Clementine Pouille

HEC Paris

“French-American Spain enthusiast who brings people together, loves winning at board games, seeks new challenges.”

Hometown: Riviera Beach, Florida

Fun Fact About Yourself: I love board games; I have even 3D printed a Catan game and painted each tile by hand. I have a collection of about 30 board games back home.

Undergraduate School and Major: McGill University – Majored in Political Science (Honors) and Economics

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Product analyst at Avature

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 Entrepreneurship Summer School was an important draw. I want to start a business in access control with my father, who has experience in the US market. The ESS offers structured validation through field research and investor mentorship, which would help me test our concept properly. HEC also has strong resources for family businesses through the Dieter Schwarz Foundation Center, which is relevant since working with family comes with its own challenges.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at HEC Paris? I am actually very excited about the different sports clubs at HEC. I am 188 cm, so sport has always been a very important part of my life. I’d be interested in playing volleyball, padel, squash, basketball, and maybe I’ll even give rowing a shot.

HEC Paris is just 17 kilometers from Paris. What do you see as the best part of earning your MBA so close to Paris? I love Paris. I was born there and have a lot of family and friends in town. This is an opportunity to reconnect with them, but also form connections with future employers or other entrepreneurs. There’s a strong startup culture that I am excited to discover.

Why did you choose a 16-month program over a one-year program? How do you see a HEC Paris MBA giving you an advantage in the marketplace? I wanted to give myself time to really absorb all the learnings at HEC and form stronger bonds with my classmates. A two-year degree also gives you the opportunity to try out different paths and go on exchange.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Taking the jump from my life in consulting to product management. This was something that I’d been interested in trying for a long time, but didn’t have the confidence to go out and request the change. Adapting was difficult, especially due to the team speaking primarily Spanish, but it taught me a lot and I’m very happy that I took the leap and challenged myself.

What has been the defining experience in your life? How has it prepared you for the rigors of business school and your career in general? I would say the most defining experience so far has been moving to Spain. After graduating from McGill, I moved to Madrid to continue improving my Spanish. I also started my first job there, in consulting at an HR software company, so there were many challenges thrown at me all at once. I managed to form a strong community there, and I have even been able to work primarily in Spanish for the last two years. This taught me how to handle myself when I am out of my comfort zone in unfamiliar surroundings, and I think that will be key to my future success.

Looking ahead two years, what would make your MBA experience successful? I would like to feel confident in all of the business skills that I currently lack, such as marketing, strategy, and finance, to name a few.

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