On October 23, 2014, “Tsinghua Students Dialogue with Advisory Board Members” was in full swing. Following the dialogue the day before with Mark Zuckerberg, the new Advisory Board member of Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management (Tsinghua SEM) and Founder and CEO of Facebook, 11 Board members entered 11 Tsinghua SEM classrooms to interact with students in an intimate setting. Dean QIAN Yingyi, Associate Dean GAO Jian and the student teaching assistants greeted the Board members at the entrance of Shunde Building. The student teaching assistants then led the Board members to their classrooms to commence the long-awaited dialogue sessions.

Board members arriving at Tsinghua SEM

(from top left clockwise: Jim Breyer, Partner of Accel Partners; Geoffrey Garrett, Dean of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; Irwin Mark Jacobs, Founding Chairman and CEO Emeritus of Qualcomm Inc., LIU Mingkang, former Chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission)

The 11 Board members participating in the dialogue sessions on October 23 were: Jim Breyer, Partner of Accel Partners, Henri de Castries, Chairman and CEO of AXA Group, Christopher B. Galvin, Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of Harrison Street Capital LLC and former Chairman and CEO of Motorola Inc., Maurice R. Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of C.V. Starr & Co., Inc. and former Chairman and CEO of AIG, Nobuyuki Idei, Founder and CEO, Representative Director, Quantum Leaps Corporation and former Chairman and Group CEO of Sony Corporation, Irwin Mark Jacobs, Founding Chairman and CEO Emeritus of Qualcomm Inc., LI Rongrong, former Chairman of the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Mike McNamara, CEO of Flextronics, LIU Mingkang, former Chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, David M. Rubenstein, Chairman of the Tsinghua SEM Advisory Board, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of The Carlyle Group and John L. Thornton, Co-Chairman, Board of Trustees, Brookings Institution, Chairman of Barrick Gold Corporation.

Dean QIAN Yingyi took a photograph with some Board members before the dialogue sessions (from left: Nobuyuki Idei, Garth Saloner, Christopher B. Galvin, QIAN Yingyi, David Schmittlein, Irwin Mark Jacobs)

This activity comprised of two parts, with a 90 minute classroom dialogue followed by a dinner discussion. For each dialogue session, it started with opening remarks by the Board member and followed by discussions.

Jim Breyer explained his reasons for becoming a venture capitalist: “Some people like to make dozens of administrative decisions in a day, and they can become excellent managers, but I prefer to think about the changes that will happen in the 10-12 years from now.” He advised entrepreneurs to partner with venture capital firms which are willing to shoulder on with them during difficult times, and have the ability to help their teams to recruit the best talents.

Jim Breyer, Partner of Accel Partners

Henri de Castries made his opening remarks on the theme of “Digital Revolution and Industry of Service”. He first explained the impacts that the contemporary digital revolution and information technology have on different industries, and encouraged young people to be adventurous by trying, experiencing and developing new technologies. Even though he is helming the largest insurance group in the world, de Castries did not overly dwell on AXA Group’s past achievements, and was instead focused on sharing his thoughts on the new changes, situation, vision and ideas of our current world with the students.

Henri de Castries, Chairman and CEO of AXA Group

Christopher Galvin pointed out that humans, especially elites, often say ‘no’ to creative thinking. He shared his experience when doing his first fund raising, using it as an example to encourage students who are passionate about their ideas to never say “no” to any possibilities without careful consideration.

Christopher B. Galvin, Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of Harrison Street Capital LLC, former Chairman and CEO of Motorola Inc.

Maurice R. Greenberg reviewed the difficulties in the development of AIG in China and the entry of AIG into South Korean and other South Asian markets. He emphasized the importance of understanding the cultural environments of different countries, and the necessity of having good planning, adequate training and growth strategies that are tailored to local conditions.

Group photo of Maurice R. Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of C.V. Starr & Co., Inc., former Chairman and CEO of AIG, and students of Tsinghua SEM

Nobuyuki Idei discussed his 45 years of experience in Sony and the development of Sony during those years. He gave an overview of the social developments since 1850 and provided his forecast for the next 20 years. He believed that 2014 is the beginning of the era of the individuals, with mobile internet, cloud drives and big data analysis being the hot topics in the coming years.

Nobuyuki Idei, Founder and CEO, Representative Director, Quantum Leaps Corporation, former Chairman and Group CEO of Sony Corporation

Dr. Irwin Mark Jacobs and his wife Joan discussed technology and life with students. The students in his class include undergraduates, graduate students, MBA students, and exchange students. Dr. Jacob shared his exciting experience in academic and business worlds, especially his feelings and thoughts on the twin successes in the founding of Linkabit and Qualcomm. He also provided his insights on the future of technology. As this year happens to be the 60th wedding anniversary of Dr. Jacob and his wife, the students surprised the couple by expressing their heartfelt and sincere blessings.

Irwin Mark Jacobs, Founding Chairman and CEO Emeritus of Qualcomm Inc., and his wife with students

LI Rongrong highlighted the importance of gaining real world experience and doing research, admitting that the theories espoused in the best books are nothing more than just “generic tools”. A manager must learn how to create “specific tools” based on the business conditions of the enterprise.

LI Rongrong, former Chairman of the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, posing “thumbs-up” with students

Mike McNamara gave a special lecture to MBA students, using the topic “Leveraging Product Innovation around the World”, to touch on the changes in areas such as regional dynamics, growth of Asian companies, faster manufacturing cycles and the Internet of things. He believes that business thinking must change in response to their changes and a company must have the ability and courage to be different in order to have the first-mover advantage in developing its competitive edge and setting prices.

The active atmosphere in the class of Mike McNamara, CEO of Flextronics

LIU Mingkang used data to show the difference in the degree of risks of medium, small and micro loans with varying characteristics. He pointed out that even though we are currently in the era that sees rapid development in internet finance, the new sub-industry still requires a set of comprehensive and transparent rules, accompanied by effective regulatory supervisions.

LIU Mingkang, former Chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, having a group photo with students

David M. Rubenstein introduced his philanthropic efforts, with his charitable contributions mainly focusing on the education and healthcare sectors, and a portion in the research and conversation work on the Chinese Giant Panda. He said, “Donating money is harder than making money. I hope that my donations will allow more people to benefit.”

David M. Rubenstein, Chairman of the Tsinghua SEM Advisory Board, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of The Carlyle Group

John L. Thornton made his opening remarks on the theme of “Responsibilities of Chinese students as future leaders”. For him, the critical success factors for a good leader are having a clear self-awareness and knowing one’s purpose in life. During his interaction with students, Thornton shared his schooling and business experience, and said, “I love climbing mountains that no one has ever climbed”. When asked about his views on the future, he remarked, “I think one of the major events in the future will be the rise of China, which I will be able to witness in my lifetime.”

John L. Thornton, Co-Chairman, Board of Trustees, Brookings Institution, Chairman of Barrick Gold Corporation, accepting a souvenir from students

The 2014 Tsinghua Students Dialogue with Board Members has encompassed students from a larger variety of backgrounds. Apart from Tsinghua SEM’s undergraduates, doctoral, Master’s, MBA and EMBA students and EMBA alumni, students from Tsinghua’s other schools and departments, including those from the Tsinghua SEM’s undergraduate duel-degree programs in Economics and in Management and the students of Tsinghua x-lab’s projects also participated in the Dialogues.