September 11, 2011. Shanghai – "If women ran the world, there would be no wars." It's an outdated cliché, but there's something to be said for the effectiveness of female leadership. Over the last two days, women leaders have been recognised and celebrated during an event co-organised by CEIBS and International Women's Entrepreneurial Challenge Foundation.

The 2018 IWEC Conference celebrated global successes in female entrepreneurship, forged new business relationships, and provided a platform for a discussion on growth opportunities in Asia. Held under the theme "Connecting Women Businesses Globally: Discovering Opportunities in Asia," the event was hosted by CEIBS at its state-of-the-art Shanghai Campus. More than 300 female leaders of enterprises and start-ups from over 20 countries gathered in the Conference Centre across from CEIBS' iconic Glass Pyramid, exchanging views on the challenges and prospects for women leadership. Through a series of dynamic panel discussions, they delved into a variety of topics from doing business in and with China, empowering women entrepreneurs with resources at all levels, to upgrading mentorship and professionalism across multiple industries.

The tone was set from the very first day of the two-day event, with inspirational welcome remarks by IWEC Chairperson and Retired Career Ambassador in the US Department of State Ruth A. Davis, CEIBS President (European) & Professor of Entrepreneurship Pedro Nueno, Chairperson of Sun Media Group and CEIBS alumna Yang Lan, Vice President of Barcelona Chamber of Commerce Adela Subirana, and Vice President of AmCham Shanghai Shilpi Biswas.

Recalling the past two decades of CEIBS' growth and development, Professor Nueno credited the hard work of generations of members of the extended CEIBS family for the accomplishments of an international business school that is becoming increasingly globally recognised. He anticipates that CEIBS will be a source of even more innovative education and research for women leadership to leverage the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.

In her keynote speech on what's next in the field of marketing and media, Yang Lan shared insights on how to maintain one's brand and core values in an ever diversified digital era through authentic and open-minded observation and communication. IWEC Vice President Adela Subirana echoed Professor Nueno's comments as she shared her organisation's core philosophies. She hopes the IWEC will become the vantage point through which women entrepreneurs can empower themselves by fostering more informed dialogue and collaboration.

Throughout the event, awards were announced for more than 300 women business leaders from 46 countries, a formidable group of individuals who provide jobs for more than 265,000 and bring in annual revenue of USD170 million. China was among the countries (the others were US, Peru, and South Africa) from which almost 50 female leaders received the coveted 2018 IWEC Business Award. Not surprising as, over the past 40 years, Chinese women have cut a remarkable figure, accounting for 30.9% of female entrepreneurs globally according to the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs. Including Yang Lan, five awardees from China are CEIBS alumni. The other four are: Yang Ling, CEO of Beijing Gene+ Technology; Renee Wang, Founder and CEO of Castbox; Cui Feng Lyu, President of CJ Smart Cargo; and Shufang Ou, President of Universal Vision Biotechnology.

About CEIBS
China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) is among the top international business schools in Asia, where it is the only business school to have simultaneously made it to the Financial Times' top 30 list of MBA, EMBA and Executive Education programmes.

CEIBS has more than 20,000 alumni from more than 80 countries worldwide, and has provided a broad range of management programmes for more than 150,000 executives both at home and abroad. CEIBS' faculty team is uniquely equipped to deliver a combination of China Depth and Global Breadth in both teaching and research.

CEIBS has campuses in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen Zurich and Accra.

About IWEC

IWEC is a New York-based non-for-profit organization whose mission is to connect and develop a global network of successful women business owners. IWEC's reach encompasses women who are already in the global marketplace and want to expand, and those who are ripe to get into the marketplace.

IWEC's ecosystem is comprised of women-owned companies around the globe whose combined annual revenue is over US$25 billion dollars, and who employ over 125,000 workers worldwide. Simply put, IWEC's constituents represent some of the most influential businesswomen from the world's most important emerging and established regions.