Idris Bailey

HEC Paris

“Aspiring modern-day renaissance man who still doesn’t know what to be when I grow up.”

Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

Fun Fact About Yourself: I’ve driven completely across Italy in both directions – from Ventimiglia to Venice, and from Brennero to Matera

Undergraduate School and Major: I majored in Economics at Howard University in Washington, DC

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: U.S. Army, Logistics Officer

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of HEC Paris’ MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The digital innovation track, with professor Levy’s emphasis on mentored challenges, particularly appeals to me because experience is the most effective teacher. I eagerly anticipate the opportunity to learn, not by theory but by creating a plan, putting it in process, and seeing it come to fruition in real time. During my third year of undergraduate study, I had the opportunity to assemble a team of my peers and participate in an intensive two-week case competition with Deloitte’s federal practice in Washington DC. Even though we ultimately finished second, that experience more than a decade ago gave me the clearest idea of the function I would like to perform, and the impact I would like to have, in my professional life. My time here will give me the hands-on experience needed to best put my passions to use at the intersection of business and technology.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at HEC Paris? I’m easily most excited about the MBAT. Expanding my network, and especially building a global one, was a prime motivator for pursuing the MBA at HEC Paris. Hosting an event like the MBAT affords a unique opportunity to interact with thousands of some of the brightest, most interesting people from around the world in a setting that doesn’t quite exist anywhere else.

HEC Paris is just 17 kilometers from Paris. What do you see as the best part of earning your MBA so close to Paris? Being one of the most densely-populated and ethnically-diverse cities in the world, Paris presents opportunities to gain exposure to people, ideas, and experiences from nearly any and everywhere. Aside from the incredible diversity within Paris itself, the proximity to and ease of traveling within the rest of Europe is something that I couldn’t pass up. Last but certainly not least, the proximity to some of the best restaurants in Europe is a huge plus for a budding foodie like me.

Historically, over 90% of HEC Paris’ MBA students hail from outside France. Why is exposure to global diversity so critical to business success? Success in today’s world is a constant lesson in adaptability, and success in adaptability starts with having an agile mind. I can’t imagine a better way to build mental agility than to simply spend time around people who think differently than you do, who developed entirely different thoughts and beliefs under entirely different circumstances than you did.

In one instance I was running a small arms range in Italy, and the amount of paperwork I was required to sign, and re-sign, and then make and keep copies of days before execution was staggering compared to the way we typically did things state-side. A few months later, an officer from a different unit landed in career-ending trouble following an incident at a similar range. I realized that all of the extra steps taken by the Italian authorities in my situation were actually for protection, not redundancy, and I was left with a much more thorough way to approach and execute a routine operation.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: During my last tour on active duty, I served as a platoon leader and maintenance controller for a brigade support battalion. Within a few short weeks, my ideas on leadership, motivation, and what it takes to build a cohesive team were turned upside down; I found myself forced to learn to communicate in entirely new ways in order to bring out the best in my team. Ultimately, by providing clearly defined tasks and purpose and demonstrating how those tasks fit within our higher leadership’s intent, I gave my subordinates the ability to operate autonomously and best apply their respective areas of expertise. In doing so, I was able to turn a section that was functional at best into one that served as the model for the rest of the unit – one that has been used repeatedly to teach sustainable operation and proper accountability to incoming junior officers across the brigade.

What is one thing you have recently read, watched, or listened to that you would highly recommend to prospective MBAs? Why? I recently finished Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by former FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss. While his techniques were developed, applied, and perfected during stressful, truly life-and-death situations, at its core Voss’ book teaches concepts such as quickly establishing rapport, exercising a reasonable amount of patience, and identifying what one’s counterparts actually need. I have personally seen the benefits of applying these and other techniques to a variety of situations I would recommend any aspiring MBA to do the same.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into HEC Paris’sMBA program? The best piece of advice I have to anyone applying to HEC Paris is to present your most authentic, unique self. Yes, you’re applying to business school, and your resume, recommendations, and test scores are vitally important. At the end of the day, your interviewers and the council reading your essays, are people just like you – they want to admit someone they and your future classmates would actually enjoy spending time with. Don’t be afraid to relax a little bit and let your personality shine through in your essays. Don’t be afraid to get creative with your presentation, and most importantly don’t be afraid to reach out – all of the alumni, current students, and even faculty I contacted were receptive and more than willing to take some time to talk.

DON’T MISS: MEET THE HEC PARIS MBA CLASS OF 2024