Housing Crisis, European Union, Start-up Banlieue...ESSEC alumni are making the headlines

Leaders, experts, citizens, entrepreneurs and a pianist; ESSEC alumni are making waves everywhere! Press review

Leaders

Antoine de Saint-Affrique (E87) ‘confided’ in Le Figaro, one year after his appointment as CEO of Danone, in the midst of a governance crisis. “Danone has refocused, clarified its priority strategies, put the wheels in motion and is once again looking outward.” The outbreak of war in Ukraine has also added momentum to this transformation. Read an extract of the article (in French). 

In Les Échos, Véronique Bédague (E87), Managing Director of Nexity, called on the government to “go beyond urgent measures” for housing. “I don’t believe that the invisible hand of the market will magically solve a genuine problem of supply. It is often said that mayors are partly to blame for the housing shortage, because they don’t grant enough building permits. But the reality is that there is no social consensus right now on where and how much to build, or which needs should be met. We lack a global vision.” Read an extract of the article (in French). (See also the ESSEC Alumni interview with Véronique Bédague here.)

In Les Échos, Bruno Patino (E90), CEO of Arte, unveiled his aim to expand the channel beyond French and German borders and develop a European-wide public audiovisual platform. “With limited funding, we can contribute effectively to bringing Europeans together.” Read an extract of the article (in French).

International press

CNN devoted a feature to Karena Belin (E98), co-founder of Whub and AngelHub, two support & funding schemes for entrepreneurs in Hong Kong. “My aim is to have a positive impact. A good way to do that is to help businesses to grow and scale up.” Read the article.

Engagement

Les Échos gave a voice to Faizal Nguyen (M15), President of the Start-up Banlieue non-profit organisation, which offers support schemes to entrepreneurs from deprived areas. “In my view, the low sustainability rate for businesses created in poorer suburbs is due to isolation and a lack of support.” He speaks from experience, as he launched and consequently had to abandon two projects in his native Seine-Saint-Denis. “Now I find solutions to other people’s problems. That’s also what being an entrepreneur is about!” Read the article (in French).

Entrepreneurs

On BFM Business, Jean-Baptiste Achard (E17) announced that his start-up StaffMe, which offers a range of employment springboard services for 18 to 30-year-olds, has joined House of HR, a European leader in HR with 50 brands in 5 countries and a turnover of €2.2 billion. The aim of the move is “to broaden the scope and format of job offers through our services.” See the video (in French).

On BFM Business, Adrien Péligry (BBA 19) presented Hestia, a rental with option-to-buy solution he developed alongside Nino Spiegel (BBA 19), which enables tenants to become owners in under 3 years. “A model which makes property accessible to all, when prices have doubled in 20 years and, with the change in usury rates since the start of the year, 50% of loan applications are refused.” See the video (in French).

On BSmart, Alexia Cordier (E13) explained the workings of Fifty, her e-doing solution which fosters new professional behaviour in companies. “At present, only 12% of what we learn in vocational training is put into practice. According to behavioural science, this trend is simply due to the gap between intention and action. To remedy this, we offer a SaaS platform which suggests micro-actions for staff around pre-identified focal points, such as leadership, diversification or CSR.” See the video (from 1:40, in French).

Forbes shone a spotlight on Reconversion Réussie [Success in Career Change], a support scheme developed by Lucero Martinez Perez (M13) for managers and engineers seeking a career change. “Before making choices, you first need to know who you are!” A timely offer in the midst of the Great Resignation movement, where “almost 40% of executives claim they want to leave their company in the coming year” and “according to the Ministry for Labour, 470,000 people quit their permanent position in the first quarter of 2022.” Read the article (in French). 

On BFM Business, David Stoikovoitch (E15) announced a capital raising of €3M for his start-up, Moona, which is developing “a connected, air-conditioned pillow to improve sleep.” According to his estimations, 40% of adults suffer from sleep disorders, indicating the tremendous potential for this product. See the video (in French).

Le Figaro took a look at Popee, a brand of organic, disposable, hygiene products, without additives and 100 % Made in France, created by Audrey Destang (E14). “The start-up, which has just completed a capital raising of €1M will employ a staff of 14 by the end of the year. Its aim is to reach a turnover of €1.4M for 2022 (i.e., 100% growth in a year) and is planning to break into the Italian market in 2023. Read the article (in French).

On Europe 1, Léa Chonier (E22) presented Poécile, her brand of perfumes which pay tribute to the regions of France. “Auvergne with its centuries-old forests, Provence with its figs and lavender honey, or the Côte d’Azur with Menton lemon.” Listen to the radio programme (from 24:00, in French).

Maddyness featured the entrepreneur Marion Carrette (E96), “a leading figure of the French web and a pioneer in pooled consumer services with Zilok and OuiCar”. She is currently making the news again with a move to acquire the fashion brand Anny Blatt, with the aim of recreating a high-end knitwear sector in France. “I didn’t want to create a new brand. I know nothing about fashion, it’s not my thing. I just felt that this was a form of heritage about to disappear and I was really excited about rescuing this legacy.” Read the article (in French).

Expert views

On the Entrepreneurs d’Avenir [Entrepreneurs of the Future] website, Anne-Sophie Moreau (E10), chief editor of Philonomist, explains the unique approach of this independent online media: to decode the issues shaking up business and the economy through philosophy and human science. “I believe that philosophy, as a form of questioning, should naturally come into play in a context where we are forced to leave the past behind, invent the world to come and explore our deepest desires - for the worse, but also for the better.” Read the article (in French).

Unclassifiable

France 3 devoted a report to pianist Lydie Solomon (E06). “She has performed throughout the world, could play Beethoven from the age of 2 and continues to compose on a daily basis. Her secret is to listen to her inner self and ignore sound pollution.” See the video (in French). 

On the website Le Mauricien, Philippe Dariel (EXEC MBA 18), head of the French high school Les Mascareignes in Mauritius, revealed his methods to develop an inclusive education system. “Excellence is not simply the elitism of obtaining the best results with a small panel of selected pupils. It’s about obtaining the best possible results with all our pupils. That’s why we offer a support programme to pupils with special learning needs, including intellectually gifted children, a sporting excellence section, or bi-lingual and even multilingual teaching, as of the first years.” Read the article (in French). (See also the ESSEC Alumni interview with Philippe Dariel here.)

Did you spot other alumni in the news recently? Let us know! 

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