The MBA World Summit prides itself as the pinnacle international gathering for the global MBA community. Last week, 100 exceptional and rigorously selected MBAs were chosen out of 3,000 applicants and were invited to the exclusive conference, held at the European School of Management and Technology in Berlin, Germany. The MBAs hailed from top business schools across the world and represented more than 30 nationalities. 5 of the attendees were IE MBA students.
We sat down with Lolita Taub, IE International MBA Candidate 2017 and MBA World Summiteer, and asked her about her experience at the summit.
Describe the MBA World Summit in 1 sentence.
The MBA World Summit is a community-centric event where really inspiring MBAs connect, collaborate, and co-create.
What are the MBA World Summit attendees like?
You can expect to be wowed by the caliber of MBAs that exist in the world. Attendees bring their whole selves to the conference. MBA World Summit attendees are brilliant students, capitalists, and ambitious members of society working towards world progress (among other things). The MBAs who attend the MBA world Summit shamelessly live a life where they intertwine their professional and personal lives (in the corporate, startup, and philanthropic world).
Were you inspired by any of the summit sessions?
I was! I’ll tell you about the three talks that inspired me the most.
One of our keynote speakers was a black man from Cape Town, South Africa. He told the story of a man overcoming adversity and becoming his family’s first MBA grad, investment banker, and social entrepreneur. That’s a powerful accomplishment, especially if you consider that his father was unable to pursue higher education because of the color of his skin. This talk inspired me to believe that, I too, can be a big time investor and a contributor to society, albeit the adversity I face as a minority woman.
Another talk that inspired me a lot was one entitled “Servant Leadership.” The talk was interactive and all about reframing our business career focus from purely profit to a means to improving the state of the world. This talk inspired me to always think of my business career as something bigger than myself.
A third talk that inspired me was one on “Search Funds.” Beyond being a great profit producing investor path, search funds extend the life of businesses for generations to come. The talk inspired me to think bigger and understand that business models can get really creative!
By the end of the summit, I was inspired to shamelessly pursue a life as a kick-ass capitalist who does good.
What was your favorite part of the summit?
The whole summit was pretty amazing, and yet, one thing personally stuck out: the people! The people I met are phenomenal human beings who you just want to be around all the time. The energy is contagious and the ambition inspires you to dream bigger and bolder. Of course, the women who attended were my heroines! These MBA women, my new friends, are strong, driven, and taking over the world. I’m excited about being part of it!
Is there anything else that we should know about the summit?
Yes! When you’re invited to join the MBA World Summit you are also invited to an exclusive Global Leadership Community. That means that, for the rest of your life, you join a community of global inspiring business leaders. Oh, and you also get invited to the annual MBA World Summit wherever it takes place. Next year, the summit will take place in Cape Town, South Africa. I can’t wait! And on that note, I encourage you to apply for next years summit.
Where can MBAs learn more about the application process?
Take a look at their website here: http://mbaworldsummit.com/.
About the author