Since 2022
Aeternum Society
A gentlemen's club for ambitious young professionals with the goal to create long-lasting relationships by experiencing once-in-a-lifetime events together.
to be announced
Host: tbc
22-24 Nov 2024
Flying & tasting in Bozen
A thrilling combined a private helicopter flight over the majestic Dolomites with an exquisite wine tasting & tour of the prestigious winery of St. Michael-Eppan in South Tyrol
Hosts: Max, Seb
11-13th Apr 2024
The Grand National
The most famous and prestigious horse race in the UK, held annually at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool
Hosts: Flo, Nick
29th Sep - 1st Oct 2023
Maritime Sailing Excursion
An exquisite sailing trip on the serene waters of Starnberger See, where sophistication meets the thrill of yachting amidst Bavaria's stunning landscape
Host: Leo, Jojo
3-5th Mar 2023
Alpine Skiing
A luxurious skiing weekend, featuring exhilarating slopes, rejuvenating wellness experiences, and an exquisite steakhouse dinner, all set in the majestic Swiss Alps
Host: Nick, Flo
Guidelines
Mission statement: “A gentlemen’s club for ambitious young professionals with the goal to create lasting relationships by experiencing once-in-a-lifetime events together”
The Aeternum Society Guidelines are centered our 7 core themes:
01 Purpose
Five main purposes shape our Society's existence
Build long lasting relationships
Grow with and inspire each other
Experience special events
Take a break from daily life
Have fun together
02 Programme
Time: Generally speaking, no vacation days necessary, i.e. weekend events
Event announcement: At previous event, blocking of 2 dates
Location: Reasonable distance to reach on Friday evening for all members, e.g. Helsinki (3h flight)
Frequency: Biannual physical events (with equal budget distribution) + zoom events
Content guidelines: Once-in-a-lifetime programme. For reference, do the public opinion test: Would at least 5 out of 10 citizen agree that the event is a once-in-a-lifetime experience?
Room to talk: Event should save sufficient time for meaningful interpersonal interactions
Gentlemen vibes: E.g. no excessive partying
Organizers: Every member must organize (at least) once an event alone or in pairs
03 Payments
Membership fee: 1'200 CHF per yearAdditional comments:
Includes accommodation, activity and food cost for 2 physical events
Excludes individual travel cost
Budget of 600 CHF / event available to event organizer(s)
Missed events are non-reimburseable
Special approval for higher budget can be requested with treasurer (in case of sufficient Society funds and clear value proposition)
Transparent accounting by treasurer on what budget is left from (a) no-shows of members and (b) unused event budget at the end of every year
Clear purpose for unused funds to be defined
New members pay only as much for the first event as has have actually been paid
04 People
04.1 Hiring Criteria
Eligibility to join the Society is based on a set of soft and hard criteria:
Hard criteria (assess by hiring committee)
Potential candidates must meet all of the following criteria:
Recommendation: Has min. 1 recommendations from current Society members
Language: Speaks German
Age: Between 22-28 years old
Potential candidates must meet at least one of the following 3 criteria:
Career: Holds a fulltime position in one of the following companies (MBB, GS, JP, MS, Blackstone, KKR, CVC, Waterland, Capvis, Partners Group, Altor, EQT)
Academia: Top University with Bachelors or Masters Graduation (Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, LBS, INSEAD, M7 & Ivey League, SIM HSG)
Wildcard: High-performer in his respective field (more extensive pitch needed)
Soft criteria (assessed by member sponser)
| Soft Criteria | Assessment question |
|---|---|
| Drive: Knows he wants and how to get there | What are your goals at the moments? And what is your plan to achieve them? |
| Motivation: Motivation for networking and the Society | What would you like to get out of a networking Society? And, how would you bring the Society to the next level? |
| Fit: Personality matches to the existing member’s | Would you want to be stuck on a ski lift with this person for multiple hours? |
| Learner: Willingness to learn | What do you want to learn from others? What would you help others with? |
| Passion: Inspired by the job | Why do you do the job you do? |
| Respect: Respect towards others | Situational judgement question related to the Society: A Society member shares learnings from the job that you know cannot be true. What do you do? |
| Collaborative: Collaborative mindset | Situational judgement question related to the Society |
| Integrity: Reliable and trustworthy towards others | Do others consider you to be trustworthy? |
04.2 Hiring Process
Growth goal: The Society should grow at a healthy speed that doesn't jeopardize our mission to build long-lasting relationships (i.e., ~5 new members until Autumn 2024)
Proposal: Any Society member is allowed and encouraged to propose new candidates
The Society uses a 5-step hiring process for new candidates that occurs twice a year:
Pitching: New candidate gets pitched to HR committee (without presence of candidate)
Initial screening: HR committee conducts initial screening and decides on eligibility to pass to the next round
Informal interview: New candidate is invited to biannual, virtual meeting and gets introduced by the member sponsor
Veto period: The initial interview is followed by a veto period of 1 week after first physical event, wherein any members can pull veto on the proposed candidate (not anonymous)
Acceptance: The candidate receives an acceptance call or letter and gets invited to the first physical event
How to pitch a candidate as member sponsor:
[Motivation] How motivated do you expect this person to be?
[Background] What is the person’s background?
[Connection] Where do you know the person from?
[Personality] How would you describe the person
04.3 Roles & Responsabilities
CFO (1 person) - Sebastian
Collects annual fee from all members on 1. January every year
Makes sure Event Master(s) have access to event budget
Communicates the Society's budget and use of funds twice a year
Owns and coordinates the bank account admin
HR committee (3 people) - Flo, Jojo, Leo
Evaluates soft and hard criteria in initial screening of new candidates
Makes sure accepted new candidates know the Society guidelines
Communicates the acceptance/rejection into the Society to the respective interviewed candidate
Executive Secretary (1 person) - Nick
Creates agenda for Society internal discussions during quarterly meetings
Sets up the biannual virtual meetings
Moderates the Society internal discussions
Ombudsman (1 person) - Nick
Acts as go-to-person for all confidential Society matters for all members
Doesn't share any confidential topics with other Society members (unless given permission)
Raises or acts on sensitive topics on behalf of any member
Event Master(s) (1-2 people)
Changes every half-year
Organizes and announces biannual physical event
Books accommodation, events, food for all participants (except individual travel)
Makes sure the event budget of 600 CHF per person is not exceeded
Legal committee (3 people) - TBD
to come
05 Code of conduct
What behaviour would we like to see in each other?
Rights
Participation in events (all events are for all members)
Vote on potential candidates (after having attending at least 1 event)
Privacy (keeping personal information confidential)
Use of Society’s facilities, services, resources (once available)
Equal share of voice
Transparent accounting
Speak freely
Receive help
Exit the Society without repercussions
Duties
Participate actively: Physically attend events, mentally be present, realise your own ideas
Represent Society: Treat Society name, members and activities confidential and potential candidates shall be invited by us, not other way around
Contribute to future growth: Organise an event, invest yearly membership fee, pitch promising candidates,
Help others: Support members to the best extent possible and as needed
What happens if someone violates the guidelines or code of conduct?
Legal committee of members decides on sanctions
Yellow card (warning) and red card (exclusion from the Society) exists as sanctions, where 2 yellow = 1 red
06 Decision making
Why - A clear decision making process is important as the Society grows to avoid internal conflicts
Who - Eligible to vote is every member that has joined at least one physical event and is present virtually or physically during the voting
What - A decision is needed for all things that aren't clearly defined by the Roles & Responsibilities or the Society guidelines, especially for decisions that aim to change or add to the Society's existing guidelines
How - The following guidelines apply to all votes:
All eligible voters have equal share of vote
Upcoming decisions need to be announced to the Executive Secretary prior to any of the quarterly meetings
For every decision there will be time to debate (before deciding) in the quarterly meetings
The decision options are presented to all members before deciding
An absolute more is needed to pass any decision
These guidelines apply to all decision-making situation that are not otherwise regulated
07 Brand identity
Name: Aeternum Society
Logo: to come
Traditions:
Warm intro: New members are introduced by the person that brought them through a short official introduction
Memories: Every event is capture with 2 photos for the website
Dress up: One part of each physical event should allow for a dress up occassion
Secretive planning: Physical events shall be planned secretively and only revealed during mid-year virtual events (e.g., with a video)