Global Alumni Networks: Spotlight on the UAE, North America, and China

The WBS Global Alumni Networks have had an extremely busy and social April. We are thrilled to spotlight just a few of the different social events that have taken place all over the world.

UAE Network: Iftar dinner during Ramadan  

During the month of Ramadan, the UAE Alumni Network organised and hosted an Iftar dinner which brought together WBS alumni, Warwick alumni, and family and friends. The event took place on Thursday 13 April at the Tandoori Bistro JLT and it was a wonderful opportunity for the alumni community to connect and continue to build strong bonds of friendship.

The UAE Alumni Network is thriving with many social activities and events happening throughout the year. The Network also has close links with the wider Warwick alumni community in the UAE. Alongside social activities and meet-ups, members of the Network connect with other Warwick alumni through an active WhatsApp group which has over 216 members.

North America Network: Jeffersonian dinner in New York City

At the beginning of April, the North America Network hosted a Jeffersonian style dinner party in New York City. With the recent launch of ChatGPT-4 and continuing on the theme of innovation, the dinner provided alumni with an opportunity to exchange, in a private setting, how businesses are tackling the accelerating pace of technology, client strategies across diverse industries, geopolitics and financial markets.

Over the course of several hours and delicious wine and food, the conversation veered from the pragmatic to the philosophical, strengthening professional and personal bonds for the growing community of alumni across North America.

China Network: Spring reunion in Guangzhou

On Saturday 15 April, the China Alumni Network hosted a spring reunion in Guangzhou, China. This was the first alumni event after Covid-19 in mainland China and the Network was delighted to have 64 guests attending in-person.

The event began with a cocktail reception, where alumni had a chance to reconnect with old friends. Following on from this, there were two insightful sessions; ‘The Leadership Salon’ and ‘The Business Talk Lab’.

Leadership Salon

The Network welcomed three inspirational female leaders: Zhong Jinyi, Deputy Director of Guangzhou Institute of Advanced Technology, Huo Peigiong, General Manger of South Region China Resources Pharmaceutical, and last but by no means least, He Li, the COO of Zhitong Finance.

In the Leadership Salon, the three female leaders candidly shared their experiences of building a personal brand, using their voices in male dominated industries and how to lead change.

The Business Talk Lab

In the second session, the Network were delighted to be joined by Andrew Ho, Senior Consultant at Deloitte. Andrew discussed industry trends in the Pharmacy, Energy and Consumer sectors, using the tool Lego Serious Play.

Following on from the two sessions, alumni enjoyed a dinner, whilst also hearing from three distinguished speakers; John Hung, WBS Regional Chair and Senior Partner at Deloitte Asia Pacific, William Kennedy of the Economic Consul, and Wang Yingxia, Head of Financial Services for South China at the British Consulate-General Guangzhou.

The event was expertly organised by Haixia Wang, a Warwick alum, with support from the WBS China Alumni Network.  

If you would like get in touch with the Global Alumni Engagement team to offer any feedback or suggestions for activities and events across the networks, we would be delighted to hear from you. You can contact us at alumni@wbs.ac.uk .

WBS alumni based in China, India, North America, Singapore and the UAE can join the various different WBS alumni networks by emailing alumni@wbs.ac.uk.