Inclusion, Green VAT, Pink October, China, Sobriety, Elected Representatives and More: ESSEC Alumni in the Media
Leaders, experts, citizens and entrepreneurs; ESSEC is making the headlines in all fields! Press review
Leaders
In Le Monde, the French Minister for Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castéra (E02) reiterates that the fight against sexual and gender-based violence is far from over, particularly in her sector, and announces a strengthening of departmental staff devoted to the issue, in addition to a congress in 2023 on children and violence in sport. “It’s high time for shame to change sides.”
Read an extract of the article (in French).
Les Échos have announced the appointment of Nicolas Namias (E02) as head of Groupe BPCE. “At the age of 46, he is pursuing his meteoric rise in the bank and enacting the generational shift at work in the sector.”
Read an extract of the article (in French).
Véronique Bédague (E87), Managing Director of Nexity was interviewed by Yann Barthès for the television programme Le Quotidien on TF1. “Our profession is often consigned to a sectorial, regulatory and technocratic debate, whereas housing is an ongoing issue which concerns everyone. Do we need to remind ourselves of the number of people without homes? Do we need to repeat the figures on sub-standard housing? Do we need to reiterate that the transformation of energy-hungry buildings into energy-saving housing can’t be achieved with the wave of a magic wand? These needs require serious, methodical planning. Measures taken urgently are always more costly than a comprehensive and coherent housing policy, and ignoring the housing question poses a threat for the social cohesion of our country.
See the video (in French).
(See also the interview with Véronique Bédague on our website)
Challenges magazine devotes a feature to Antoine de Saint-Affrique (E87), “...a boss who is more of a scout leader than a warlord, ready to rise to the challenge of running Danone.” One year after his appointment to the head of the agri-food giant, he has succeeded in raising the turnover for the last quarter by 9.5%. The challenges that lay ahead are nevertheless daunting: a governance crisis, threats of takeover and floundering subsidiaries, etc., and all under the watchful eye of the media which follows the ups and more especially the downs of one of France’s most beloved companies.
Read an extract of the article (in French).
Entreprendre takes a look back at the career of Bertrand Thomas (E94) and his spouse Mathilde Thomas, co-founder of the renowned vine-based cosmetics brand, Caudalie. “With a certain degree of amusement, they remember their early days as young entrepreneurs, seizing every opportunity with little discernment, as a way to gain experience. They have been through some rocky times but their vision is clear: to double the size of their company and safeguard their independence in the long term.”
Read the article (in French).
In Les Échos, Guillaume Paoli (E95), CEO of Aramis Group, the European leader in online used car sales, puts forward a plan for energy-saving in the automotive sector. “At its current rate, it will take more than 30 years to replace the existing fleet. Not all French people can afford to buy an electric model. My solution is to extend the life cycle of vehicles by reconditioning them.”
Read the article (in French).
In Décideurs Magazine, Stéphanie Casciola (E00), CEO of LBO France, announces her aims for the investment fund which currently manages €5.4bn in Europe and Africa. “Our mission is to accompany the transition of the companies in our portfolio. We aim to shift our sector funds to the Article 9 category and strengthen our requirements in terms of ESG and climate for our generalist funds, which are all classified Article 8.”
Read the article (in French).
Les Échos takes stock of the thirty years Xavier Biotteau (E84) has spent at the head of Eram and praises “the ongoing transformation of this industrial group into a multi-brand distributor and forerunner in ethical fashion, with 5,500 employees, 900 retail outlets and 9 brands.”
Read the article (in French).
International press
On Artnet, Bruno Vinciguerra (E85), CEO of Bonhams in New York, presents his strategy for the renowned auction house: to acquire its competitors without delay in order to build “a network, rather than an empire”, capable of competing with the leaders Christie’s and Sotheby’s.
Read an extract of the article.
Forbes applauds the success of the French-speaking, Francophile Japanese entrepreneur Yuma Sasaki (MBA 16), who founded Dodai, the first solar start-up in Djibouti. “Developed countries tend to associate Africa with poverty, terrorism and corruption. I see the opposite; a continent with a bright future where ordinary people like me can succeed with motivated young locals, thanks to determination and hard work.”
Read the article (in French).
In Tatler, Karena Belin (E98) and partner Karen Contet explain how they developed Whub and AngelHub, two support and funding schemes for entrepreneurs in Hong Kong. “In two years, we’ve invested in 21 start-ups, including WeLab and Animoca Brands.”
On Inter-Tech-Ion, Isabelle Bart (E02) presents her California-based consultancy, SBDC @ UCI Applied Innovation, which provides support to start-ups seeking to scale up. “I want to focus on impact entrepreneurship with a new structure, Impact Innovator, which will offer support in building an effective and measurable strategy in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.”
Engagement
As part of the annual Pink October awareness campaign, France Bleu radio looks at the advances made in breast cancer research with Professor Fabrice Barlesi (EXEC PROG 08), Managing Director of Gustave Roussy, Europe’s leading cancer prevention centre. “We’re working in particular on cellular therapy and conjugated antibodies which offer new treatment options to patients.”
Listen to the programme (in French - from 25:00).
In La Tribune, the entrepreneurs Jean Moreau (E07), Charles Lottman (E11), Philippe Cantet (E95) and Audrey Destang (E14) stand alongside some fifty company leaders calling for the creation of a green VAT. “Our idea is simple: to apply reduceto environmentally-responsible products in order to alleviate household budgets and encourage the companies who are working towards ecological and social transition.”
Read the article (in French).
On France Culture radio, Antoine Fabry (E12) presents Le Tremplin, a training organisation for local elected representatives, which he founded with Pierre Nicolas (E12). “Our representatives, and in particular rural mayors, are still finding it very difficult to boost skills in areas such as ecological transition. We need to raise awareness of this territorial stake which is key to a healthy local democracy.”
Listen to the programme (in French)
Les Échos features Femtech France, an initiative led by Juliette Mauro (E98) among others, which helps start-ups in women’s health to optimise their funding and find long-term economic models. “More than 100 start-ups have been registered throughout France.”
Read an extract of the article (in French).
On Sud Radio, Antoine Marvier (E23) explains how his non-profit organisation Les Ombres lends its support the 340,000 young people placed under France’s child welfare services, by helping them with academic and vocational integration and reducing the digital gap they are often victims of. “We need financial means and volunteers to help us continue our fight. Join us!”
See the programme (in French)
So Good hails the initiative of skipper Romain Pilliard (BBA 98), who is taking on some impressive challenges at the helm of an up-cycled trimaran designed to draw attention to the protection of the seas and the circular economy. “I must be the only skipper who doesn’t dream of getting a new sail every year. I’m looking for durability rather than speed.”
Read the article (in French).
(See also the interview with Romain Pilliard on our website)
Entrepreneurs
To mark COP27, BFM TV interviewed Elsa Chai (E16), co-founder of Nota Climat, an application to bust brand greenwashing, and OpenClimat, a Wikipedia equivalent of corporate climate action. “As UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says, our world can no longer just pretend or act in hindsight.”
See the video (in French).
On RCF Radio, Léa Zaslavsky (E13) reveals the content of Entreprendre pour le bien commun [Entrepreneurship for the Common Good], co-written with her partner at Makesense, an organisation which specialises in supporting impact entrepreneurship. “We try to prepare entrepreneurs to gain solid foundations and to define their red lines, mission and values, in order to stay the course in all situations.”
Listen to the programme (in French - from 19:30).
See also our article on the book Entreprendre pour le bien commun on our website
Les Échos showcases those student entrepreneurs “who prefer to innovate rather than abandon” by offering practical technical solutions to the challenges of the modern world. Among them is Robin Bruneau (BBA 22 & M22) and Corentin Dejean (BBA 18), co-founders of Ecklo, which develops “reusable, recyclable packaging to replace the plastic film used to protect goods in storage and on pallets.”
Read the article (in French).
Forbes features 4mg Transparency, a company run by Mawa Diouf (EXEC PROG 16) and Emmanuelle Obadia (EXEC M15), which outsources regulatory management for pharmaceutical laboratories. “The law changes endlessly in the light of scandals over numerous drugs. We need tools which are capable of evolving at the same pace.”
Read the article (in French).
On France 2 TV, Adrien Péligry (BBA 19) presented Hestia, a rental with an option to buy solution he developed alongside Nino Spiegel (BBA 19), which enables tenants to become owners in under 3 years. “We base ourselves not on the current borrowing capacity of our clients, but their future capacity.” This offers a means to by-pass the growing difficulties faced by first-time buyers in the property market.
See the video (in French).
On BMF TV, Saskia Fiszel (E14) explains how Virgil, her start-up at the crossroads of proptech and fintech, aims to restore equality to property acquisition. “96 % of young workers are tenants and devote 50 % of their salary to their rent. We help them to become homeowners by co-investing capital at their side.”
See the video (in French).
(See also her interview (in French) on our website)
In Les Échos, Thibaut Saguet (EXEC M11) tells readers how he moved from energy renovation to design by launching the brand NV Gallery with Natalie Hanczewski (EXEC M17). The pair offer responsible, sustainably-manufactured furniture and decorative items at an affordable price. “We don’t use any animal-based materials, which is attested to by the PETA-Approved Vegan accreditation. It is out of the question for us to use feathers in our stuffing, for example. Our products are manufactured by a network of suppliers located as much as possible in Europe: Romania and Poland for sofas or Italy for chairs.”
Read the article (in French).
(See also the interview (in French) on NV Gallery on our website)
On BFM TV, Marine Coré-Baillais (E95) explains how she makes pastries with 3D printers. “My technology can produce tart bases and biscuits, a time-consuming and low added-value task which pastry chefs have less and less time to devote to, due to the shortage in workforce. All this without compromising on taste, because printing does not require additives, so everyone can apply their own recipe.”
See the video (in French - from 33:20).
(See also the interview (in French) on La Pâtisserie Numérique on our website.)
Expert views
On Usbek & Rica, Benjamin Brice (E07), author of the book La Sobriété Gagnante [Winning through Sobriety], lends insight to the current debate by differentiating sobriety and austerity: “We need to spend less on material consumption and more on future expenditure, with public services in particular.” He also advocates extending this approach to our way of working. “Sobriety implies high-quality full employment, which would enable people to live decently from their job, thanks to salaries in line with fundamental consumption needs.”
Read the article (in French).
See also the article (in French) on La Sobriété Gagnante on our website.
In Le Figaro, Aurélien Colson (E98), director of the Institute for Research and Education on Negotiation (IRENE) at ESSEC, defends the “Dracula Strategy” used in negotiations such as those between striking TotalEnergies workers and their management. “When exposed to the light of day, the vampire crumbles to dust. This method is transposable to negotiation, when the latter is political, in other words in the general interest. It destabilises a speaker who, in the comfort of a discreet discussion, creates a blockage through arguments that could not be put forward in public. This technique was used by TotalEnergies when they revealed that the monthly salary of a refinery operator is 50% higher than the average French salary. It would be socially useful to adopt the same approach during the next public transport strike. Each individual could then decide if this is a strike ‘by proxy’ for the benefit of all, or for the protection of interests by leveraging a public service to the detriment of users.”
Read an extract of the article (in French).
In Le Monde, Romaric Servajean-Hilst (E99), professor at Kedge Business School, explains that the rise in late payments during the COVID-19 crisis generated €9 billion for major companies, and cost small-to-medium businesses €14 billion. He criticises “the rise in late payment due to deliberate intention.”
Read an extract of the article (in French).
In L’Opinion, Batoul Hassoun (E07), CEO of The Salmon Consulting, explores the Great Resignation, Quiet Quitting and the rising difficulty for many sectors to recruit employees. “How do we attract and retain talents, foster engagement and restore the appeal to work? Her response is a dose of mathematics and science, with a fully human approach.
Read an extract of the article (in French).
In Les Échos, Jérôme Barthélémy (E93), professor in management at ESSEC, reveals the contradictory findings of studies led on the link between the feminisation of businesses and their performance. “The effects are diametrically opposite according to the activity sector and country.”
Read an extract of the article (in French).
In The Conversation, Laurent Bibard (E85), professor of philosophy at ESSEC, warns against the trap Putin is setting for Europe with his attitude to sexualities. ‘In his speech of 30 September, the Russian leader spoke of a war to defend traditional values and exclusive heterosexuality, which one can reasonably suppose implies that the man, as a male, dominates the woman: “Do we want Russia to have Parent 1 and Parent 2; have they gone completely insane? Do we want it drilled into our children that there are other genders besides women and men?” The violence on our doorstep is that of a regression which goes far beyond equality and individual freedom which we seek to defend, regardless of one’s gender or biological orientation. This stance is present in Western countries, you only have to observe the regression of the United States with regard to abortion, or the views of certain extremist candidates or parties who are gradually rising to power in Europe. If we are not careful, Russia’s position may fuel the polarisation of debates between the traditional right and extremist militancy. And thus divide our societies’.
Read the article (in French).
In L’Opinion, economist Laurence Daziano (EXEC MBA 04) questions the future of China following the 20th Party Congress. “The country, which has anchored its emergence in globalisation, must move forward along a ridge between economic integration, the safeguard of its internal social balance, a decoupling with the Western world and strategic independence.”
Read an extract of the article (in French).
In Libération, Franck Petel (EXEC PROG 03), tenured professor of the Real Estate and Sustainable Development Chair at ESSEC, analyses the rising popularity of co-living. “This represents a change in city living modes, based on a concept of community, which targets a young, nomadic population with a certain purchasing power, for a short duration of a month to a year.”
Read the article (in French).
In L’Obs, Rosalie Brun (E14), Managing Director of the French Film Directors’ Society, puts forward a solution to the 30% drop in cinema-goers since the COVID-19 pandemic. “Studies show that the primary factor in this drop in interest is the loss of habit. A pricing incentive for a limited period would constitute a real booster to draw the public back to the cinema.”
Read an extract of the article (in French).
At TEDx, Matthias Baccino (E10), Managing Director France of the German fintech Trade Republic, declared: “The major challenge of the 21st century is financial independence. French people are seeing their savings disappear and their pensions dwindling. Fortunately, I have good news: we are all capable of investing effectively for our future.”
See the video (in French).
Unclassifiable
Paris Match is full of praise for pianist Lydie Solomon (E06): “The media are calling this incredibly gifted artist the female Lang-Lang, in reference to the Chinese pianist. She can move from Beethoven to Chopin with extreme grace, and expertly revisits some of our contemporary composers. She sets Pascal Obispo to the piano and offers his hits a new range of scales.”
Read the article (in French).
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