Chinese top CEOs on unique visit

Exceptional teaching and development programme launched in cooperation with Cambridge University and ESADE Business School

Recently CEOs from the 25 largest Chinese companies visited CBS. The visit was part of a new programme “China Executive Learning Programme”, which CBS’ Asia Research Centre has started in cooperation with Cambridge University and ESADE Business School in Barcelona.

It is a very unique programme that gives CBS strategic access to exceptional knowledge on Chinese businesses and the huge restructuring process that China is in the middle of. Only KennedySchool at HarvardUniversity has a corresponding programme.

The aim of the programme is to provide the Chinese CEOs with experiences and knowledge on strategic and global management as well as a specific insight into European society models and business systems – especially the Nordic model.

Chinese CEOs in school

“During the visit at CBS the Chinese CEOs were in school an entire day from 9 o’clock in the morning till 5 o’ clock in the afternoon where a range of researchers from CBS’ International Center for Business and Politics taught subjects such as the Danish welfare state, reform of the public sector, development of the Danish business system, Danish and Nordic institutional competitiveness and the relationship with the EU”, says Director of the Danish part of the programme Professor Kjeld Erik Brødsgaard from CBS’ Asia Research Centre.

Additionally, the programme consisted of a strategic session at A.P. Møller’s headquarters where the Chinese delegation had the possibility of discussing company values and global strategies with the top managers in a Danish multinational corporation. They also met vice prime minister Bendt Bendtsen in the Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs and had a round table discussion in the Confederation of Danish Industries.

During the five day long visit the Chinese CEOs were also invited to a welcome reception at Amalienborg with Crown Prince Frederik and to a reception with Mærsk McKinney Møller in the Opera House where they saw the opera “Turandot”.

The programme stretches over a period of five years. During this time the CEOs of the largest companies in Chine will have visited CBS and Denmark. The companies include almost 50 companies that are considered as being so important for China’s development that their CEOs have been appointed by the central committee.

It is large, public mastodons as China National Oil and Offshore Company (CNOOC), China Ocean and Shipping Company (COSCO), China Food and Trading Company (COFCO), Baosteel, Huaneng, Huawei, China Nuclear Industries, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., China Aviation Industry Corp, Wuhan Iron and Steel Group, etc.