Wealth Management : the Women Entrepreneur Program at Stanford

From July 9-14, 40 talented women entrepreneurs from 12 countries will attend a week-long program on leadership and accelerating business on the Stanford campus (California, USA).

The aim of the program is to meet the needs of businesswomen and to offer a unique mix of knowledge, skill acquisition and development. The entrepreneurs were selected for their experience and their growing companies with a broad international appeal.

 In partnership with the Women Initiative Foundation, BNP Paribas will gather women entrepreneurs from Belgium, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Poland, Switzerland, Taiwan and the USA, These entrepreneurs represent various sectors of activity including hospitality, child development, finance, logistics, real estate, food and fashion.

This content-rich week is built on three pillars

• Academic insight with faculty from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
• Company and incubator site visits in the Silicon Valley.
• Networking sessions among participants to explore potential business opportunities.

“The successful women entrepreneurs we have invited over the last two years have found this program to be an excellent personal and professional development opportunity. As part of an international Group that offers one-stop shop expertise for entrepreneurs around the world, we can help them accelerate their growth,” explained Sofia Merlo, Co-CEO of BNP Paribas Wealth Management. “In addition, the participants continue to play an important role in inspiring other women entrepreneurs, particularly the ones just starting out. We therefore invite our participants to share their experience as widely as possible.”

The Stanford Program highlights BNP Paribas Wealth Management’s commitment to understand, serve and celebrate women entrepreneurs. Over the course of this 4 year-long initiative, BNP Paribas Wealth Management will have provided more than 150 women with training from the Stanford Graduate School of Business along with personal and professional development.

 

“Through educational programs, mentoring and outreach activities, the Woman Initiative Foundation is a resource for women entrepreneurs, employers and public policy makers. We are proud that The Stanford Program contributes to the global discussion on gender diversity and to the promotion of women in the entrepreneurial space,” added Martine Liautaud, president of the Women Initiative Foundation. “Plus, it’s an incredible opportunity to discover the vibrant campus and intellectually challenging atmosphere of this world-renowned academic institution.”

Portraits of some of the 2017 participants

HONG-KONG: Joyce CHANG – Founder and Managing Director of Spring Learning

Joyce Chan is the founder  and  managing director of Spring Learning Centre in Hong Kong.  Joyce conceived Spring as a holistic center for helping children achieve their development and learning potential during their crucial growth years. She gathers an innovative and passionate group of experts, like herself, who strive to make every experience at Spring a positive and enlightening one. Students are immersed in a variety of stimulation activities and their caregivers receive the necessary know-how to augment that ongoing process.  

FRANCE: Aliza JABÈS – Founder & CEO of Nuxe

Aliza Jabès, an inspired female entrepreneur, decided early on to be the mistress of her own destiny. At the start of the 1990s, she took over a small formulation laboratory in Paris, and decided to make out of  it the springboard for a beauty brand bringing together nature and luxury. Her philosophy: ultra-feminine natural skincare based on a pharmaceutical approach combining glamour and innovation. Today, with its 45 filed patents, Nuxe is a leading brand in French pharmacies and is present in 75 countries.

POLAND: Katarzyna KOLMETZ – Founder and CEO of Polipack

Katarzyna Kolmetz is the founder and CEO of the innovative packaging company Polipack based in Poland.  Her company specializes in the design and manufacture of high quality packaging for industries such as cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, producing both tailor-made and stock packaging. Polipack accompanies clients across the entire process, ensuring that the finished product reflects and serves the brand values of its customers. She is convinced that the people and family members are the foundation of her company, they are the reason of its success. Katarzyna is committed to reducing her company’s environmental footprint in terms of use of resources and waste and has received prestigious quality assurance certificates from industry benchmarks.

BELGIUM: Myleen VERSTRAETE – Owner of MV Green

Myleen Verstraete comes from an entrepreneurial family and bought her first building to convert into luxury apartments over 18 years ago. She continues to buy and renovate apartments and houses, and today owns several buildings and apartments, which she rents primarily to expats in Brussels. Myleen works closely with architects and coordinates and oversees the renovations.

The last 2 years she became also a well-established impact investor from Belgium and has made a powerful statement investing in the sustainable fashion brand MC Collignon, The Conscious Collection. This ready-to-wear brand is helping to contribute to a cleaner planet by creating ultra-soft fabrics for an elegant clothing collection using recycled plastic bottles.   When Myleen invests, it’s for the long-term: her involvement goes beyond a financial contribution, actively participating in the success of the companies she has chosen for investment.

About BNP Paribas Wealth Management

BNP Paribas Wealth Management is a leading global private bank and #1 Private Bank in the Eurozone. Present in three hubs in Europe, Asia and the US, over 6,600 professionals provide a private investor clientele with solutions for optimizing and managing their assets. The bank has €355 billion worth of assets under management (as of March 2017).

About the Women Initiative Foundation (WIF)

Launched in 2016, WIF gathers, organizes and leads a large network (WIFs Global Circle Network) composed of mentees and mentors, strategic partners such as BNP Paribas, company managers, experts and friends, in France as well as on an international scale (Europe and the United States). WIF encourages the promotion of women in business and in economy generally and aspires to become a laboratory of ideas as well as a strong voice in favor of the equality, respect and recognition of women in business.

Beyond its action of philanthropic sponsoring, its goal is to encourage research on these themes through studies, Pan European reports and specialized works.

At the end of 2016, WIF launched a transatlantic program intended for the French entrepreneurs wishing to develop their activities in the United States, receiving support from American mentors, and to the American entrepreneurs willing to establish their companies in Europe with the cooperation of a European mentor.