On 3rd March 2023, ESCP London Campus hosted its 18th Annual Student Gala. Staged at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, the event attracted 300 students from seven different degree programmes and many members of ESCP faculty and professional services for what is one of the highlights of the London Campus social calendar.

The Annual Gala guests celebrated the community and innovative spirit embedded in ESCP’s genes. A pioneer for more than 200 years, ESCP can be proud of a large number of innovations successfully adopted all around the world. It remains the only pan-European school, with six campuses in Berlin, London, Madrid, Paris, Turin and Warsaw.

The event drew attention to the School’s achievements over the past 12 months and the success of its diverse student community, which the London Campus Dean, Associate Professor Kamran Razmdoost, highlighted in his opening speech.

During the night, guests were treated to a surprise performance from BOX9, a UK leading drumline and bass collective. Their past performances included shows hosted by Netflix, Strictly Come Dancing, Glastonbury Festival, NFL, Jean Paul Gaultier and many more.

The event continued until late on the dance floor, with music provided by signed Universal Music label artist DJ and ESCP alumnus (2017) Harold Van Lennep.

Two awards were presented to students. The first, “Student Company Consultancy Project of the Year” was introduced by Prof. Simon Mercado, Executive Vice President (Business & External Relations) and awarded for work done by MBA in International Management students Luigi Staiano, Ankit Aman, Léa Darnet, Matteo Calleri and Ying Tung Liu on behalf of IFI Claims.

IFI is a US-based business-to-business software company that produces a content management platform to support the integration and distribution of a global patent data repository and other related public and private data sets. IFI was looking to understand how current economic difficulties would affect their key verticals; and to determine, from best to worst, which of IFI’s 5 verticals were best suited in this difficult economic climate.

Being a repeat project, this came with high expectations from the client. What set this team apart was the professionalism of the team, led by Luigi Staiano, and the quality of their exchanges with their client. Both the client and the tutor were impressed with the team’s integrity, their ability to understand the client’s needs, their communication and project management skills.

IFI Claims praised the project team: “This group is incredibly impressive! Not only were they professional and provided truly valuable insights, they were also a pleasure with whom to work. Their work exceeded our expectations.”

The second award, “London Student Society of the Year”, was delivered by Léon Laulusa, Acting Executive President and Acting Dean of ESCP Business School to second-time winners 180 DC Consulting ESCP, and accepted by Alessandra Cappelletti and Gennaro Francesco Lucchino. 180DC is the world’s largest consultancy for non-profits and social enterprises. Prior to the Gala, ESCP students, professional services and faculty voted for one of 30 different London student societies, with a total of 534 votes going to those that, in their opinion, most embodied the values of student life, community building, creativity and ESCP spirit.

Gennaro Francesco Lucchino, one of the leaders of 180 DC Consulting ESCP and Bachelor in Management (BSc) student said: “I was honoured to represent the ESCP branch of 180 DC on the stage, and enthusiastic about the important recognition of winning best student society of the year. All the achievements, effort and energies from all the consultants, project leaders and executive teams resulted in making a positive impact on the ESCP community. I am delighted and grateful to be part of a student society that contributes to the world becoming a better place by offering its high-quality and extremely affordable consulting services to non-profits and social enterprises.”