Edhec Rendez-vous 2011: Exceptional...

Well, we certainly accomplished what we set out to do during this year’s Edhec Rendez-vous! A thought-provoking conference, emotion and the pleasure of meeting up with one another were just some of the evening’s highlights that the almost 1000 guests will remember for a long time to come.

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Robin Chase, owner of Zipcar, a new car-sharing concept gave a thought-provoking conference held by L’Agora, the Edhec Students Association. A graduate of Massachussetts Institute of Technology, Robin Chase founded Zipcar in 2000. Today, it is the leading car sharing firm in the world. Advisor to the US Secretary of Trade and Transport, Robin is called on to speak at the world’s top universities for her expertise on the new economy, the sharing economy and excess capacity. She frequently features in the press, and the New York Times, Newsweek and Fortune magazine have all carried stories on her phenomenal success, and her ability to create and manage a profitable company based on the notion of sharing resources. In 2009, Time magazine included her in the top 100 Most Influential People. 
Now founder and CEO of Buzzcar, a car-share platform that brings together car owners and drivers, Robin Chase also sits on a number of national innovation and entrepreneurship committees.
The conference was a great opportunity to hear more about her career, and her greatest successes and failures, as well as her views on the differences in corporate culture she has observed in France and the US. She also spoke about collaborative consumption, green business and excess capacity as a new source of innovation. Finally, she talked about new ideas for start-ups and the most promising new business sectors. More information on: http://www.robinchase.org/

While the award ceremonies held by Bruno de Pampelonne, President Edhec Alumni President provided plenty of emotion. This year’s winners were:

• Edhec Alumnus of the Year 2011: Thierry Drecq (GE 1980), Chairman of the Board of ECF with 63%. Marc Hämel (GE 1989), CEO of Rexam Healthcare, was the runner-up.
• Entrepreneur of the Year 2011: Rudy Muti (GE 2005), CEO of Crèches & Malices with 52%. Jérôme Callec (GE 1994), CEO of Linkeo, and Fabien Bertault (GE 1996), CEO of Power Networking, were the runners-up.
• The Socially Responsible Business of the Year 2011 prize went to Babyloan with Aurélie Duthoit (GE 2005) with 43% of the votes. Franck Renaudin (GE 1986), Director of Entrepreneurs du Monde, and Marion Verles (GE 2007), Director of Nexus Carbon, were the runners-up.

Finally, there was the pleasure of finding ourselves on board the Paquebot, a floating palace at the foot of the sparkling Eiffel Tower. The fairytale setting, a fantastic cocktail and good weather all combined to make this an unforgettable evening…

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