10 Break-Out Sessions

  • Time: 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

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A Demographic Revolution: Young India Takes Charge (with All India Management Association)
Speaker
Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, OYO Rooms
Pranjal Sharma (Topic Leader), Economic Analyst, Advisor and Author, India

India is undergoing its economic, technological and demographic transition simultaneously. An old country is becoming youthful and adventurous with the passage of time. Young Indians like OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal are quietly taking charge of Indian ethos by becoming icons of audacious aspirations and tangible proofs of its potential, spawning startups that are becoming most valuable and famous than many legacy companies. How can young revolutionaries find ways to carry the older generation of investors, regulators, workers and consumers with them and what can other economies and founders learn from India’s momentous transition?

Collaborative Advantage Across Generations: Reflecting on the SGS Experience (ISC Alumni)
Speaker
Former Members of the International Students' Comittee
Christoph Loos (Topic Leader), Chief ­Executive ­Offi­cer, Hilti AG
Vivian Bernet (Topic Leader), Head of the Organising Committe, International Students' Comittee
Watch Here

For over 50 years teams of student have volunteered to organise the St. Gallen Symposium. They have written countless invitations, met thousands of partners, and welcomed some of the most important personalities of their time on stage. Together with former members of the ISC we will reflect on the St. Gallen Symposium experience of cross-generational dialogue and collaboration, the lessons they have learned for their lives and on how the symposium has evolved. This session is organised together with ISC Alumni.

Collective Genius? Cultivating Creativity in the Arts and Beyond
Speaker
Susan Goldsworthy, Affiliate Professor of Leadership, Communications and Organizational Change, IMD Business School
Gerry Hofstetter, Light Artist & Film Producer Hofstetter Marketing
Javiera Estrada, Artist
Tatjana Rupp (Topic Leader), Member of the International Students' Committee

As the need for innovation is growing, the routinisation of well-structured creative processes within organizations is key for concurrent value creation. Prof. Susan Goldsworthy of IMD, this year's St. Gallen Symposium artist Javiera Estrada and Light Artist Gerry Hofstetter will discuss the role of collaboration in the creative process. Together, and in conversation with the audience, they’ll explore the way collaboration can drive creativity in various organisational contexts, and, on the other hand, the role of introversion and lone contemplation in creating something new.

Connecting Business with Purpose: The Potential of Skills-Based Volunteering
Speaker
Curdin Duschletta, Head Community Impact Switzerland & Foundations, UBS
Christopher Jarvis, Executive Director, RWInstitute
Prof. Amanda Shantz (Topic Leader), MBA Director and Professor of Management, University of St.Gallen

Many employee volunteering and giving programs are presented as an employee perk, similar to casual Fridays or a team-building event. But treating workplace giving and volunteering this way fails to fully capitalise on the great potential of such programs: to foster employee personal growth, and address key societal challenges. The panel will particularly explore the potential of skills-based volunteering, its benefits, and the unique challenges that arise when moving from merely transactional volunteering to something far more transformative.

Financing the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs
Speaker
Patrick Zhong, Founding Managing Partner, M31 Capital
Makram Azar, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Full Circle Capital
Prof. Julia Binder (Topic Leader), Professor of Sustainable Innovation and Business Transformation, IMD Business School

The investment landscape over the next twenty years will be radically different from previous generations. While there appears to be greater access to capital, there also appears to be much more volatility and debt with no clear dominant financing mechanism. Entrepreneurs, VC, Private Equity, and banks will have to find new ways to work together to create growth and stimulate innovation. How can investors and entrepreneurs better collaborate and find mutually beneficial agreements that balance risk and return?

Hacking the Fashion & Luxury Watchmaking Industry towards more Sustainability (with Condé Nast College)
Speaker
Martina Bonnier, Editor-In-Chief, Vogue Scandinavia
Raynald Aeschlimann, President and CEO, Omega S.A
Carmen Jenny, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, CLOTHESfriends AG
Johannes Reponen (Topic Leader), Director of Post-Graduate Programmes; Academic Affairs; Research & Knowledge Exchange, Condé Nast College

The fashion industry accounts for 10% of humanity’s annual carbon emissions – more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. For long, the fashion and luxury watchmaking industry drove, together with the fashion media industry, unsustainable dynamics in the sector: generating more and more demand through an artificial cycle of new collections and seasonal trends. Businesses’ marketing, media as well as influencers thereby create a constant longing and demand for their products. How can designers, fashion houses and publishers exit this vicious cycle and, collaboratively, drive the transition towards more sustainable and ethical fashion and luxury watchmaking?

M100 Sanssouci Colloquium@St. Gallen: Media’s New Power: More Impact Through Collaborative Journalism
Speaker
Mathias Müller von Blumencron, Journalist, Member of the Board, Tagesanzeiger and Advisory Board Member M100 Sanssouci Colloquium
Joanna Krawczyk, Chairwoman, Leading European Newspaper Alliance
Paul Radu, Investigative Journalist, Co-Founder OCCRP
Astrid Frohloff (Topic Leader), TV Presenter and Journalist, Advisory Board Member M100 Sanssouci Colloquium

Media diversity, freedom of the press and freedom of expression in Europe are currently under threat. Journalists and independent media companies are increasingly joining forces across borders to respond to such challenges as well as to be able to continue to offer independent quality journalism in the future. This session will identify learnings from new media partnerships such as the Leading European Newspaper Alliance (LENA) and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) to identify how media can most effectively work together.

Democratizing Access to the next Generation of Technology and Innovation: Communities and Radical Transformation
Speaker
Gina Loften, Member of the Board of Trustees, TIAA
Luzius Meisser, Chairman, Bitcoin Suisse
Tycho Onnasch, General Manager, Trust Machines
Shuo Chen (Topic Leader), General Partner, IOVC

Technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship are key drivers of the modern economy and social mobility. Given their importance, we should strive to improve accessibility to tech, education and entrepreneurship across all backgrounds. Creating open and inclusive communities, especially with tech is important to accomplishing this goal, but it is easier said that done. Simultaneously, a third iteration of the internet – Web3 – has the potential to radically transform the internet of things and reduce barriers to access. How can these forces be effectively harnessed and directed for the benefit of all people and move the world forward?

Varieties of Tech Capitalism: Europe's Approach to Innovation and Regulation in a Global Context
Speaker
Julian Teicke, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, wefox
Lisa-Marie Fassl, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Female Founders
Christoph Keese (Topic Leader), Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer, hy

Over the past decades, the tech sector, especially the internet of things, has become a central component of modern economies. Trying to catch up with the exponential pace of technological development, the US, China, and Europe are crafting rules of the game on digital markets. What are the emerging characteristic differences between regulatory regimes of digital markets, in the US, Europe and beyond, and how do they balance innovation and regulation? In light of strategic competition over tech dominance between the US and China, what are the opportunities and challenges for Europe in particular?

Changed for Good? Engaging with the New World of Work
Speaker
Petra von Strombeck, Chief Executive Officer, New Work SE
Jean-Christophe Deslarzes, Chair of the Board, Adecco Group
Nat Ware, Founder & CEO Forte
Prof. Heike Bruch (Topic Leader), Director, Institute for Leadership and Human Resources Management, University of St. Gallen
Watch Here

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the world of work forever. The fast and widespread adoption of remote work and an ever-increasing concern of employees with purpose and meaning on their job have intensified the war for talents. Reaching out to and concurrently engaging employees is key for businesses across sectors and regions. What learnings can be drawn from the pandemic as regards our approach to work? Has the world of work changed for the better? And what role does leadership culture and a new approach to hiring play going forward?

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Young Community

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Young Community

Our young community, called Leaders of Tomorrow, is a unique hand-selected community of over 1.500 active members and 10.000 alumni worldwide. Each year a three folded process ensures a diverse selection of 200 new community members.

Master and PhD students can apply for «The Global Essay Competition». The Top 100 essay writers are invited to the «St. Gallen Symposium » and are accomodated as well to the Leaders of Tomorrow Community. Bachelor students can apply for “The Global Leadership Challenge”. 5 of the 100 participants of «the Global Leadership Challenge» are accommodated to the St. Gallen Symposium. Independently from their acadamic backround, 95 young professionals with outstanding achievements from various fields of industries become part of the Leaders of Tomorrow Community through a hand selected process. We call them our « Knowledge Pool ».

Global Essay
Competition

Compete in our Global Essay Competition and qualify for participation as a Leader of Tomorrow in the world’s premier opportunity for cross-generational debates: The St. Gallen Symposium. The competition is closed for 2024.

Leaders of Tomorrow at the 53rd Symposium

Leaders of Tomorrow Chapters

Through our Leader of Tomorrow Chapters, the symposium provides a touchpoint for all former and locally present Leaders of Tomorrow and individuals interested in the St. Gallen Symposium. 

Impact

A selection of previous Leaders of Tomorrow and Impacts

Two-time winner of the Global Essay Competition and participant in the 44th, 46th, 47th, and 48th symposia, Nat is a social economist, entrepreneur, and speaker and has founded two ventures over the years: Forte and 180 Degrees.

NATHANIEL WARE

Participated as a Leader of Tomorrow in the 49th and 50th symposia. Lubomila is the Founder and CFO of Plan A which provides businesses with carbon accounting, decarbonisation planning, and ESG reporting services. Additionally, she is the founder of the Greentech Alliance-

LUBOMILA JORDANOVA

Participated as a Leader of Tomorrow in the 44th symposium. Srijan is the Co-Founder and CEO of the Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Centre which actively promotes innovations in governance and social enterprises, improves youth participation in national and international development, and betters access to education.

SRIJAN SINGH

Participated as a Leader of Tomorrow in the 43rd symposium. Laura is the CEO & Co-Founder of Shippo. Shippo allows online businesses to partner with shipping services with locations in the USA, Canada, Germany, UK, France, and Australia.

LAURA BEHRENS WU

Winner of the Global Essay Competition of the 49th symposium. Reuben is an economist focusing on sustainability and climate risk in finance. He is currently the Africa regional coordinator for the United Nations Environmental Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI).

REUBEN MUHINDI WAMBUI

Full list of past Leaders of Tomorrow

Leaders of Tomorrow Chapters

The Leader of Tomorrow Community encapsulates all former Leaders of Tomorrow invited to the St. Gallen Symposium. These individuals are dispersed all around the world. Through our Leader of Tomorrow Chapters, the symposium provides a touchpoint for all former and locally present Leaders of Tomorrow and individuals interested in the St. Gallen Symposium. The goals of the individual chapters are to provide for the regular exchange between the chapter, the St. Gallen Symposium, and selected local stakeholders of the community and the symposium. The local chapters are led by a chapter leader and team of past Leaders of Tomorrow. Our current chapters can be found on the map below.

Mexico City Chapter
Singapore Chapter
London Chapter
New York Chapter
Hong Kong/China Chapter
Johannesburg Chapter
Tokyo Chapter

Chapter Leads

Our Chapter leads are the main contact persons for all former Leaders of Tomorrow in the area. If you are interested in getting to know past Leaders of Tomorrow from your local community or want to take part in events and get-togethers, feel free to reach out to the relevant lead below. If you are a former Leader of Tomorrow and would be interested in founding a chapter, you can contact us directly at [email protected].

Tommy Koh

Tommy
Koh

President
Singapore Chapter

Leader of Tomorrow
at the 49th & 50th
St. Gallen Symposium

Jon Krohn

Jon
Krohn

President
New York Chapter

Leader of Tomorrow
at the 43rd & 44th
St. Gallen Symposium

Sophie Lara Neuber

Sophie Lara Neuber

President
London Chapter

Leader of Tomorrow
at the
51st St. Gallen Symposium

Andre Kwok

Andre
Kwok

President
Hong Kong/China Chapter

Leader of Tomorrow
at the 49th & 51st
St. Gallen Symposium

YasuoIwako


Yasuo
Iwako

President
Tokyo Chapter

Leader of Tomorrow
at the
44th St. Gallen Symposium

NomahlubiJakuja

Nomahlubi
Jakuja

President
Johannesburg Chapter

Leader of Tomorrow
at the
46th St. Gallen Symposium

Francisco Valencia

Francisco Valencia

President
Mexico City Chapter

Leader of Tomorrow
at the 42nd & 50th
St. Gallen Symposium

Andreas Nef

Andreas
Nef

Head Community & Partnerships

St. Gallen Foundation
for
International Studies

Chapter Highlights

Get in Touch

Contact our Leaders of Tomorrow Team

Feel free to follow our social media accounts to stay up to date with the St. Gallen Symposium. Reach out with any questions to [email protected] or by the form below.

Leaders of Tomorrow