Centre for Evolution of Global Business and Institutions (CEGBI)

About CEGBI

Established in January 2009, CEGBI is a research centre in the School for Business and Society at the University of York. The centre aims to carry out groundbreaking research which will foster a better understanding of how business and institutions succeed in a global economy.  By developing a better understanding of the relationship between past and the present, the aim is to draw lessons that help business and policy makers in more informed decision making and address grand challenges. It draws on an eclectic approach, both in terms of research topics and methodologies used. A distinctive characteristic of the members of the centre is their emphasis on international business, business and economic history, global marketing, ethics and social enterprise.

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CEGBI Guest Lecture

Nestlé & Politics since 1945 

The presentation revolves around the decision on March 2022 by Mark Schneider, CEO of Nestlé, to withdraw the emblematic Kit Kat chocolate bar from sales in Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine in the previous month. The decision is set against Nestlé’s long tradition of maintaining its operation in countries regardless of their political system and human rights policies. The presentation will contextualize this decision by analyzing Nestlé's tactics to successfully deal with political risks in historical perspective as well as its strategic involvement in politics to shape institutional settings after 1945.

Sabine Pitteloud

Maître-Assistante 
The Paul Bairoch Institute of Economic History 
University of Geneva, Switzerland

Sabine is currently  lecturer at the University of Geneva and visiting research fellow at the University of Glasgow. She has held visiting positions at the Humboldt Universität Berlin, Germany and at the New School for Social Research, New York. In 2021-2022 she was Harvard-Newcomen Fellow at Harvard Business School. Her research investigates the political and institutional role of multinationals, their coordination efforts within business interest associations, and their ability to deal with political risks in historical perspective. Her new project focuses on the role of business interests in the implementation of environmental norms.