The Ordinary and Extraordinary General Assembly of Esade Alumni was held in November. It featured a report on activities during the 2021-2022 academic year, the approval of the accounts and the presentation of the budget for the current year. During the Assembly, a new Esade Alumni Executive Board was appointed. The posts up for election included five members-at-large.
In addition, at the most recent meeting of the Esade Alumni Executive Board, Daniel Sánchez (Lic&MBA ‘92), founding partner at Nauta Capital, was appointed as the new president of the alumni association. The General Assembly was led by Daniel Sánchez; Patricia Valentí (MBA ‘02 / PMD ‘17), Director of Esade Alumni; Treasurer David Cerqueda (ADE Lic&MBA ‘98); and Ignasi Rafel (MBA ‘94), Secretary General of the Executive Board.
“To discuss our results, we must first explain our objectives,” noted Patricia Valentí. She commented on the completion of Esade Alumni’s 2019-2022 “Be Connected” Strategic Plan, which revolved around four key areas: increasing participation and engagement, clustering the association’s offerings, reviewing internal structures and ensuring the quality of the content.
The main milestones of the 2021-2022 academic year were shaped by these objectives and the return to in-person events. Notably, the association held four annual conferences (Barcelona, Madrid, Miami and Dubai) that brought together more than 1,500 people, organised a Career Week, focused on the professional development of alumni, and launched the Associates Programme to boost the involvement of young people. Accomplishments notched this year include good results in knowledge creation and the promotion of social debate, a significant impact on the professional and personal development of alumni through the mentoring programme, the extension of support for entrepreneurship to the international sphere, and the launch of new Alumni Social projects, including the 1st Esade Sustainability Simulation Challenge and the Do Good People initiative, with the aim of fostering greater involvement.
This year, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the alumni community was intensely involved in all of the association’s activities. Significant contributions of value for the alumni community included the following: 41 alumni formed part of the Executive Board and the Institutional Council, 198 activities were organised worldwide by regional communities (72 international chapters and 12 regional clubs) for a total of 4,000 participants, 110 activities were organised on the Barcelona and Madrid campuses by communities of expertise (21 interest clubs) for a total of 4,275 participants, 307 people contributed their experience as mentors, 370 volunteers took part in the Pro Bono Alumni Consultants project and 250 investors supported entrepreneurial projects (32 projects received investments totalling €4 million).
Esade Alumni closed the 2021-2022 academic year, which ran from 1st September 2021 to 31st August 2022, with a profit of €11,235, with membership fees and operating income accounting for 75% and 25%, respectively. A good match between expenses and income made for a well-balanced budget. Income rose 8% year-on-year, but the post-pandemic resumption of activity also led to higher expenses.
David Cerqueda explained that the income and expenditure budget for the 2022-2023 academic year will be very much in line with the previous year, and that a target of zero profit will be pursued in order to match income and expenditure. The General Assembly then approved a 4% increase in membership fees.
After the unanimous approval of the report on activities, the accounts and the management of the Executive Board during the 2021-2022 academic year, as well as the budgets for 2022-2023, the partial renewal of the Executive Board was carried out in accordance with Articles 11 and 12 of the Esade Alumni Charter. Siro Arias (Lic&MBA ‘04), Rosa M. García (AMP ‘07 / Directors ‘20), Laura Ros (Lic&MBA ‘94 / AMP ‘16) and Javier Valle (Lic&MBA ‘92) were elected as a slate, while Miquel Montes (GEMBA ‘09) was re-elected for another term.
Isabel Ferrer (Lic&MBA ‘95), member of the Executive Board since 2021 and EMEA Marketing Director of the Dolls Portfolio at Mattel, was also appointed as secretary.
After the presentations, the meeting finished with a question and answer session.
Daniel Sánchez (Lic&MBA ‘92), founding partner at Nauta Capital, was elected as president of Esade Alumni, taking over from outgoing president Belén Moreu (MBA ‘99), to whom we are very grateful for all her hard work.
Daniel is a founding partner at Nauta Capital, a tech-focused venture capital firm that invests on a pan-European level and currently has offices in London and Berlin, in addition to its headquarters in Barcelona. He is also the chairman of Ship2B Ventures, a leader in social and environmental impact investing in Spain. Daniel has taught finance and business internationalisation at Esade. He was already a member-at-large of the Esade Alumni Executive Board as well as a board member of the Esade Alumni Finance Club, where he has also served as president.
Click here to learn more about the other members of the Executive Board
Click here to see the Esade Alumni Charter and the 2021-2022 Annual Report
