The INSEAD Private Equity Network
Invites WPEP Members to the IPEN Annual Gala Dinner
Featuring INSEAD Prof. Karel Cool
Thursday May 24, 2012 in Paris

INSEAD and The Wharton School formed a strategic alliance to extend the reach of two top schools across four campuses, and, as such, IPEN is delighted to welcome WPEP Members to hear Prof. Karel Cool, one of INSEAD’s most renowned academics, as our featured speaker at the IPEN Annual Gala Dinner. The dinner is an exclusive event that brings together INSEAD alumni working in the private equity and venture capital industry globally for an evening to exchange ideas and perspectives.

Prof. Cool will do a short master class on "Identifying sustainable differentiators", a topic very relevant for investors. He will discuss how companies like Bang & Olufsen, Starbucks, Michelin, Pfizer and others seek to differentiate themselves from their low-cost competitors and position themselves to succeed in their markets and build sustainable investor value. While differentiation is a popular and feasible strategy, the examples of Sony, Kodak, Haagen-Dazs and others teach us that differentiation is often a perilous strategic choice. Which factors drive sustainable differentiation and shareholder value? The talk will include recent research on the subject.

Prof. Cool's research, teaching and consulting work focus on problems of industry and competitive analysis. He has won the “Best Teaching Award” in the MBA INSEAD program six times and is the Founder and Director of the long-running Competitive Strategy executive program at INSEAD.  Prof. Cool is kindly making himself available to support the “Pieter Ombregt Endowed Scholarship”, which has been established to offer funding to students studying photography at Columbia College.

The IPEN Annual Gala Dinner is hosted the evening before the student-run 10th INSEAD Private Equity Conference, the largest private equity conference held by a European academic institution. Over 200 private equity professionals and INSEAD alumni are expected to attend the conference in Fontainebleau. This year’s key note speakers are Conni Jonsson, Founder and Managing Partner at EQT Partners and Joseph C. Schull, Managing Director and Head of Europe at Warburg Pincus.            

IPEN Annual Dinner

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Westin Hotel | 3 rue de Castiglione | 75001 Paris

19:00 – 20:00    Cocktails

20:00 – 20:45    Strategy master class with Prof. Karel Cool

20:00 – 22:30    Seated Dinner

22:30                Free transportation to Fontainebleau

Register for the Dinner (€85 / €100 fee) by clicking here

Dinner capacity is limited and places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

10^th Annual INSEAD Private Equity Conference

Friday, May 25 2012 from 08:30 to 17:30

Europe Campus | Boulevard de Constance | 77305 Fontainebleau

Register for the Conference (€150 + booking fee) by clicking here

2012 IPEN Annual Gala Dinner Sponsors:  AlpInvest & SkillCapital