The French Economy, Bosses’ Secrets, Paris 2024 and More: ESSEC in the Media

Business leaders in France and overseas, committed citizens, experts, entrepreneurs and figures in the worlds of sport and culture...ESSEC is making waves in all fields! Press review

Leaders 

In Les Échos, Pierre-André de Chalendar (E79), CEO of Saint-Gobain and Honorary President of ESSEC Alumni’s new Industry Club, suggested a change in perspective to overcome current political divides: ‘With the recent electoral period leaving several economic issues hanging in the air, the French are increasingly calling on businesses to provide answers. Let’s finally implement this change of perspective and get to work on what comes next!’ .
Read an extract  (in French)

In Le Point, Nicolas Hiéronimus (E85), CEO of L’Oréal, agreed to a ‘close-up interview with major leaders’ and revealed his working routine. We discover in particular that he spends 12 hours a day in the office, limits the duration of his 6 or 7 daily meetings to 45 minutes and the number of participants to a maximum of 6. He makes a strategic decision around every 2 hours, travels 2 weeks per month and has already clocked up 40 years with the world’s leading cosmetic group.
Read an extract  (in French)

Forbes listed Philippe Bénacin (E83), co-founder of Interparfums with Jean Madar (E83), in its annual billionaire ranking. He has become the 52^nd richest person in France, having achieved a turnover of €798.5 million in 2023. ‘Operating in more than 100 countries, his company creates, produces and distributes prestigious perfumes and cosmetics through exclusive world licence contracts under the brands Boucheron, Coach, Jimmy Choo, Karl Lagerfeld, Kate Spade, Moncler, Monblanc, and many more.’
Read the article (in French)

Le Monde revealed that Guy Delcourt (E80) has begun negotiations with France’s second leading publisher, Editis, to sell his emblematic eponymous group, specialised in graphic novels and manga. ‘With a turnover of €104 million in 2023 and a team of 145 employees, Delcourt publishes around 700 new titles a year and boasts a catalogue of 13,000 titles. Featuring among the series selling between 4.5 million and 10 million copies are Les Légendaires, Les Blagues de Toto, Walking Dead or Le Monde d’Aquilon’.
Read the article (in French)

In Le Figaro, Benoît Coquart (M95), CEO of Legrand, warned: ‘A temporary tax on profits will not be enough to solve the debt problem. The real issue is not taxation, it is to define a public policy which would allow us to spend our money sensibly.’
Read the article (in French)

L’Obs revealed the little-known role played by Olivier Sichel (E89), Deputy Managing Director of the Banque des Territoires, in the record fine (€2.4 billion!) imposed on Google by the Court of Justice of the European Union for abusing its dominant position. ‘This confirmation in the last hearing ends almost 15 years of legal battles I led on behalf of the price comparison sites who were victims of this abuse. The process was simple; the search engine prioritised its own guide, Google Shopping, and downgraded its rivals.’ 
Read the article (in French)

In Les Échos, Arnaud Gangloff (E92), CEO of Kéa and member of the ESSEC Alumni Board of Directors, announced the takeover of the data specialist Veltys and confirmed his ambition to challenge British and American consulting firms. ‘In four years, the company has doubled in size and is aiming for a 100-million-euro turnover within the next two years..’
Read an excerpt (in French)

In WWD, Aïda Moudachirou-Rébois (E02), Senior Vice President & Global General Manager of MAC Cosmetics, celebrated the brand’s 40th anniversary and reaching an admirable figure in its efforts to support good causes: since 1994, the company has raised no less than $500 million for organisations supporting women and young girls, the LGBTQIA+ community and HIV/AIDS sufferers.
Read an extract (in French) 

Le Monde paid tribute to the other  ‘conductor’ of Paris 2024, alongside Tony Estanguet (EXEC M07): Michel Cadot (E75), Interministerial Delegate for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, who ‘succeeded in getting [all the project’s players] to follow the same score […] In its recommendations, the French Court of Accounts made him the kingpin of the Games. And the Olympic Law of May 2023 even included a derogation to the age limit for public servants to allow him to work up to the end of the competitions.’
Read an extract (in French)
Also featured in The ESSEC Alumni Who Shaped Paris 2024

Sport

Le Figaro devoted a feature to Annie Famose (EXEC PROG 93), double Olympic ski medallist in 1968, who went on to become a business leader in the hospitality sector and winter sports equipment rental, with an annual turnover of €200 million and 900 employees. ‘I never really thought about building a group, or having a career plan. It all happened fairly empirically, as opportunities came along. Our approach is first and foremost the fruit of on-the-ground expertise’ .
Read an extract (in French)

Les Échos retraced the career of ex-world judo champion Stéphane Traineau (EXEC M07) since hanging up his kimono. Sports teacher, coach to the French national team and the Kazakhstan team for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, he also founded a sports marketing agency and created a data solution to measure athletes’ performance. The one thing you can say about him is that he has never rested on his laurels!
Read an extract (in French)
Also featured in The ESSEC Alumni Who Shaped Paris 2024

In Challenges, Sébastien Patrice (HEPTA 27) shared his delight at joining the new HEPTA Bachelor programme at ESSEC, just a few weeks after his bronze medal win at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. ‘You can’t imagine the sacrifices. It’s really difficult to juggle classes, training sessions and competitions. HEPTA Bachelor is the dream programme to pursue high-level sport while adding several strings to your bow and preparing for after.’ 
Read the article (in French)

L’Info congratulated Louise Fontaine (HEPTA 27), an athlete from Reunion Island, who also entered the HEPTA Bachelor at ESSEC having passed her French High School exam with flying colours and won a bronze medal at the European Championships. ‘This programme will allow her to continue high-level climbing while pursuing her studies. Her ultimate goal is to become a sports journalist.’ 
Read the article (in French)

On France 2, Charles Rozoy (EXEC PROG 23) spoke of his participation, alongside the French President, in the ceremony to award to Legion of Honour and Order of Merit to the French paralympic medallists at Paris 2024. ‘An extraordinary occasion to pay tribute to those who inspired us with their talent, determination and courage during these unique Games.’
Watch the interview (in French)
Also featured in The ESSEC Alumni Who Shaped Paris 2024

Commitment

In Le Monde, Adrien Basdevant (E12) co-signed an op-ed ‘for algorithmic pluralism’ in the wake of the General Assembly on Information. ‘We have to end this stand-off between digital giants and the States trying to police them. Let’s not try to substitute an administrative power for an economic power. The solution will come from opening and decentralisation, which lie at the heart of the freedom to think and communicate.
Read an extract (in French)

La Provence paid tribute to Guila Clara-Kessous (E03), UNESCO Peace Ambassador who works to strengthen the role of women in the world of work. ‘She signed the Sarah & Hajar Accords, the feminist version of the Abraham Accords, with women from various governments, and is preparing the African and European accords for feminist diplomacy. She will also launch a podcast, “Women on Board” to demystify these governmental bodies which must offer at least 30% to 40% of seats to women.’
Read the article (in French)

In Forbes, Emmanuelle Blons (EXEC MBA 10) raised the issue of the underrepresentation of women in artificial intelligence and data: ‘Just 30% of professionals in the sector are women.’ Her recommendations to rectify the situation include highlighting female role models in these professions and creating dedicated mentorship programmes.
Read the article (in French)

France Inter praised the work of Florence Rizzo (E07) and her non-profit organisation Ecolhuma, which acts alongside teachers and school heads for fairer and more fulfilling schooling. ‘We can improve the performance of our educational system if, and only if, we are willing to acknowledge that academic meritocracy is more of a belief than a reality, and if we are prepared to support teachers in the development of educational practices leading to greater fairness.’
Listen to the programme (in French)

Ouest France acclaimed the initiative by Estelle Peyen (M99) which ‘uses sporting values through her unique and offbeat activity, XCSS© (cross-country skiing on sand), to raise awareness for the preservation of natural areas and call for climate action.’ This year sees a special focus on water diplomacy, to coincide with the One Water Summit in New York.
Read the article (in French)
See also our interview

Experts

In Libération, lawyer Benoît Huet (E08) commented on the decision by the Audiovisual Regulatory Authority (Arcom) to remove the channel C8 from the national TV network. ‘It would have been more surprising to see the renewal of their wavelength. This was the channel that had received the highest number of sanctions for its lack of pluralism, independence and honesty of information, criteria which are laid down by law.
Read an extract (in French)

In Les Échos, Julien Serre (E99), expert in sovereignty, defence and development, warned: ‘Overshadowed by the crises in Ukraine and Gaza, the situation in Somalia is very alarming. The withdrawal of foreign military contingents exposes Somalian power to attacks by the terrorist group Al-Shabaab. If financial measures are not taken rapidly, the country will be hit by huge security problems.
Read an extract (in French)

In Libération, Emmanuelle Ledoux (M93), Managing Director of the French National Institute for the Circular Economy, used the example of agro-food to explain: ‘The circular economy is a model in which we can observe a multitude of successful experiments, but rare transitions to an industrial scale. This is due to the lack of investment to build a sufficiently large offer to meet potential demand.
Read an extract (in French)

On BFM TV, Élise Leclerc (E07), Director of Labo E&MISE ESSEC, presented her tool to measure the value created by a company beyond the economic criterion: the Social Return in Investment, or SROI, which notably takes into account the €50 million in costs saved annually for society by impact unicorns.
Watch the programme (in French)

On BSmart, Mickaël Berrebi (E13) emphasised that the environmental transition of companies will also require social dialogue. As proof, he quoted a survey led by the IFOP Group: ‘73% of workers believe that environmental transition impacts their profession or business sector. 58% believe it is possible to adapt their profession or position to the benefit of environmental transition. And 71% claim that it is up to company leaders to act and define the priorities.’ 
Watch the programme (in French)

In Forbes, Lucas Thiery (EXEC M21), Strategic Director of Digital Medical Hub, pointed to the pitfalls of funding health start-ups in France. ‘While the ecosystem is robust, as the investment of around €1.2 billion by BpiFrance in 2023 demonstrates, the industrialisation phase continues to raise significant challenges.’ One key issue is the public funding injected at a pure loss and the nuggets acquired by major foreign companies.
Read the article (in French)

In Le Figaro, essayist Antoine de Gabrielli (E83) proposed six measures to strengthen couples and families in the face of professional constraints. These include raising the number of places in crèches by 50% and enabling grandparents to retire at 60 in order to look after grandchildren full-time.
Read the article (in French)
Discover his book also (in French)

On BFM TV, columnist Clara Moley (E13) answered viewers’ questions on ‘the real life of the workplace’: ‘When do you talk about money in the company? How do you reconcile promoting your work while freeing yourself of the quest for perfection? Is Gen Z addicted to generative AI? How do you land a job when you’re labelled “unemployed”?’ 
Watch the programme (in French)

In Forbes, Virginie Gozin (EXEC PROG 16), an expert in change management support, explained that it is perfectly possible for two people to run a company, provided certain key principles are adhered to. ‘My favourite mathematical formula can be applied to two-person management: 1 + 1 = 3. Let me explain: 1 for you, 1 for your partner, and 1 for the relationship you both form.’
Read the article (in French)

On BFM TV, David Medioni (M22) took part in a reverse interview, in which students challenge business leaders. His questions for Emmanuel Rollin, Managing Director of the leading solar power company Iberdrola: ‘How are you anticipating the necessary renewal of your wind turbine equipment in 20 years’ time? Do you take these costs into account in your investments? And besides circularity and decarbonisation, how do you convince consumers to opt for renewable energy when nuclear power costs the same price?’
Watch the video (in French)

Entrepreneurship

Le Figaro took a look back at Éric Dailey‘s career (E86), who became an entrepreneur ‘out of necessity’  and is currently at the helm of Tolomei, France’s leading producer of upmarket shoes and leather goods, employing 2,100 people for an annual turnover of €220 million. ‘Back then, I was told a dozen times that with the standards in place and the labour costs, it would be impossible to produce in France and ten times cheaper in Asia. But in France I found a quality of execution and an attention to work that didn’t exist elsewhere.’ 
Read the article (in French)

In La Tribune, Kammy Brun (EXEC MBA 23), Managing Director of the French subsidiary of Simera Sense, a South African start-up which designs camera for satellites, officially announced the location of an R&D centre in Toulouse. ‘The company, which raised €13.5 million in spring, has already manufactured some sixty cameras, 19 of which are in orbit and 43 delivered.
Read an extract (in French)

Sifted website showcases Sixte de Vauplane (E17) and his start-up Animaj, set to ‘rival Disney and Pixar’ with the help of artificial intelligence. ‘Right now, if I want to show a spoon in motion, I need an animator to draw each step of this movement at around 25 images per second. In other words, they will produce 2 to 5 seconds per day. Our solution will ultimately enable us to put the storyboard in motion directly and create 30 seconds of film per day, which will grow to 500 seconds per day in less than 3 years.’ 
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In Les Échos, Emmanuel Bilbault (E10), co-founder of Posos, announced a partnership with Microsoft to integrate voice recognition in his medical prescription software. ‘This eliminates hours of clicking to find the right medication and dosage. Now you just need to dictate your prescription naturally to have it transcribed and analysed in real time by our solution. The software can even detect potential errors or drug interactions and suggest optimised adjustments according to the patient’s profile.’ The medtech is also planning a new round of capital raising to boost its international development.
Read an extract (in French)

Le Figaro retraced the success story of Kévin André (E99), co-founder of Kawaa, the café-restaurant chain which organises up to 400 events annually to recreate social ties. ‘We do all we can to encourage interactions, especially between generations, and trigger chance meetings.’ And it works: ‘77% of customers coming through the doors of this public-interest inclusive enterprise meet someone they don’t know.
Read an extract (in French)

TF1 was on the scene to report on the opening of the first GEEV shop, a circular economy start-up co-founded by Florian Blanc (E08). The idea is to pay an annual subscription which provides customers with access to a shop where the products are...free, having been donated. ‘The first two days drew more than 1,700 visitors, who adopted 1,500 items...and that’s only the beginning! The aim of this unique venue is to offer a new life to as many objects as possible, while preserving French consumers’ purchasing power.’ 
Watch the report (in French)

In Les Échos, Martin Hacpille (E14) described ‘his lengthy path to open a plant manufacturing sustainable, repairable, French-made dishwashers’ under the EverEver brand. ‘After six years of perseverance, he finally achieved his goal: the creation of a production line in Vannes. An investment of €8 to €10 million, financed by private funds and a State subsidy under the France 2030 plan.’
Read the article (in French)
See also our article (in French)

On Maddyness, François Truong (E14), co-founder of Kidibam, presents his aim ‘to become the leader in the second-hand toy market’ with his B2B model. ‘Resale on traditional websites is basically time-consuming and laborious for a barely profitable result. We take toys in batches and offer an overall price.’ Parents receive a purchase offer on the basis of a simple photo and do not have to deal with resale; the start-up takes on that risk. ‘Within 18 months, we’ve already put together the largest catalogue of this type in France.’
Read the article (in French)
See also our article 

On BFM TV, Max Herrmann (E20) promoted his  start-up Nopli, which allows brands to launch their own second-hand offer, in just a few clicks via a tab on their e-shop. ‘Why use our service instead of Vinted? Firstly, because you choose how to pay: in cash or with a voucher. Secondly, your product is presented better, as it is matched with the corresponding page of the new product catalogue. Thirdly, because we let the brand define the fairest price.’ 
Watch the programme (from 14:50) (in French)

On Maddyness, Corentin Dejean (BBA 22), co-founder of Ecklo with Robin Bruneau (BBA 22 & M22), presents his solution to shift towards more responsible logistics: a reusable cover to replace the plastic film on pallets.
Read the article (in French)

In WWD, Laetitia Lumbroso Revenu (E00), co-founder of the luxury accessories brand Destree, announced the opening of its American flagship store on New York’s prestigious Madison Avenue. This marks a new milestone for the company which has been expanding fast in recent years, with a Series A capital raising, exponential growth outside of France to the USA, UK, South Korea, Japan and China, and seeing its products worn by stars such as Beyoncé, Rihanna, Demi Moore, Reese Witherspoon, Giselle Bündchen or Sarah Michelle Gellar.
Read an extract  (in French)

On BSmart, Delphine Lau (EXEC PROG 16), co-founder of Stooly, describes how she invented foldable furniture made from cardboard, which won a gold medal at the French investors’ competition, Concours Lépine 2022, and why she is currently relocating her production from Asia to France.
Watch the video (in French)

On BFM TV, Geoffroy Morin (M21) pitched his solution Wesur, which combines a customised insurance comparison service, an application to centralise all contracts and a 24/7 AI advisor. ‘After one year in business, we have more than 300,000 unique visitors monthly and around 20,000 customers.’ 
Watch the video (in French)

Le Journal de l’Automobile featured Rajiv Sumputh (EXEC MBA 21) and his start-up Carwayz. ‘We’re launching the first all-in-one solution to facilitate and optimise the management of conveyancing missions for car dealers, rental firms and company fleets..’
Read an excerpt (in French)

Capital ran a feature on Emmanuelle Duez (E12), co-founder of Bugali, and its ‘quirky console which appeals to both kids and parents. It took four years of R&D to perfect these texts or images which come to life at the touch of a finger with sound effects, songs, music or narratives.’

Among its list of ‘galleries to visit in Paris’, Beaux Arts Magazine chose Magda Danysz’s eponymous address (E98). ‘As early as 1998, she pioneered a taste for street art, which was seldom seen on the market at the time. Shepard Fairey, JR and ZEVS have graced her walls, alongside Chinese artists such as Liu Bolin and Li Hongbo. 
Read the article (in French)

Culture & Entertainment

In Le Temps, Charles Senard (E04) celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Geneva-based publishing house, Droz, which he currently manages and is renowned worldwide for its Medieval and Renaissance French literature. ‘We perpetuate the humanist gesture by providing access to these treasures. We cannot just read contemporary literature; classical literature must also play a part, as it has always done, in our identity.’
Read an extract (in French)

Télérama applauded singer Laure Slabiak (BBA 99) alias Blaubird, as she embarked on her summer tour. ‘An alchemy of styles and eras linked by her contralto voice, which evokes the much-missed Lhasa. This is no coincidence; she has also recorded with the Mexican-American artist’s musicians. She enriches this melting pot with world (Australian tarhu) and jazz musicians.’ 
Read the article (in French)

France 24 broadcast a report on Cécile Moroni Engevik (E08 - President of the Norway Chapter), the former managing director of a cosmetics brand who is now a successful stand-up comedian on the Oslo scene. ‘My move to Oslo was a culture shock, but I embarked on this adventure precisely for that reason.’ This has become the cornerstone of her shows, which recently earned her the 2024 Culture /Art de Vivre Trophy.
Watch the programme (in French)

L’Humanité published a rave review of Ronan Rivière’s (E09) latest stage production, The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol, presented at the Avignon theatre festival this summer. ‘The result does not disappoint. Not only is the play as acerbic as it should be, but also reveals a comical side which naturally comes to the fore.’ 
Read the article (in French)

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