Sailing to avoid isolation: BBS Sailing Experience 2025

3 November 2025

Sailing means facing uncertainty with method, turning disorder into direction, and aligning skills and personalities into a single movement toward a shared goal. For this reason, every year, the BBS Sailing Experience is much more than a sporting event: it is a powerful metaphor for leadership, collaboration, and shared vision.

Now in its eleventh edition, the Sailing Experience was once again promoted by the BBS Alumni Association, with the support of the Centro Velico Italiano, and took place on October 11–12, 2025, against the stunning backdrop of Marina di Punta Ala. Two days devoted to sailing, experiential learning, and community building within the Bologna Business School network, with a regatta held in memory of Stefano De Maria, Executive MBA Alumnus, whose passion and dedication were instrumental in shaping lasting connections within the School’s community.

Managers, alumni, and master participants from diverse educational backgrounds took part in the initiative, testing both individual capabilities and team collaboration in a setting where each maneuver, decision, and mistake becomes an opportunity for growth.

Guiding and inspiring the group was a keynote speech by Professor Andrea Lipparini, Associate Dean for MBAs at BBS. His address began with a pivotal episode from ancient history: the mutiny of Alexander the Great’s army during the Indian campaign. A moment when, despite the general’s strategic brilliance and military power, his army refused to follow him further. In a contemporary business context, the lesson is clear: being the strongest is not enough if you stand alone. Even the most authoritative leader cannot succeed without a shared mission—one that involves and motivates the team to pursue a common goal.

In this light, sailing becomes the perfect training ground for a type of leadership that does not impose but inspires—able to interpret the context, value each individual contribution, and adjust the course when needed, without ever losing sight of the bigger picture.

The Sailing Experience offers an intense and meaningful learning opportunity, fully aligned with BBS’s educational approach: interdisciplinary, grounded in the interaction between academia and business, and enriched by an international community that fosters connections, insights, and opportunities every day.

Because the journey of those who choose to grow never truly ends. And just like at sea, in one’s professional life, it is preparation, listening, and trust in the team that make the difference.