Art Basel attracted INSEAD Alumni and guests from around Switzerland on June 14th for a Swiss INSEAD Alum- ni Association event to mark the 2013 Basel edition. The INSEAD Art Basel event revealed a great interest in art in our Swiss Alumni community. The event attracted members from Zürich, Lausanne, and Geneva, in addition to Basel. We received the welcome support from two Alumni and their respective companies that made the event truly special for us. Saji Jabbour,CFO at Audemars Piguet (MBA’ 2000)and Hans -Kristian Hoejsgaard, CEO of Oettinger Davidoff AG (AMP’ 92). Thanks to both companies, Alumni were treated to VIP status. Audemars Piguet, which initiated its partnership with Art Basel at its show in Hong Kong in May 2013, provided upgraded passes granting access to the exhibit grounds and to the Audemars Piguet VIP lounge area.
Throughout the day, guests were invited to take a break and sample a cigar, and a drink, at the Davidoff Cigars VIP lounge. A late afternoon cocktail, hosted by Audemars Piguet at their lounge, enabled us to meet Mr. Olivier Audemars, great grandson of one of the founders. He greeted the guests and presented the lounge, the brand’s design and artwork, explaining how these capture the brand’s essence and draws on the company’s roots in the Vallée de Joux. Guests could also view the art of watchmaking ‘live’ at a small atelier in the lounge entrance, as well as marvel at iconic Audemars Piguet timepieces. The INSEAD Art Basel Alumni event ended with a guided tour of the Arts Unlimited section of Art Basel’s Exhibit. A special thanks to Laurence Rochat at Audemars Piguet, Maneesha Baljekar Trees at Davidoff Cigars and Nicole Reber at gcc GmbH for organising a tour of the Exhibit.