Professor Peter Vogel chosen as holder of the new Debiopharm Chair for Family Philanthropy at IMD

IMD is pleased to announce the nomination of Professor Peter Vogel from the 1st of September 2017 as the holder of the new Debiopharm Chair for Family Philanthropy, created thanks to a donation of several million Swiss francs by the biopharmaceutical company Debiopharm Group, based in Vaud, Switzerland. Professor Vogel will work in close collaboration with the IMD Global Family Business Center, directed by Denise H. Kenyon Rouvinez, holder of the Wild Group Chair for Family Business. The aim of the chair is to increase the social and financial impact of family philanthropy. The chair will facilitate the creation of best practices and will be the source of methodology to strengthen the analysis, decision-making processes, evaluation criteria, and governance in the area of family philanthropy. Another objective is to build upon and transmit common values to businesses and across family generations through philanthropy. This chair will reinforce IMD’s teaching and research and will contribute to generating knowledge in the wider field of family philanthropy. A national of both Austria and the United States, Professor Vogel holds degrees from the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology in Lausanne, where he completed his PhD in 2013, ETH Zurich as well as the Georgia Institute of Technology. He specializes in entrepreneurship, innovation and family business. He is the author of numerous academic, scientific and practitioner-oriented publications. A renowned public speaker, he is regularly invited to international events such as TEDx, the St. Gallen Symposium, HBR webinars, the Global Economic Symposium, the G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance Summit, the G20 Youth Forum, and many others. Previously, Peter Vogel was Director of Custom Programs and Business Development at the Executive School of Management, Technology and Law at the University of St. Gallen where he also was Assistant Professor in Entrepreneurship Technology. In addition, he is Associate Partner at the Cambridge Family Enterprise Group and is Chairman of the Board at Delta Venture Partners AG.

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“Thanks to their forward-looking and generous donation, the Mauvernay family is a shining example for other families. Their actions have helped the Debiopharm Chair for Family Philanthropy become a reality,” said Professor Peter Vogel. “My aim for the chair is to develop it into an internationally recognized center of excellence in research, education and outreach in family philanthropy and to help as many families and affluent individuals engage in or strengthen and professionalize their philanthropic activities.” According to IMD President Jean-François Manzoni: “IMD is extremely honored to have been able to conclude this agreement to collaborate with Debiopharm. Today, family-held organizations, as well as the practice of philanthropy, contribute to shaping the business world and society more than ever. Thanks to Debiopharm, IMD is proud to play an even more important role in the field of family business philanthropy by helping donor families use best practice to increase their societal and financial impact.” President of Debiopharm Group Thierry Mauvernay said: “IMD is the ideal partner to contribute to improving the state of family philanthropy given its expertise and its network all over the world. Philanthropy as a management practice can also bring executives and family members together through shared values, contributing to the sustainability of family businesses. We also can’t forget that philanthropy must become more efficient and be managed with as much care as other economic activities in a world where more and more people are being left behind.” Professor Vogel was chosen by the Advisory Board of the Debiopharm Chair for Family Philanthropy which is composed of Cédric Mauvernay, Alliance Manager Business Development & Licensing at Debiopharm International SA, Etienne Eichenberger, Associate Manager and co-Founder of the WISE, and Anand Narasimhan, Professor and holder of the Shell Global Leadership chair at IMD. The Advisory Board’s role is to examine the current and future activities of the chair and to propose a specific research agenda in the area of philanthropy.