CEO of the Montreux Jazz Festival steals the show at EU Business School

On Friday, November 10, Mathieu Jaton, CEO of Montreux Jazz Festival, spoke to an audience of over 300 EU Business School students and faculty, as well as special guests, telling the story of one the world’s most enduring and endearing music festivals.

Throughout the conference, Mr. Jaton captured the audience’s attention as he weaved through the decades of the festival’s history. As pioneers of live music performance video recording, remarkable footage was shown from the festival archives, which Mr. Jaton used to great effect. The audience was regaled with stories of Nina Simone’s emotionally charged performances, rare footage of a notoriously camera-shy Marvin Gaye, David Bowie’s unforgettable encore performance of an entire album, Prince’s touching tribute to Claude Nobs and Mathieu’s discovery of the next big thing in music, Rag‘n’Bone Man.

Through the festival story, Mr. Jaton gave students an insight into how to create a compelling, authentic, exceptional brand, through perseverance, drive, passion and a desire to put people first. It was this human-centric approach to business, together with the fascinating history of the festival, that captivated students, faculty and special guests alike.

Managing Director and Vice-President of EU Business School, Carl Craen said, “Today, the Montreux Jazz Festival is one of the biggest jazz festivals in the world. Mr. Jaton has been working with some of the most important performers in music, cultivating a certain philosophy, a personal touch. With vision, drive and passion, the goals that he has reached through the festival have been immense. It was an honor to welcome him here and I have no doubt that he made a huge impact on our students, faculty and special guests.”

EU Business School (EU) is an international, professionally-accredited, multi-campus business school established in 1973. In addition to small classes offered in English by its expert faculty, EU students enjoy an international environment. EU is ranked among the top business schools in Europe and has the honor of being recognized by the Academy of Business in Society (ABIS) for its consistent dedication to corporate social responsibility. Students may also benefit from state-recognized degrees from the University of Derby and the University of Roehampton in the U.K. and the Universidad Católica de Murcia in Spain.