Report on ESSEC Alumni General Assembly 2016

The ESSEC Group Alumni Association held its general assembly on 26 May 2016 in the auditorium at the offices of Deloitte.

196 members were present or represented, thus validating the decisions taken. Charles Bouaziz (E80), president of ESSEC Alumni, commented positively on the healthy financial situation of the Association despite the difficult context, and on the high level of cooperation that exists between ESSEC, the Alumni Association and the ESSEC Foundation. The president affirmed that the Association must now reflect on its business model and the defining of its missions.

Given the challenges posed by international competition, business school rankings – the benchmark of degree value –, new ways in which careers are evolving and the need for interaction and communication within the alumni community, the energy and resources of the Association need to be focused on leading the alumni network. The time and resources devoted to chasing up membership fees – with diminishing results – would be better spent on rising to these issues.

A few challenges…

2015 was a disappointing year in terms of recruitment, with a great disparity between programs, graduates post-2000 becoming the majority, and 30% of member addresses not provided.

Another concern is the change in regulations re: security and receiving members of the public in ESSEC Alumni’s premises, which has led to the termination of certain leases and, in the short term, to relocating events of more than 20 people. As the cost estimate for complying with regulations is extremely high, the association is reflecting on the future of this asset.

… and many achievements

With four qualified consultants and one assistant, the Careers Service held 850 appointments either face-to-face or by Skype, and structured its individual or group support according to age with the Elan + and ESSEC + initiatives.

The association has developed its multichannel communication with digital services, a fortnightly newsletter, a video channel on YouTube and a strong presence on social networks. Meanwhile, Reflets ESSEC Magazine covered more career paths and interesting profiles of members of the alumni community, and highlighted the positive exchange with ESSEC’s academic community through the Knowledge Special Issue #2.

At international level several important events took place, including the 30^th anniversary of the friendship between ESSEC and Japan and the opening of three new chapters in Asia: the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia.

Progress was made on three other key issues: the structuring of the reflection on the Ambassador program which, in cooperation with ESSEC and the Foundation, helps to identify and attract inspiring alumni to the ESSEC cause; the Mentoring, an important cross-generational initiative that currently has 142 members in its pilot program; and the successful launch of Business Events on the initiative of ESSEC Alumni’s vice-president Philippe Pasdelou (E85), in collaboration with ESSEC Executive Education and themed « Pioneering your future ».

Overall, reported net income is €313,000 with all entities showing positive results.

The 2016 budget is balanced, taking into account the increase in expenditure for marketing and events organization – events, digital communication, the hiring of rooms, Ambassador conferences – with annual membership fees stable at €167.

The general assembly provided the opportunity for Charles Bouaziz and Jean-Michel Blanquer, Dean and Managing Director of ESSEC, to thank the 200 volunteers who run clubs, chapters, groups of programs and corporate relations. Together with the school, the ESSEC Foundation and the Ile de France Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Association needs to reinforce its leadership role and continue to leverage the position of our common brand. 

Looking forward

On the agenda over the coming months will be the issue of real estate and updating the Association’s missions and business models. Key action points will be the upgrading and long-term updating of the database, the launch of the Ambassador conference series, and the new website developed with ESSEC’s support and highlighting Alumni career paths.

New representatives

The general assembly confirmed the renewal in their roles of the members of the executive committee, and unanimously elected: Brice Alzon (C01, M03), Sylvain Caucheteux (C94), Amaury Klossa (E98) and Laurence Paganini (E87), existing members standing for reelection, as well as new candidates Régis Béraud (E81), Stéphanie Casciola (E00), Claire Protin (E15), Mariétou Sarr (M14) and David Simonnet (E93).