Meet The HEC Paris MBA Class Of 2021

HEC Paris students

THREE QUESTIONS WITH BENOIT BACHEREAU, MARKETING AND ADMISSIONS DIRECTOR

That’s not the only big news at HEC Paris. In June, the school kicked off a five-year campaign to establish itself as a “school in innovation” – with emphasis placed on environmental sustainability, entrepreneurship, and faculty recruitment and research. Other funding will be earmarked to the “Agora,” a new student life center on campus. That’s just the beginning of changes that incoming classes will begin to witness according to Benoit Bachereau in response to questions submitted by Poets&Quants.

1) What are the most exciting new developments at your program?

“We increased our MBA-dedicated career events brought companies like Bain & Company to campus this year. They hosted an MBA event to recruit students for summer associate positions available in 52 offices across the globe. In the fall, the United Nations will be on campus to meet MBA students and discuss recruitment opportunities.

Career services also introduced new sector-specific career fairs this year with the themes of Technology, Life Sciences, Impact, and Careers in Germany (in collaboration with HEC Berlin Office). The events resulted in employment opportunities for MBA students and next year we will expand our offerings. We also had more career treks than ever before this year including a Dublin Tech Trek, a Luxury Trek to Milan, a London Marketing Trek, an Amsterdam Trek, a Dubai Consulting Trek, a Geneva Luxury Trek, a Venture Capital Trek to Switzerland, and an Asia Business Pacific Club’s Trek to Singapore.

The updated MBA curriculum was successfully implemented and students have completed the Digital Innovation specialization. Through a hands-on approach, participants learned how digital innovation can create new business opportunities, disrupt industries and support the development of new and revolutionary business models. In addition, we have a new MBA residence planned. Construction will start soon, giving each MBA student the opportunity to live on campus.”

HEC Paris team working together on a startup project

2) What is the most underrated part of your program that you wish prospective students knew more about?

“The ROI of the HEC Paris MBA is unparalleled. We offer one of the best value programs in the world – Our tuition is lower than most of our counterparts in Europe and the U.S. In addition, students have access to affordable, on-campus housing.

Most of our students live on campus and participate in various extracurricular activities. HEC Paris offers annual galas, cultural weeks – fun, culture-based events organized by our diverse student body – and many professional and social clubs. Our student clubs are at the heart of our vibrant on-campus spirit. This year the LGBT+ Allies Club, together with the Women in Leadership Club, organized the first annual MBA Diversity Conference.

In addition, our students travel around Europe and the world – participating in career treks in places such as Singapore and Milan, regattas in Italy, and case competitions in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Our MBA students also take advantage of their proximity to Paris, with picnics under the Eiffel Tower, private tours of places such as the MH Lab 78, the digital innovation hub of Moët Hennessy, LVMH’s Wine & Spirits Division, and internships in the French capital, a city with the 4th-most Fortune 500 company headquarters in the world.”

3) HEC Paris is best known for academic rigor and leadership training – even being described as the “Leadership School of Europe” due to all of your CEO alumni. What does your program do that better grounds your MBAs in the nuances of leadership?

“At the HEC Paris MBA, we have a strong focus on leadership development and are continually adding to our offering. In September, our core course offering will include a soft skills class on Leading People and Teams. We provide students with the right balance between theoretical rigor – knowledge produced by our research faculty and immediately transferred to students – and business relevance.

Leadership training requires this rigorous combination of academic theory and learning by doing. We teach students the theories behind leadership, then provide the ideal environment to put those theories to the test. For example, a series of hands-on opportunities, such as the off-campus, two-day leadership seminar at Saint Cyr and the student-run, multisport MBA Tournament (MBAT), develop participants’ confidence to lead in all circumstances and teach them how to motivate others to work toward a common goal.

This year’s MBAT was organized by a team of 35 HEC Paris MBA students. The 29th edition brought 1,500 MBAs from 14 participating schools together to compete in 25 sports, including new competitions such as paintball, e-sports, and ultimate Frisbee.

HEC Paris students in class

In addition, 24 students from each class are given the opportunity to participate in The Executive Committee (TEC), where they take part in mentoring sessions and presentations by visiting CEOs that help them forge a path forward to a rewarding and balanced career.”

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE PARIS STARTUP SCENE

“Tomorrow is our business” is HEC Paris’ tagline. One of the school’s forward-thinking initiatives is its partnership with Station F. Carved inside a former railway station, Station F is one of the world’s largest startup campuses. Covering 34,000 square feet, it includes 3,000 desks, 600 rooms, and 30 startup programs – not to mention hosting over 600 events per year. Overall, 1,000 startups call Station F home. However, it isn’t just a place for fledgling ventures. Amazon, Microsoft, L’Oreal, and Facebook have set up shop there, as have 40 VC funds…and HEC Paris.

The school’s Station F incubator currently boasts 60 startups. Located in the heart of Paris, it places MBAs in the center of France’s burgeoning startup community. As a result, students can quickly build networks, tap into nearby expertise and resources, and apply their classroom learning to their firms. That has been a boon for the school as a whole, writes Antoine Leprêtre, who oversees HEC Paris’ incubator at Station F.

“We moved to Station F two years ago,” he tells P&Q. “Since then, our entrepreneurs have had the chance to make tons of connections with corporates and with the European start-up ecosystem. They have also been enjoying much more visibility in the press. It is really enjoyable to have all the stakeholders under one roof that makes entrepreneurship move forward in France, Europe, and beyond: startup support programs (schools and corporates), investors, and public services.”

HEC Paris ventures are already making a name for themselves. In February, Madumbo, an AI-based testing platform launched by an HEC Paris alum at Station F in 2017, was purchased by Datadog, which boasts a run rate of $330 million dollars. This sale represents the first return from one of the school’s biggest investments.

“Our selectivity went from 20 percent before Station F to 6 percent after opening our incubator at Station F,” Leprêtre adds. “Bringing the best projects is a success factor to mobilize our internal ecosystem, be it students, teachers, alumni or corporate partners. The school has ambitious plans to scale its activities in entrepreneurship, as we want to support more than 400 startups simultaneously, compared to 60 today.”

The HEC incubator is a tailored, à la carte, and participative startup support program. The school’s ambition “is to make entrepreneurs.” HEC Paris photo

A CEO FACTORY

Of course, Station F is just one of the school’s appeals according to the Class of 2019. Anshul Garg trumpets the school’s moderate length, which enables him to network, intern, and built tight bonds with his classmates. “The duration (16 months) of the program fits perfectly in my MBA needs. Having worked for nine years, I did not want a traditional two-year MBA which would keep me out of the workforce for a longer time.”

Leadership training is another factor. Ining Fu spells out the appeal using the school’s own marketing copy: “HEC has graduated more CEOs of Fortune Global 500 companies than any other university in Europe, according to the 2017 Times Higher Education Alma Mater Index.” It is certainly a rich tradition, with current celebrity MBA CEOs including Best Buy’s Hubert Joly, AstraZenca’s Pascal Soriot, and L’Oréal’s Jean-Paul Agon. That doesn’t count alumni who passed through HEC Paris, including past chief executives of Danone, Michelin, and Sodexo – not to mention former French President François Hollande. For generations, the school has made a commitment to grooming future leaders. This heritage is exactly what drew Fu – who plans to build her family business and start a non-profit supporting stray cats – to France for her MBA.

HEC Paris is a school that cultivates classes of true leaders, and more than 40 percent of students become a CEO or start their own company after graduating,” she explains. “HEC Paris can definitely provide what I am looking for to become a leader in my family business. With the abundant resources from the entrepreneur center and the one-and-only Leadership series, HEC can train a leader better than any other school can.”

Go to Page 4 for 12 In-Depth Profiles of Members of the Class of 2021.

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