With more than 1,500 members, the CEIBS Alumni International Chapter (CAIC) has been working to build a strong global community since its beginning in 2015. As a platform open to all CEIBS alumni, the CAIC helps connect members from different programmes and regional chapters around the world through a variety of regular events, activities and more. 2021 will be a big year for the CAIC as it prepares to elect a new core council this August. As such, it is time to reflect on some of the chapter’s highlights and achievements.

In part two of our four-part CAIC council interview series, we talk with CAIC Secretary General Tina Walendy (CEIBS Africa EMBA 2015) about strengthening the international alumni community, embracing diversity and the importance of maintaining an open mind.

CEIBS: Hi Tina! For those who aren’t familiar with the CAIC’s mission, what is it and how does it carry it out?

Tina: The CAIC’s mission is to create and strengthen the school’s international alumni community. We do this by organising events exclusively in English. We offer a platform for all CEIBS alumni and students who wish to communicate in English. At the same time, we facilitate and encourage knowledge sharing, people reaching out to each other to either share content, share experiences, or for business collaborations and partnerships.

CEIBS: How does the CAIC fit into the overall picture of the CEIBS alumni community?

Tina: The CAIC is a Shanghai-based chapter in the sense that we are a sub-chapter of the Shanghai Alumni Association. As such, we are also part of the broader CEIBS Alumni Association (CAA). We’re a geography agnostic chapter, so we serve as a hub for all local and overseas chapters where people can come together, reach out to each other and stay connected.

CEIBS: What is one thing that you believe makes the CAIC unique or special?

Tina: We are an English-speaking platform. That is important because it makes us one of the most diverse chapters. This is something that we hold dearly. The diversity aspect also guides some of the things we do, the way we organise initiatives. We promote and embrace and really celebrate diversity. Some of our initiatives are specifically in the direction of representing and strengthening what we believe are some of the aspects everybody in the business community should embrace. This involves female leadership, sustainability and everything that makes us a broader community, different and unique as a whole.

CEIBS: You serve on the CAIC’s core council as the Secretary General. What role does the council perform?

Tina: The CAIC council is the body that drives the chapter forward. It is composed of five elected officers and 20 supporting members. We make sure the activity of the chapter is continuous and consistent with the chapter’s mission, and we coordinate events and activities throughout the year.

Behind the scenes of the CAIC’s first webinar, The Social Lens of a Virus with Dr. Allan Bahroun (March 2020)

CEIBS: What motivated you to volunteer for the CAIC?

Tina: I graduated from the CEIBS Africa EMBA during my time in Ghana. Not long after graduating, I came to Shanghai. In both countries, the impact the alumni community has had on me has been life-changing. I immediately felt at home in places that were not where I came from. And that is what drove me to dedicate time and passion to strengthening this community. I hope as many people as possible can benefit from it as much as I have.

CEIBS: What achievement are you the most proud of from your time with the council?

Tina: One is how quickly and naturally we transitioned into virtual events at the outbreak of the pandemic. Most of our events before 2020 were offline, but when that became impossible, we very quickly decided to go online and managed to actually inaugurate the most active year in 2020 in terms of events and activities, mainly through webinars and web conferences. What that allowed us to do was also to reach out to more alumni based overseas, who would otherwise not have had the chance to access our content. I’m also proud of how we don’t only embrace and promote diversity, we really represent diversity. We celebrate diversity in every sense, and we have even included it in our charter, which is what will guarantee continuity of our values and our mission beyond this council.

One of many alumni mixer events hosted by the CAIC

CEIBS: A new core council will be elected later this year. Do you have any advice for those looking to volunteer for a leadership role with the CAIC?

Tina: It will be enriching. Come with an open mind, you’ll be surrounded along the journey by many smart people who have ideas that are as good as yours. Come with true willingness to dedicate time to it, because that’s what drives the council and the chapter forward.

CEIBS: Lastly, is there one message that you would like to share with the rest of the CEIBS community?

Tina: Don’t hesitate to reach out to each other. I think there’s a huge willingness to support each other, to help each other, to inspire each other. Let’s make use of that in the good sense of the word.

For more information about CEIBS alumni and our global network of alumni chapters, please visit our alumni page here.