Discover the New Heads of Our Clubs and Chapters

Some 600 ESSEC Alumni volunteers run more than 125 clubs and chapters around the world. Discover the new heads who joined this vast and active ESSEC community in 2022!

Clubs

Karine Cevoz-Goyat (E93) and Cécile Duval du Chesnay (E97) have been appointed co-Heads of the Luxury Club. They are both graduates of the  LVMH Chair. Karine Cevoz-Goyat founded the consultancy Identité & Concept, following a career in marketing with Givenchy, Shiseido Coty and Givaudan. Cécile Duval du Chesnay is currently Director of Retail Marketing & Experience with Interparfums, having previously held various managerial positions in marketing and communication with Christian Dior, Givenchy and Fendi.

Richard C. Delerins (E86) has been appointed Head of the Food Club (ex-AgroBusiness Club). He is the co-founding professor of the ESSEC Food Business Challenge Chair and co-director of the Food 2.0 LAB Paris within the CNRS. He also holds a PhD in Philosophy and Biocultural Anthropology from the Sorbonne, and began his career in higher education at the prestigious UCLA in the USA, before joining EHESS. He will hold office alongside Ezéchiel Zérah (BBA 14), (former food critic for L'Express and creator of the highly regarded culinary newsletter, Pomélo), Benoît Hervio (IMHI 21), Arunima Kumar (E21), Diana Mahfouz (IMHI 21) and Adrienne Jan (E02).

Katia Ronzeau (E06) is the new Head of the Sustainable Business Club, alongside Stefane Hedont-Hartmann (EXEC M05). She is an associate of the Ecosys Group, which helps its customers manage their data and ecosystems to gain in sustainable performance. Following a stint with the Institute for Climate Economics at the end of her studies, she then spent 10 years in the energy sector with Capgemini Invent.

Roxane Vancostenoble (E94) has been appointed Head of the Rhône-Alpes Club. After starting her career with PriceWaterhouseCoopers and later Société Générale in Paris, she moved to Lyon, where she has spent the last 20 years. Her first position was with the financial and legal department of the April Group. She then tried her hand at entrepreneurship, taking over the management of Café de l’Abondance, before returning to a succession of administrative management roles with Odelia, Axelliance and Mutuelle des Motards. She is currently Director of Risk with Relyens. 

Yassine Zakaria (EXEC PROG 20) and Nathalie Naufal (EXEC PROG 20) have been appointed to co-lead the General Management programme group. Yassine Zakaria is Director of Cybersecurity and Cyber-defence at Dedalus. He has held various positions in this field over the last 15 years, with UNIDEES, PWC and Klanik notably, following an early career in R&D with the software designer Geomap-Imagis. Nathalie Naufal is a freelance architect, specialising in exceptional projects in Europe, the USA and the Middle East. Prior to this, she worked for various architectural agencies in Hungary and the Lebanon, sometimes combining her role with that of director of architecture and communication.

Chapters

Ayda Chamcham (M13) has been appointed President of the Stuttgart Chapter in Germany, alongside Vice-President Valeria Brancato (EXEC MBA 15). Following roles with Vinci Construction and Aéroports de Paris, she held various positions in the commercial real estate and hotel sectors in Quebec. Certified by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), she has also taught at Montreal University.

Anna Kruk-Michot (EXEC MBA 22) has been appointed President of the Austria Chapter, alongside Vice-President Pauline Duffner (E18). A Polish national, she is currently the departmental head of Business Development with OMV in Vienna. She has spent her entire career in the energy sector, in particular with CGG in London and Paris, Orlen Upstream in Warsaw and Shell in the Netherlands. 

Gilles de Clerck (E94) has been appointed President of the Lebanon Chapter, alongside the board members Vianney Basse (E97), Farid Chehab (E08), Ludmila Lahlou-Bitar (E02) and Laurent-Marc Gharzani (M09). With 25 years of experience in strategy and finance, including 6 in the MENA region, he co-founded the risk capital fund EuroMena. He has spent more than half his life in the Lebanon and speaks fluent Arabic.

Nathalie Blanc (BBA 02) has been appointed President of the Cape Town Chapter in South Africa. Having lived in Shanghai and Singapore, she held various managerial positions in the tourism and trading sectors. She sailed across the Indian Ocean with her husband and two sons. At present, she is moving into social entrepreneurship to support social and environmental NGOs. A keen enthusiast of theatrical improvisation, she also founded a French-speaking theatre company in Cape Town.

Bastien Blanc (IMHI 97) has been appointed President of the Bahrain Chapter and Saudi Arabia Chapter. He has been working in the tourism and hotel sectors for 30 years, holding managerial positions in 4 continents for major groups such as Interstate, Accor and IHG, with a focus on the luxury sector. He also co-founded Trokadero Management, a consultancy based in Warsaw with operations worldwide. 

Nan Zhao (MBA 21) has been appointed President of the Shenzhen Chapter in China alongside his fellow board members JIajie Li (E20), Siyi Liu (E18), Lin Zhu (M20), Zena He (E23), and Weijuan Yin (MBA 19). He is the Director of Strategy and Business Development for China Huadian Corporation, and previously held marketing positions with Sany Heavy Industry and in project management for Petrotime China. 

Interested in becoming a volunteer for one of our clubs or chapters? For the clubs, contact William Bohssein: william.bohssein@essec.edu. For the chapters, contact Veary Ngy: veary.ngy@essec.edu.