40th St. Gallen Symposium
The 40th St. Gallen Symposium was held from 6–7 May 2010 on the campus of the University of St. Gallen. A global circle of entrepreneurs, top managers, politicians, scientists, a selection of society‘s decision makers and students addressed the topic of “Entrepreneurs – Agents of Change”, tackling fundamental questions relating to management, the corporate environment and the interfaces of economics, politics and society.
The ISC has restructured the St. Gallen Symposium to mark its 40th anniversary. Background Sessions were held for the first time during the St. Gallen Symposium, allowing participants to gain a deeper insight into current affairs and the latest developments in management theory. In addition to this, the role of presenter in plenary, work and Background Sessions was for the first time assumed by Topic Leaders. These changes have further enhanced the level of dialogue at the St. Gallen Symposium. The reaction of participants, representatives of the press and faculty members to these innovations was, accordingly, extremely positive.
This year, the 40th ISC-Team, consisting of 28 students from the University of St. Gallen, assumed responsibility for the design, planning and organisation of the St. Gallen Symposium. The immense success of the anniversary symposium could never have been achieved without the generous support of numerous partners and, in particular, the more than 400 members of the ISC Circle of Benefactors who, through their financial and intellectual commitment, have laid the cornerstone for the future development of the St. Gallen Symposium. They deserve the sincere thanks of all members of the Organising Committee.
The entire 40th ISC-Team would like to express its heartfelt thanks to the members of the Board of Trustees of the St. Gallen Foundation for International Studies and, in particular, its President, Dr. Josef Ackermann, for their support. Their resolute efforts on behalf of and personal commitment to our student initiative contributed decisively to the success of this year‘s St. Gallen Symposium. Particular the employees of the St. Gallen Foundation for International Studies have been unstinting in their support of the ISC.
The ISC has enjoyed the very generous hospitality of its alma mater, the University of St. Gallen (HSG), since its inception, and we wish to express our particular thanks to all employees of the university, especially the Rector, Prof. Dr. Ernst Mohr, and the Administrative Director, Mr. Markus Brönnimann. We were able to count on the generous and proactive support of the HSG, particularly against the background of the conversion work at the HSG which has had a massive effect on studies and the realisation of the St. Gallen Symposium in the last three years.
At this point, the 40th ISC-Team also wants to express their sincere gratitude to their mentoring professor, Prof. Dr. Urs Fueglistaller, managing director of the swiss institute of small and medium-sized enterprises at the University of St. Gallen, for his great support of our work during the whole year.
Not Least, the 40th ISC-Team wants to thank the over 1'000 participants, who enabled because of their attendance the dialogue in St. Gallen. We are already looking forward to the 41st St. Gallen Symposium, which will take place from the 12–13 May on the campus of the University of St. Gallen.