A Challenge for 19 Top Business Schools from Around the World

370 MBA STUDENTS AND ALUMNI GET READY TO SET SAIL FOR THE 2016 EDITION OF THE ROLEX MBA'S CONFERENCE REGATTA, FROM SEPTEMBER 29 TO OCTOBER 2, ORGANIZED BY THE SAILING CLUB OF SDA BOCCONI AND YACHT CLUB ITALIANO. 44 TEAMS WILL CHALLENGE EACH OTHER IN THE WATERS OF SANTA MARGHERITA LIGURE, ON THE MEDITERRANEAN COAST. ON SUNDAY THE FINAL WITH8 TEAMS EACH WITH AN ONBOARD COUNSELOR, INCLUDING 7 OLYMPIC ATHLETES AND A HELMSMAN FROM THE AMERICA'S CUP

Nineteen business schools, the best in the world, for a total of 370 MBA students and alumni, divided into 44 teams, engaged for three days in a demanding and exciting challenge. Up for grabs is the trophy of the 2016 Rolex MBA’s Conference & Regatta organized in Santa Margherita Ligure, on the Mediterranean coast in Italy, from September 29 to October 2, by Sailing Club of the SDA Bocconi School of Management and Yacht Club Italiano and with the partnership of Rolex.
 
On board the boats will be crews of eight people and experienced skippers, to defend the colors of their schools. There will be ten teams representing European business schools (apart from SDA Bocconi, also IE and IESE from Spain, INSEAD and HEC from France, London Business School and Manchester Business School from Great Britain, IMD from Switzerland, Goethe Business School from Germany and Rotterdam School of Management from the Netherlands), seven from the US (Harvard Business School, Wharton, Columbia Business School, University of Chicago Booth, MIT- Sloan, Dartmouth College-Tuck, Kellogg School of Management), one from Canada (Sauder Business School) and one from Hong Kong (HKUST Business School).
 
"The Rolex MBA’s Conference & Regatta is a unique experience," says Nicola Riccio, president of the SDA Bocconi Saling club. "For us students to directly organize such a complex event is very formative and allows us to put into practice what we have studied in our MBA. As well as a chance to meet and network with colleagues from 45 different countries: from Argentina to Venezuela, from Egypt to New Zeland and including Sweden, Japan and Turkey."
 
The 44 teams that will set sail will be divided into two divisions: A will be the competitive race for current MBA students (17 challenging crews) and B will be reserved to 27 crews with alumni from past editions of MBAs on board.

The final will be among the top 8 crews on board of J80 boats and the winner of the trophy will be decreed on Sunday, which in the last two editions has been won by MIT-Sloan. New for this edition, the 8 teams will have at their disposal on board a professional sailor including 7 athletes who participated in the recent Olympics in Rio (such as Giulia Conti and Francesca Clapcich, 5^th in the 49FX class, Vittorio Bissaro and Silvia Sicouri, 5^th together in the Nacra 17 class, Giorgio Poggi, 18^th in the Finn class, Francesco Marrai, 12th in the Laser Standard class, Flavia Tartaglini 6^th in the RS:X class) and Mauro Pelaschier, helmsman of the Azzurra boat in the 1983 America’s Cup.

The program also includes the conference on Saturday 1 October on the topic ‘From Growth to Shock As a Rule: New Challenges and Responsibilities for Future Leaders’ with the participation of Carla Furse (Financial Policy Committee, Bank of England) and Assia Grazioli Venier (professional board member, media strategist and angel investor).
 
www.sdabocconi.it/en/site/rolex-mbas-conference-regatta
 
The winners of the previous editions:
 
2015 MIT- Sloan
2014 MIT- Sloan
2013 École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
2012 École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
2011 Sauder Business School
2010 SDA Bocconi
2009 HEC
2008 SDA Bocconi
2007 Dartmouth College-Tuck
2006 Columbia Business School
2005 Warwick Business School
2004 IESE
 
The event has the support of The Boston Consulting Group and Aperol, and is run in collaboration with Cantine Ferrari, S. Pellegrino and Carlsberg. The SDA Bocconi School of Management is the partner school. The city of Santa Margherita Ligure offers its patronage and supports the event with logistical support.

Meanwhile a survey conducted by SDA Bocconi among the 370 participants regarding their career development indicates that MBA students and alumni still dream of developing their career in an established company (69%), innovative and international, rather than a start-up (31%). And their ideal company is Google, LVMH or McKinsey and with the consulting and professional services sector seen as the most attractive for their career.
Click here to read the full results

by Tomaso Eridani