Annual Celebration Speech 2025: Lars Rebien Sørensen
Your Excellency Mr Ambassador, Representatives of CBS Management and Board of Directors, Faculty, Affiliates and friends - and foremost - CBS students!
Thanks for the invitation, and the great honour and recognition.
A bit of background:
I did graduate in 1982 (hopefully much before most the students here were born).
I have been incredibly lucky;
- being born here in Denmark in a family with sound yet firm values,
- at that particular time period,
- witnessing the last gasp of “the cold war” during my military service watching over the Baltic Sea,
My first years in business life was spend in USA and ME.
Formative years moving from the richest part of the world to some of the poorest.
My leadership roles only commenced in the late 80’es early 90’es. Being young and unexperienced I did not fully comprehend the magnitude of the “fall of the Berlin wall or the impact of the massacre at the Tiananmen Square in Beijing” in 1989. I was just busy expanding my companies activities in - USA, PRC and even Russia.
PRC was a developing nation, looking for western partners. And Russia played to our naivete - talking about collaboration and friendship.
Those were the “Golden years of Globalization and strength of International institutions”!
In other words, “a world order that existed” all my business carrier – until early this Year!? Now perhaps You understand why I say “I was incredibly lucky”!
The future worries me.
At a personal level, on behalf of my Institution, on behalf Denmark and our democratic Europe…..
And this is where my address to the Students comes in;
Be ambitious, Be accountable, Be trustworthy, Finish You studies and jobs - BUT You should also be humble, because You are just as lucky as I was - being here and able to attend this great institution!
You should work to help us create a world that is more equal, where individuals have unassailable freedom rights. Sustainable societies.
BUT in order for us to do that together - you need to help us build on the only one thing that we can truly trust; “a Europe build on a continuation of the values of the World of Yesterday”!
A vibrant, less regulated, more united, innovative, and more self-sufficient - strong Europe!
Only by doing that will we be able to aspire for a more long-term sustainable world.
I spoke to a Finnish PhD student the other day about purpose driven corporations - and he said something during our conversation which stuck in my mind;
“ ….some Nations are increasingly being run like companies - and at least European companies are increasingly being run like Nations…” - with transparency, social accountability and objectives to be part of the solution towards a more sustainable world!
Don’t forget that!
Thanks for your attention!