INSEAD Announces Record €60 Million Donation
INSEAD has received a record-setting donation from a donor who will remain anonymous, the school announced this week.
That donation is worth a cool €60 million, or currently about $66 million. It beats the school’s previous record, a €40 million donation the school received in 2018 that went to establish the Hoffman Global Institute for Business and Society.
Of the new €60 million donation, €40 million will go to the endowment to support research done at the school. The remaining €20 million will be put into investments intended to strengthen the school’s financial independence.
The gift marks INSEAD’s sixtieth anniversary, but it is also well-timed in that it provides INSEAD with a financial boost in an unpredictable time.
As INSEAD dean Ilian Mihov put it: “During this period of tremendous uncertainty, this gift strengthens our intellectual foundations and upholds our identity as a global leader in research.”
Andreas Jacobs, who chairs INSEAD’s board, echoed that sentiment, describing the gift as “an important signal of trust in INSEAD’s leadership” that “provides the school with assurance at an opportune time.”
For their part, the donor said that they “believe in the mission and direction of the school and have great confidence in its leadership.”
While the donor is remaining anonymous, INSEAD has clarified that they are an alum.
In that vein, the donor said: “INSEAD changed the course of my life and career. It is gratifying to strengthen the core of the school through the quality of its research. With this gift, I entrust INSEAD to continue to have a positive and lasting impact on many lives and businesses worldwide.”
INSEAD’s announcement indicated that they expected the impact to be felt across a range of disciplines and departments at the school since a large portion of the gift is set aside for research in general.
Without a doubt, the financial resources that these come with these kinds of donations give top business schools a unique advantage, especially in a time of economic uncertainty.
That’s also part of the reason, of course, that admission to leading global MBA programs remains highly competitive.
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