International Business Leaders
What have a London lawyer, a Harvard-trained negotiator and an Audit Partner in Barcelona got in common? They are all guest speakers at Geneva Business School.
This semester, we’ve had a host of fantastic business leaders who shared their experience on everything from the role of sports agents and careers in consultancy to leadership skills and public speaking.
London Lawyer
Daniel Geey is a lawyer, an author, and a speaker. As a Partner in the Sports Group at Sheridans, Daniel works with a variety of clubs and athletes, assisting them with transfers and contracts. He also writes books and speaks about his passion for football and helping people with their career trajectories.
As part of the Athlete and Player Career Management specialization, run by Gregory Shields, students engaged in an online Q&A with Daniel, who shared his experience as a sports lawyer and provided career advice.
So what did the students make of the Q&A? ‘Incredibly interesting & resourceful’. That was the feedback from one student, while another described the session as ‘super informative and engaging’. And another student left this comment:
It was really inspiring to learn about various career opportunities.
Harvard Negotiator
In a course run by Brett Sutaris, there was a Public Speaking Masterclass delivered online by Shane Ray Martin, who is based in the USA. As co-founder of Deal Talk, the world’s largest live negotiation talk show, Shane engages with global audiences – sharing how to speak and negotiate with confidence.
Shane extols the virtues of three persuasion tactics for business leaders, and he shared these with International Management Bachelor students. How do you sound persuasive without being pushy? That’s the question that Shane asks. And this is the 3-step process he follows:
I say “because” often. I paint pictures with words. I make the audience THE HERO.
Consultancy Course
For Bachelor and Master students on the Consultancy course run by Carlos Hernandez, there have been several inspiring business leaders coming into our Barcelona campus. There are too many guest speakers to feature all of them in this blog, but below are a few mentions.
The vastly experienced entrepreneur Miquel Costa talked about helping startups obtain finance, as well as giving top tips on how to get investment.
With over 25 years experience as a tax lawyer, Lluis Basart explained how companies can forge international alliances and merge business cultures to help their growth – for example through the independent network ANTEA.
On a career journey that has taken her from being an architect to a resilience advisor for the UN, Amaia Celaya spoke to students about urban and climate sustainability as well as other projects with social impact. As a principle consultant with vast experience stretching back to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Agustin Argelich talked about digital transformation.
As Managing Partner at Martinez Comin, Alex Martinez outlined how recruiting and developing talent is a major issue for consultancy firms. For Alex, staff wellbeing is key to solving the problems of clients and even society.
And as Partner & Head of Audit at Grant Thornton, Isabel Perea spoke about the need for talent and the opportunities for students. Speaking with real passion about leadership skills and career options available, this is what Isabel had to say:
It’s important they see that everything is possible. They can design their own future.
Speakers Corner
At Geneva Business School, we’re grateful to all the guest speakers for their time and fascinating industry insights. And in January, we’ll be launching a new video series, featuring one speaker in conversation each week. So keep an eye out for Speakers Corner on a phone or laptop screen near you and see how you can be inspired by real business leaders.
