Claudia Zeisberger

Claudia Zeisberger is a Senior Affiliate Professor of Decision Sciences and Entrepreneurship & Family Enterprise at INSEAD, and the Founder and Academic Director of the school’s private equity centre (GPEI).Through the centre’s work, INSEAD has established itself as the go-to source for insights on PE in emerging markets and as an incubator for talent and professionals.

Her links to alumni in the venture space were instrumental in the 2015 formation of “INSEAD Alum Ventures (IAV)”, the school’s first dedicated seed fund, by Alumni – for Alumni.

Professor Zeisberger is known for her extensive research on PE in emerging markets, and her output is a function of her close working relationships with private equity firms and their investee companies, institutional investors, Family Offices and Sovereign Wealth Funds.

Joining Academia in 2005 after a 16-year career in investment banking & alternative investments, allowed her to leverage her extensive network and combine her passion for education & innovation by connecting academia with industry.

In 2010, she launched INSEAD’s popular elective “Managing Corporate Turnarounds,” which combines in-class case studies and visits from industry professionals with an intensive computer-based simulation involving the iconic car brand SAAB and its struggle with bankruptcy. Over a full weekend student teams work to rescue the distressed car manufacturer by drawing on their management, finance and operational skills while facing increasingly complex decisions impacting both the firm’s short-term liquidity and long-term value creation. Students consider MCT the perfect course to put their MBA skills to test; corporations see the simulation as an opportunity to prepare their senior executives for challenging times ahead.

Professor Zeisberger teaches the Private Equity & Venture Capital, Corporate Turnaround and Risk management electives in INSEAD’s MBA, EMBA and Executive Education programmes. She has frequently been nominated for the “Best Teaching Award” in her PE elective and has been awarded the “Dean’s Commendation for Excellence in MBA Teaching” annually since 2008.

Professor Zeisberger is a founding committee member of the Financial Women’s Association (FWA) in Singapore and was previously on the Board of the Singapore Venture Capital Association (SVCA). She has worked with clients in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Europe & the Middle East and continues to advise institutional investors, Asian family offices, sovereign wealth funds and regulators on Financial Market Dynamics, Risk Management and Private Capital related issues.

She recently published 'Mastering Private Equity – Transformation via Venture Capital, Minority Investments & Buyouts' as well the corresponding INSEAD case book 'Private Equity in Action – Case Studies from Developed & Emerging Markets'.

PUBLICATIONS

• REPORTS - Private Equity Navigator: Private Equity Analysis from Pevara & INSEAD’s Global Private Equity Initiative - INSEAD
• WORKING PAPERS - Strategic Buyers vs. Private Equity Buyers in an Investment Process
• CASE STUDIES - Rice from Africa for Africa: Duxton Asset Management and its Investment in Tanzanian Rice Farming
• CASE STUDIES - JPMorgan and the London Whale
• REPORTS - Private Equity Navigator: Private equity analysis from Pevara & INSEAD’s Global Private Equity Initiative - INSEAD
• WORKING PAPERS - Private Equity and family Businesses - Making the Partnership Work
• CASE STUDIES - Slalom to the Finish: Carlyle's Exit from Moncler
• CASE STUDIES - Going Direct: The Case of Teachers' Private Capital
• CASE STUDIES - Chips on the Side (B): The Buy-Out of Avago Technologies
• CASE STUDIES - Chips on the Side (A): The Buy-Out of Avago Technologies
• WORKING PAPERS - Private Equity Exits in China and India
• WORKING PAPERS - Brazilian Private Equity: Moving Centre Stage
• CASE STUDIES - Valuation and Return Measurement in Private Equity: An Overview
• WORKING PAPERS - Demographics: The Ratio of Revolution
• WORKING PAPERS - Demographic Forecasting Stock Market and Housing Trends in Japan and the United States Over the Past 50 Years and a Forecast for the Next 20 Years
• CASE STUDIES - Asian Private Equity (A): The Quest for Return
• CASE STUDIES - “The 4 Quadrants”: A World of Risk and a Road Map to Understand It
• CASE STUDIES - Dirty White Swans: Could Unexpected Extreme Events Put You Out of Business?
• CASE STUDIES - Sula Vineyards: Indian Wine - Ce n'est pas possible !
• CASE STUDIES - Investor Growth Capital: The Bredbandsbolaget Investment
• CASE STUDIES - NBGI Ventures: The Direct Energie Investment
• CASE STUDIES - Evolvence: India Life Sciences Fund
• CASE STUDIES - Turning an Elephant into a Cheetah: The Turnaround of Indian Railways
• CASE STUDIES - Bank USA: The Challenge of Compensation after the 2008 Financial Crisis
• CASE STUDIES - Beroni Group: Managing GP-LP Relationships

RESEARCH AREAS

Private Equity & Venture Capital, especially minority stakes in emerging markets & the impact of private equity on the economy at large, Institutional Investment portfolios and challenges of maintaining exposure to PE & VC, Corporate Turnaround & Restructuring situations, Risk Management, especially in institutional investment portfolios

TEACHING AREAS

Private equity, Growth Equity & Venture Capital, Managing Corporate Turnarounds, Risk Management (Integrated Risk Management, Market Risk, VaR & Investor Due Diligence), Hedge Funds & Alternative Investments