Presentation of Prince Albert Fund certificates
19 talented young people complete their year’s intensive work experience abroad
They can be proud of the road they have travelled! Nineteen high potential young people have now completed an ambitious mission abroad on behalf of Belgian companies. On 9 May, they each received their Prince Albert Fund certificate from HRH Princess Astrid. The ceremony was also the occasion to welcome the Fund’s new President, Emmanuel Caeymaex, Vice-President Immunology at UCB and himself a Prince Albert Fund alumnus.
These 19 talented young people aged under 30 have returned from a hugely rewarding experience: the Prince Albert Fund enabled them to work abroad for a year for a Belgian company wishing to develop its activities or projects internationally. Created over thirty years ago, the Fund contributes to training business leaders in international experience, with a spirit of entrepreneurship and openness of mind, qualities that Belgian business and society in general greatly need.
For the companies – ranging from start-ups to well-established businesses – the Fund is also an effective means of developing their activities abroad with high-quality candidates who have been rigorously selected.
On the thirtieth anniversary of its existence, the Fund has certainly not been resting on its laurels, but rather continuing to develop. It recently selected a new group of 30 young talents who, from this summer, will begin their year-long mission. Chris Burggraeve, the Prince Albert Fund’s outgoing President: “Every brand has to reinvent itself from time to time in order to stay relevant. In 2014, we made our 30th anniversary a lever to consolidate our position and double the number of grants awarded. Thanks to the involvement of numerous people, the Fund has benefitted from a period of renewal over the past five years. We have strengthened the Fund’s operational and financial means so as to offer more talented youngsters this exceptional opportunity, one that will really change their lives.”
A new President
This is a spirit that the new President, Emmanuel Caeymaex, shares absolutely and intends to promote: “I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to experience how enthralling and exciting it is to lead a quality business project abroad when you’re in your twenties. It is both an honour and a pleasure to be able to contribute to the development of talent on behalf of Belgium, for the business world and indeed for the whole of society. I am delighted with the idea of continuing to help develop the Prince Albert Fund, together with its Management Committee, Managing Director and our strong alumni network.”
Impact
Laurent Huenaerts enjoyed a special moment during the ceremony: he was awarded the McKinsey Impact Award, through which the consultancy firm rewards a particularly exceptional performance. Laurent went to New York on behalf of Unifly and set up the company’s business on the American market. The McKinsey award will enable Laurent to follow a management programme in the prestigious business school of his choice.
440 Alumni
Including the 19 prizewinners selected in 2017 and who ended their mission in 2018, the Prince Albert Fund now has 440 alumni, of whom 68% are male and 32% female. 45% of them have led a commercial project in Asia, 42.5% in North or South America, 5.5% in Africa, 4% in Oceania and 3% in Eastern Europe.