty winter ?’--- Benoit-E3 ‘ Have no idea about what I want to do as a next career move, a MBA at INSEAD will surely help me a lot to find my way...!!!’--- Lucio-E2 ‘ don’t sleeplearn how to say “It depends”be restlesslog them offoutperform 80% of competitors to get a girlit is soooo short!’--- Benoit-E3 ‘ Join the rugby club. Don’t worry, only the tries you’ll score on the pitch will be publicized not the ones off the pitch!!!’--- Genta-A2 ‘ Don’t forget to write down on paper important people’s mobile numbers as soon as you get them! Don’t run when you are drunk!’--- Jacquelyn-A1 ‘ Be prepared for some failure. It will be tougher than you think. Oh, and don’t forget the birthcontrol on the NZ trip!!!’--- Lisa-E2 ‘ BYO Physical therapist. Start the juggling club. Bring two paper bags. Live in Ginza (live the drama.) Now you’ll have fun.’--- Francesco-A1 ‘ An extraordinary experience: some learning, exceptional travelling and great friends I will keep for my life. Thank you all’--- Dimitrios-E2 ‘ Live the experience. Be yourself. Never make quick judgements on people. Find out what this 80:20 rule is about. Have fun!’--- Hans-E4 ‘ INSEAD is a year to challenge yourself. Personal growth comes from experimenting in those aspects you feel less comfortable with’--- Ehud-E4 ‘ Contrary to what you might expect, you will not improve your French this year... And no, “un cafe s’il te plait” doesn’t count...’--- Jelte-E2 ‘ Don’t worry so much: lighten up, dude! Go to all the parties! Go to Paris more! Sleep less, you can sleep after you’ve grown old.’--- Olivier-E2 ‘ If you understand neither the question nor the answer, chances are you are not the only one...So just nod and look thougthfull.’--- Sen-A2 ‘ I come to INSEAD for soul searching - find something I’m really motiviated at and find someone who could be future business parnter.’--- Robin-A1 ‘ When in Fonty, just lease a car and don’t try to be smart and buy a second-hand one. Trust me, it will break down...... constantly.’--- Yongquan-A2 ‘ Can I do business in a better way? How INSEAD expeience can help me fill the gap? Or do I just want to take a break and have fun?’--- Marsha-E1 ‘ Erase from your mind all concepts you have of post-business school careers, and pretend that CareerLink doesn’t exist. Start fresh.’--- Alison-A1 ‘ My b-school priorities: Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Australia, Borneo - did I miss anything?’--- Yann-A2 ‘ Here is the place for the brightest and the toughest... Hopefully these are also great people so get ready to work hard and play hard.’--- Nishant-E3 ‘ Keep away from the books, attend all the parties, travel every weekend, and make it the best year of your life.......total DHAMAL !!’--- Aly-E4 ‘ Piece of cake! 8 hour sleep nights! Take up golf again! Weekends in Marrakech! Realise entrepreneurship potential! Master of the castle!’-- Paul-E4 ‘ TODO:Prio1: have a second childPrio1: get a job abroadPrio1: start a companyPrio1: make friends for lifePrio1: manage all that together’--- Marcus-A1 ‘ One year INSEAD, 6 months Asia, 4 months Fonty: make the most out of it, meet great people, see great places and gain new perspectives!’--- Kia-A1 ‘ Study hard, make good friends, and discover all there is to know about business, the world, and yourself. Oh, and if you have time, travel.’--- LAMELAS NOGUEIRA-E1 ‘ Take it easy, enjoy the people, enjoy the party. Do not think twice whether to go to Singapore or not, just go. And enjoyyy...’--- Ted-A2 ‘ - Keep your pants zipper shut, and of course your pants on...- Participation grade DOES includes class attendance! Hard to believe but true.’--- Colin-E4 ‘ Be healthy. Drink less. Eat more. Dance even more. Go to Asia. Do your finance. Call people who you want to work for. Ask for lots of money.’--- Germain-A2 ‘ Enjoy your time off and explore the most of this year. Travel a lot, meet and get to know a lot of people who will be real friends for life’--- Venkat-E4 ‘ Meet a few people, attend classes of interest, enjoy the French countryside, and importantly, contribute to INSEAD in the times to come ....’--- Evelyne-A1 ‘ Never say : that high probability of becoming consultant after INSEAD ... this is not applicable to me, I’ll definitely go back to industry !’--- Henri-A2 ‘ Some guys tell you that it was the best year in their life, some others that before you realize what’s happening, it’s over! This is very true.’--- Frédéric-E3 ‘ Finally I am out of Mexico after 2 years of hell. Back to civilization and real life. One-year holidays to learn back French and good manners.’-- Irina-E3 ‘ I can’t remember my thoughts at the start of INSEAD. Not sure there were any in my head then. Or maybe they were running too fast to get noticed?’--- Karim-A2 ‘ Whatever you do, focus. You can have a million things going at any one time, but only work on one of them, and concentrate all your energies on it’--- Rudi-E1 ‘ Congrats on getting to INSEAD, great choice! :-) Just remember, it’s a 1-year program, so if you were expecting to have time to sleep, think again!’--- Richard-E1 ‘ Enjoy the daily commute through the boar-laden forest and seize the day that follows: it’s a far cry from the Piccadilly line and the big smoke!’--- DOMINGUEZ-E1 ‘ Regardless of the project or task at hand make sure you are having fun while you do it, otherwise it just does not make sense to do it at all!’--- Abhishek-A1 ‘ You are what your deep, driving desire is: As you desire, so is your will: As is your will, so is your deed: As is your deed, so is your destiny’--- Fernando-E2 ‘ One year to learn more than ever, have more fun than ever and get to now as many people as possible. Now... one life to continue doing the same!’--- Koen-E3 ‘ Dude, you’re embarking the INSEAD challenge! Make sure you learn a lot, meet a lot of people and get the most out of this rollercoaster!! Have FUN!!’--- Josep-E4 ‘ Scared? you wanted, you have it, you should have thought twice before applying. It’ll go fast. Relax and don’t miss. Enjoy, live, meet, open up. J.’--- Tom-A1 ‘ enjoy it as much as you can, it will be the shortest 10 months ever. Do dover foodcourt nights, velvets, atticas and the lots. Go to Fonty only in P5.’
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