One Ocean MBA’s Regatta Starts in Porto Cervo

The 16th edition of the One Ocean MBA's Conference & Regatta, organised by SDA Bocconi School of Management and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) with the partnership of the One Ocean Foundation (OOF), got underway today. Taking place for the first time in the beautiful setting of the Costa Smeralda, about 400 students and alumni from the world's most prestigious business schools have gathered to experience three days dedicated to sailing and environmental sustainability.

More than 50 teams representing their respective business schools will face two days of racing divided into three categories. The Open class will see 14 teams complete two windward-leeward races daily on board J/24 boats, while the rest of the participants - divided into Offshore and Cruise classes - will race on coastal routes. The Open and Offshore classes will compete for the MBA's Cup Challenge Trophy.

The business schools taking part in the event are: Cambridge Judge Business School, Chicago Booth School of Business, Columbia Business School, ESADE Business School, GOETHE Business School, Harvard Business School, HEC, IE, IESE Business School, IMD, INSEAD, London Business School Simon Male, Manchester Business School, MIP School of Management, MIT SLOAN School of Management, SAUDER School of Business, SKOLKOVO Moscow School of Management, TUCK School of Business, WHARTON School of the University of Pennsylvania, YALE School of Management and SDA BOCCONI School of Management.

The events at sea will be accompanied by a rich social programme ashore. On the calendar for this evening is the Welcome Cocktail on the terrace of the YCCS, which will officially open the event. Tomorrow meanwhile, at the conclusion of racing, participants will attend a Crew Party in Piazza Azzurra.

The highlight of the event will take place on Saturday 21 September, with the conference to be held at the Colonna Resort at the conclusion of the competitions at sea. The conference, chaired as usual by Prof. Maurizio Dallocchio, Professor of Corporate Finance at the Bocconi University and Past Dean of the SDA Bocconi School of Management, was designed jointly by SDA Bocconi and the One Ocean Foundation, thanks to the scientific partnership between the two institutions.

The event is entitled "Why future leaders need to face sustainability challenges", and the main focus will be on addressing the sustainability challenges that leaders of the future can no longer put off. The conference, which will explore the impact of sustainability models and how they can help make the world a better place, will be attended by prominent speakers such as the President of illycaffè, Andrea Illy, and, in his role as an OOF Ambassador, the explorer Paul Rose, as well as the artist Maria Cristina Finucci, founder in 2013 of the Garbage Patch State.

YCCS Commodore, Riccardo Bonadeo, commented on event: "We are happy to be able to host this regatta for the first time under the umbrella of our One Ocean Foundation and to be able to renew and deepen the collaboration with SDA Bocconi Business School, which from the outset has provided scientific supported to our journey with the One Ocean Foundation. I also think that there is no more suitable setting than the one provided by Sardinia, in which to reflect together on issues related to sustainability and above all the preservation of the marine environment. I am sure that these will be three intense days which will provide interesting food for thought for the potential leaders of tomorrow."

The Dean of SDA Bocconi, Giuseppe Soda, highlighted that: "Sailing is a perfect metaphor for management that allows students from the main international business schools to learn very important lessons. Moreover, the partnership between SDA Bocconi and the One Ocean Foundation makes the value of sustainability, which today has become crucial for the managers of the future, central."

Federico Pippo, lecturer in Corporate Finance and MBA Sport Club Coordinator for the SDA Bocconi School of Management, added that: "The MBA's Conference and Regatta represents a further step on a path that we set out on 12 months ago together with the One Ocean Foundation, combining sport with scientific research. We are very happy with the partnership established with the foundation and the YCCS, which allows us to raise awareness among our MBA students, from all over the world, on the issues of environmental sustainability and the Blue Economy.

“'Making the future the cause of our present' should be the motto of the event, to push future leaders to build an efficient society that is compatible with our civilisation from an environmental and social point of view."

The MBA's Conference & Regatta is an international sailing event created 16 years ago by the Sailing Club of the SDA Bocconi School of Management. More than 4,000 students and alumni of the Masters in Business Administration have participated in the event to date. The event is also supported by main partner Audi, once again highlighting its proximity to the environmental protection issues promoted by the One Ocean Foundation and the YCCS, with which it is linked by a collaboration dating back more than a decade.

Photos: Martina Orsini