06 May 2015

European Business Summit 2015

From 06/05 till 07/05

Palais d'Egmont
Bruxelles
Belgium

The European Business Summit 2015 will take place on 6 and 7 May in the Palais d'Egmont in Brussels and will look at  'Europe 4.0 - Delivering a vision for the future of Europe'.  The summit will focus on how the industry and the society are impacted by the digitalisation: the driving force behind the fourth industrial revolution.

Following the fruitful collaboration carried out in 2014, the College of Europe and the European Business Summit have now established a three-year knowledge partnership and will cooperate to promote public debate and analysis of European policy-making with an impact on business.

In the framework of this cooperation, the students of the European Economic Integration and Business (EEIB) specialisation together with other College of Europe students have been invited to act as discussants at the European Business Summit and to edit reports on workshop discussions.

The European Business Summit (EBS), now in its 13th year, is the annual forum for business leaders and decision makers in Europe. It is an initiative of BUSINESSEUROPE and the Federation of Enterprises in Belgium (FEB). Every year it attracts about 2000 participants including CEOs, Heads of State, Presidents of the European Commission and European Council, European Commissioners, and over 200 journalists. In 2013, José Manuel BARROSO, President of the European Commission described the EBS as playing “a key role in supporting Europe’s large entrepreneurial potential”.

EBS 2015 presents a significant opportunity for business leaders to present their priorities – looking beyond the crisis and towards a more competitive and better-functioning Europe. The summit sessions will cover topics such as the digital economy, boosting industrial policy, financing innovation, an energy strategy for Europe.

On the occasion of EBS 2015, the College of Europe will launch the "Bruges European Business Case Series", a new and unique collection of business-oriented case studies which analyze the two-way interaction between the European Union and the corporate world. Professors Aimé HEENE and Philippe DE BUCK will explain the rationale for these business case studies and the added value of analyzing and evaluating business strategy in response to changes in EU policy.

During the session, the first two published business cases will be presented. They concern E.ON and Vodafone responses to the EU climate and energy package and the EU roaming regulation, respectively.

MEET the EXPERTS: Business Cases and Corporate Strategy facing EU policymaking

7 May 2015, 10:30 – Networking Village, Palais d'Egmont, Brussels

With Professors Philippe DE BUCK and Aimé HEENE

The knowledge partnership with the EBS brings benefits to the network of the College as well: alumni and College contacts can participate to the two-days conference with a preferred fee. Check the programme of the conference at www.ebsummit.eu and if you wish to register (www.ebsummit.eu/registration) you can contact Dr David RINALDI (david.rinaldi@coleurope.eu) to get a promo code for a 50% reduction of the participation fee.

Philippe DE BUCK

Philippe DE BUCK is Member of the European Economic and Social Committee, President of Belgian Business for Europe (VBO/FEB) and visiting professor at the College of Europe in Bruges where he teaches “Seminars on Business Cases” for the specialized masters in European Economic Integration and Business.
Professor DE BUCK has been Director General of BUSINESSEUROPE from 2002 to 2012. Previously, he was CEO of Agoria, a Belgian multi-sector federation for the technology industry, after holding other management positions within the federation since joining it in 1971.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of ING Belgium and formerly of BASF Antwerp. Philippe DE BUCK is Doctor in Law from the University of Leuven. He has also studied tax and accounting at the Ecole Supérieure de Sciences Fiscales (ICHEC) in Brussels.

Aimé HEENE

Professor HEENE is honorary professor at Ghent University where he headed the Management and Organization Department from 2005 to 2010, and is guest professor at the University of Antwerp. He is visiting professor at the College of Europe where he teaches for the specialization in European Economic Integration and Business. He also trains the management of private and public organizations on strategy issues. He has been vice-president of the Dutch-Flemish Academy for Management, founding member of the Flemish Strategy Society, member of the advisory board of the European Foundation for Business Qualification and national representative for Belgium at the European Academy of Management. He published several books in both English and Dutch on strategic management and co-chaired over ten international conferences on competence-based strategic management. He holds a Ph.D. in educational sciences and an MBA from Ghent University.

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