Game Changers in Times of Crisis: Beyond Business as Usual. 8 June, 18:00

Event Details

📅 Monday, 8 June 2026
🕕 18:00
📍 USI Executive Center, Lugano

To enroll, please write to: emba@usi.ch

In periods of uncertainty and rapid transformation, maintaining the status quo is no longer enough. Organizations today need leaders capable of rethinking traditional models, navigating complexity, and transforming disruption into opportunity.

USI Executive MBA is pleased to invite professionals, entrepreneurs, executives, and alumni to an exclusive evening discussion exploring how visionary leaders become true “game changers” in times of crisis — driving innovation, resilience, and sustainable impact across industries.

The session will bring together speakers with international experience in leadership, organizational transformation, human capital, and industrial management, offering practical insights into how organizations and individuals can cultivate adaptability, strategic thinking, and transformative leadership in uncertain environments.

A unique conversation on leadership, transformation, and the courage to rethink business in times of disruption.

Speakers

Christian Burkhalter

Global Head of HR / Digital HR Transformation / Lean & Agile Approach at Casale SA. With more than 20 years of international experience in human resources, organizational transformation, digital HR, and AI-driven change management, Christian has led strategic initiatives in talent development, leadership culture, continuous improvement, and diversity & inclusion across multinational organizations.

Judith Eberl

Senior Coach and Facilitator. Judith is the Managing Director of YouEvolve GmbH and has over 20 years of experience in organizational development across multinational organizations in the insurance, financial, and retail sectors throughout Europe and the Asia Pacific region. She specializes in leadership development, coaching, transformation, and sustainable business performance, helping leaders and teams prepare for future challenges and opportunities.

Michele Matis

CEO of Plastifil SA and senior executive with over 30 years of operational leadership experience in manufacturing, supply chain, food, and medtech industries across Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and France. He has developed an extensive commercial network among industrial SMEs and C-suite decision-makers across the DACH region, France, Italy, and Switzerland. Michele is also President of the Ticino section of the Swiss Shippers Council, active member of Swiss Medtech Ticino, member of the Advisory Board of AIFt, and Executive MBA alumnus of Università della Svizzera Italiana (USI).

Moderator

Prof. Paulo Gonçalves

Professor of System Dynamics and Management at USI and Director of the Executive MBA at USI. Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School and former Research Affiliate at MIT Sloan School of Management. His research combines System Dynamics Simulation, Behavioral Experiments, and Econometrics to understand managerial decision-making in complex and humanitarian settings. He holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. from MIT Sloan and has received several international awards for his research in supply chain management and operations.