CEIBS president Pedro Nueno. Gao Erqiang / China Daily

The entrepreneur and his partners spent a great deal of time searching for instructors and finally formed an academic board.

He drew upon resources from Harvard University, where he earned his PhD, and reached out to leading European business institutions like the Spain-based IESE, and INSEAD headquartered in France.

"When we saw that the project was going well, we decided to expand," he says. "We looked for another partner who would allow us to develop the way that we wanted to."

The school won European Union funding and Shanghai's municipal government gave it land in Pudong district. In 1995, the school had its first campus built in Shanghai.

"While you could say I was the founder, the success of all these is attributable to the fact that we are a team of motivated people who made big efforts because we came from nothing," he says, laughing.

Management professor Hellmut Schutte, who will become CEIBS' vice-president and dean in February, says: "(Nueno) has the ability to dream big dreams, sell these ideas to others and then - because of his inherently humble nature - work with others to make what has now become a shared dream and a tangible project."

Nueno says: "We call it China, Europe, International, indicating the global role China is destined to play over the long run."

CEIBS president Pedro Nueno. Gao Erqiang / China Daily

CEIBS has been configured to link East and West in teaching, research and business practices, while promoting China's social and economic development.

It partnered with top-notch research institutions, including Harvard Business School, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and London Business School, to run different joint modules worldwide.

Nueno's efforts to expand China's global business presence put him on the invitation list of a Dec 5 meeting with Party chief Xi Jinping, attended by 20 foreign experts.

"All I had to do is to explain what I believe from my heart, which turns out to be quite easy," he says.

It was the first time for the newly elected Party leader to meet foreigners in this capacity. Nueno believes it conveys the leadership's foreign policy blueprint of strengthening its ties with the outside world.

Nueno gave the event's first speech and talked about how the Chinese government is perceived by the rest of the world. He also shared his opinions about China's priorities.

"I must say that I like him (Xi) very, very much," Nueno says.

"The perception I got is that it has been a very positive change in the leadership."

Don't bother about being modern	Doctor Dolphin