China's ground-breaking Advanced Management Program in Fashion and Luxury has graduated its first class of over 50 managers onMarch, 17, 2007. The program, the first of its kind inChina, was developed bySchoolofEconomicsand Management,TsinghuaUniversity, Institut Fran？ais de la Mode and the HEC School of Management-Paris.

The course has been an unprecedented success. Over 50 graduates from senior level management from 24 companies in the fashion and luxury sectors received international certificates for completing this management training. The average age of the first graduating class was 38 years, and they came to the program with 14 years of work experience.

A graduation ceremony was held at the Tsinghua SE M to mark the special occasion. Mr. Frederic Beraha, Cultural Counsellor with French embassy to China, commercial attaché Mr. Yann Francioli with French embassy to China,Mrs. Guilhène Maratier-Declety, Director of International Relations at the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Marc Dubrule, Strategic Development Director for L'OREAL Produits de Luxe International, Xia Guangzhi, Deputy-director of Department of International Cooperation and Communication, Tsinghua University, and Xue Lei, Director of Tsinghua SEM Executive Education Center, attended the graduation ceremony.

The objective of the Advanced Management Program in Fashion and Luxury is to prepare senior managers for the challenges in the rapidly evolving Chinese fashion and luxury markets. The six-module executive program comprises a wide range of subjects including global strategy and brand management, globalization and innovation, product strategy and brand management. Each module is run over a 3-day weekend on the Tsinghua campus inBeijing.

According to the Management Committee of the program, the Advanced Management Program in Fashion and Luxury will be held once each year. The next intake of managers will be in September 2007.