Gauthier Joyeux

INSEAD

“I am a passionate, 29 year-old, freshly married healthcare engineer who wants to transform the world.”

Hometown: Nimes, France

Fun Fact About Yourself: I have been a math teacher in a French secondary school.

Undergraduate School and Major: Ecole Centrale de Nantes (French engineering school), Major in Bio-engineering and Nanotechnologies

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: CARMAT, worked as Clinical Specialist

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I feel my biggest professional accomplishment is the relationships I built with the patients and physicians I worked with at CARMAT. It is for me a great sign of recognition and respect from the physicians and of trust from the patients. I worked hard in developing and maintaining these relationships as I felt there were key for a successful partnership in the long run.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Open-mindedness: everyone is so curious about each other and open to his difference and uniqueness. We are all at the same level here and there is no discrimination in color, gender, sexual orientation or religion. Each individual enriches the others by its authenticity.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? International: as INSEAD slogan says, it is “the business school for the world” and that corresponded to the future impact I wanted my career to have: a global, international impact to help shape the world.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? I want to get highly involved in the healthcare club to help my fellow MBAs to discover its potential so they can have an impact in that field in the future as I trust in their abilities.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? After 4.5 years of successful experience at CARMAT, where I had the chance to work hand-in-hand with top level physicians around the world on one of the most innovative products, I wanted to diversify and acquire the necessary business skills to be part of shaping the future of healthcare in the world.

How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment? It was almost obvious to me that I had to go through the MBA to be able to transition and gain worldwide recognition and visibility. All the opportunities and human experience it represented was enough to take that leap of faith.

How did you determine your fit at various schools? When evaluating the best program to apply to, I considered several criteria. Obviously, the FT rankings (available online) give a good idea on the overall impact and quality of the program (and its faculty) you choose. However, I also considered the location (MBA websites) and was looking for a place that would fit me: a diverse environment, a clear desire to do good (talking with alumns), anda strong alumni network who can offer the possibility to move abroad after completing the program. I also went on campus to have a better appreciation of the overall atmosphere of the place.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? One of them was when I chose the “engineering and healthcare” elective in my 1st year of engineering school. Coming from a medical family, I was curious on seeing the healthcare world from a different side. I was immediately convinced by this new approach and new from that moment on that I wanted to work in healthcare, to help physicians save and improve lives.

What do you plan to do after you graduate? After the MBA, I wish to continue my career in healthcare. However, I would like to switch to a more business-oriented job. I am considering many options as we have the chance at INSEAD to meet people with rich and diverse backgrounds: entrepreneurship, private investment, management consulting.

Where do you see yourself in five years? In five years, I see myself at another turning point, having acquired strong business experience and 10 years overall professional experience. If I have the chance, it could be an opportunity to start my own company or keep growing in the one I already work in.

I see myself working abroad and/or with many different countries and actors from the healthcare world.