Chilean MBA Students Congregate at Columbia Business School
More than 230 Chilean MBA students currently studying at universities across the United States gathered in New York City from April 5–7 for the eighth annual MBA Chile Conference—hosted for the first time at Columbia University.
The conference kicked off with a day of roundtable discussions and networking activities at the Americas Society, an organization that promotes education, dialogue, and understanding of key political, social, and economic issues in the Americas. There, students engaged in conversations on General Management, Technology, Financial Services, and Real Estate.
On the second day, participants met on Columbia’s campus to attend panels on the global economy, the evolving role of business, today’s social challenges, and the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Speakers included José De Gregorio, Dean of the School of Economics and Business at Universidad de Chile, and Soledad Arellano, Academic Vice-Provost at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez.
Karen Poniachik, Director of Columbia Global Centers | Santiago, spoke on a panel about the challenges facing businesses and business leaders. She was joined by Bernardo Larraín, President of SOFOFA (the Chilean Federation of Industry), and Nicolás Ibáñez, Director of Drake Enterprises.
A third panel featured Verónica Cano, a sociologist and expert in international migration; Francisca Junemann, President and co-founder of Fundación ChileMujeres, who addressed the importance of gender inclusion and women’s empowerment; and Claudio Castro, Mayor of Renca, who spoke about efforts toward social and economic integration.
The final panel focused on entrepreneurship, featuring Rodrigo Labbé, CEO of JooyCar; Soledad Ovando, Executive Director of ASECH; Rodrigo Frías, Assistant Manager of Early Entrepreneurship at Corfo; and Gonzalo Muñoz, Founder and CEO of TriCiclos.
The MBA Chile Conference is the only event of its kind, designed to unite Chilean MBA students in the U.S. for a weekend of networking and discussion on national and regional challenges, with the goal of contributing to Chile’s long-term development.
Previous editions have been held at the University of Chicago (2018), Duke University (2017), UCLA (2016), Kellogg School of Management (2015), and Harvard University (2014).
We would like to acknowledge the outstanding work of the Columbia Business School organizing team—Andrés Pilowsky, Juan José Silva, Juan Pablo Altamirano, Jorge Ramírez, Salomón Díaz, Valentina Pardo, Ronit Ventura, Edgardo Gutiérrez, Francisco Díaz, and Francisco Montt—who successfully positioned Columbia as a key venue for Chilean MBA students.
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