As a panellist on “Europe in Crisis: How Does the Continent Regain Its Competitive Edge?”, Barbara Kux is optimistic for Europe, because of its good score in the Human Development Index, its global 15% GDP to 6% CO2 footprint ratio, and its opportunities in applied AI and in green tech. She points out that it is key for Europe’s future that innovative start-ups are developed and financed. And she is happy to contribute to their sustainable growth. She discussed the topic with Sabrina Soussan, former CEO and Chairperson of Suez and Nick Studer, President and CEO of Oliver Wyman, moderated by Scott D. Anthony, Clinical Professor of Business Administration at Dartmouth College.
St. Gallen, 8 May 2025
In her graduation speech for 114 Executive MBAs of the University of St Gallen, Barbara Kux pointed out the importance of sapere aude. She emboldened graduates to be wise and have the courage to use their own understanding when facing today’s key challenges: technological disruptions by AI estimated to affect 60-70 percent of total time spent working with a potential productivity growth until 2040 of some 3 percent; international conflicts in Europe, the Middle East and Asia; and sustainability with the latest earth overshoot day already on 2 August 2023.
Participation as a former director of the board and member of its governance, strategy and nomination committee at the 100th anniversary of TotalEnergies SE at Chateau de Versailles.
The jury of the Swiss Economic Forum presented Barbara Kux with the “Honorary Award 2024” as part of the SEF.WomenAward. On the same evening, International Women’s Day 2024, Alessia Schrepfer, Co-Founder WeNurse, was honored as Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2024 and Sandra Banholzer, CEO Rauch Kreuzlingen, as Entrepreneur/CEO of the Year 2024.
Zurich, 8 March 2024
Laudator Simone Westerfeld, Head Personal Banking UBS, presents Barbara Kux with the Honorary Award 2024 of the SEF.WomenAward
“Thriving Amid Change: Boards, Sustainability, and Career Insights” – Barbara Kux talks to Robert Maciejko, co-president alumni Florida, Cintia Tavella, president alumni US, and Vic Woo, director INSEAD San Francisco hub, on the occasion of the Global INSEAD Day commemorating the opening of the first MBA class in 1959.
“Energiesicherheit in Europa – wie?” (Energy Security in Europe – How?, in German, some slides in English). The Max Schmidheiny Foundation’s forums promote constructive, issue-related exchange within the younger generation of entrepreneurs, politicians and representatives of civil society, as well as with national and international leaders.
At the Business Day 2021 organised by the Swiss Business Federation economiesuisse, Barbara Kux discussed on the panel “Sustainable financing: opportunities and risks for the real economy” (in German) hosted by Urs Gredig, with Professor Dorothée Baumann-Pauly, director of the Centre for Business & Human Rights, UNIGE, Dr Gnanli Landrou, CEO and co-founder of Oxara, and Philipp Rickenbacher, CEO Julius Bär Gruppe AG.
Basel, 10 September 2021
Barbara Kux encourages businesses to regard sustainability as an opportunity
“Sustainability and diversity—why now?”, lecture given at the event “The Female Impact – SustainAbility Now” at the UBS Center for Education and Dialogue
Barbara Kux personally contributed to the Harvard Business School MBA program “On becoming a general manager” led by Professors Amy C. Edmondson and Joseph Fuller, with reference to the Harvard case study by V. Kasturi Rangan, Amy C. Edmondson, Daniela Beyersdorfer, and Emer Moloney, “Sustainability at Siemens” (cf. bkux.com under publications, Harvard Business School Case 514-026, 2013)
Barbara Kux joined this debate with André Hoffman, vice chairman of Roche, Jonathan Normand, founder of B Lab, Katrin Muff, Professor at LUISS, which was moderated by Santiago Lefebvre and hosted by the Chapter Zero representatives Sonia Tatar from the INSEAD Corporate Governance Centre and Michael Hilb from the International Board Foundation.
