The Politics of Sport, the Housing Crisis, French Tech, School Bullying, Inclusion, ChatGPT and More...ESSEC in the Media

Leaders, experts, citizens, entrepreneurs, culture and entertainment… ESSEC is making the headlines in all fields! Press review.

Leaders

Paris Match celebrated the 40th anniversary of the entrepreneurial duo Philippe Bénacin (E83) and Jean Madar (E83), the co-founders of Interparfums, which produces perfumes for iconic brands such as Montblanc, Boucheron, Van Cleef & Arpels, Coach, Guess, Jimmy Choo, or Monder. "We’ve come a long way. 35 years ago, we had a stock market value of $10 million, compared to $4 billion today. Not a bad achievement for a company we started in 1983, while still at ESSEC, with just 20,000 francs (€3,000) and no expertise."
Read an extract (in French)

Le Monde featured Amélie Oudéa-Castéra (E02), former tennis champion and current French Minister for Sports. "This woman, who is recognised for her combative spirit and quest for excellence, must now manage recurring scandals involving the chairmen of the rugby and football federations, Bernard Laporte and Noël Le Graët. (...) In the business world, where she held high-level positions for some fifteen years, she was known for her refusal to ever “let go”. The sporting community, however, is just discovering this."
Read an extract (in French)

La Tribune interviewed  Véronique Bédague (E87), CEO of Nexity: "Lamenting the fact that her warnings on the housing crisis have fallen on deaf ears, the former chief of staff to [French] Prime Minister Manuel Valls, and tipped to head the government last year, warns leaders of the social threat posed by the lack of housing in France and urges the application of environmental measures to eradicate building heat loss."
Read an extract (in French)
See also our interview

Le Monde reported on Tony Estanguet (M07), "the other Olympic mascot", triple gold medallist in canoeing and chairman of the organisation committee for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. "His friends compare him to former British athlete Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London 2021 games and a reference in successful Olympics. More than simply playing a role of ambassador, the French athlete insists on his status as Executive President of the Paris Olympics organisation committee and responsible for its €4.4 billion budget. “I want to do more than simply represent and play a  symbolic role”, he explains. His unfailing smile and consensual attitude belie a relentless manager ready to enter the ring, particularly when it comes to the political sphere."
Read an extract(in French)
See also our interview

Les Échos devoted an article to  Clara Chappaz (E12), Director of La French Tech. "Following studies at ESSEC and an MBA from Harvard Business School, she ventured into the ecosystem of French start-ups. She thrived in this environment as Chief Growth Officer followed by Chief Business Officer with Vestiaire Collective, where she also steered a task force for women’s empowerment. At 33 years of age, she is now in charge of boosting the development of scale-ups at the helm of the Mission French Tech."
Read an extract (in French)
See also our interview

Le Monde ran a feature on Charles de Courson (E74), the "darling" of the French National Assembly and holder of the record for longevity in parliament (7 terms!), where he has "the quasi-unanimous" respect of  his peers, regardless of their political sides, in particular for his professionalism. "In 2012, this former magistrate at the Court of Auditors was awarded an Ethics Prize from the Anticor organisation, which fights for the moral integrity of public life, in recognition of his struggle for transparency in parliamentary expenses."
Read an extract (in French)

As part of its "I was 20" series, Le Monde interviewed Cécile Duflot (E00), politician and Managing Director of Oxfam France, on her studies and early adulthood. "I disagree totally with the current career orientation system. I find it extremely stressful. My advice to young people is “Do what you really want to do, when you want to.” You have to have tried something to know if it is really what you want to do. And above all, why should we not have more than one job in life?"
Read an extract (in French)

Les Échos looked back at the career of Armelle Baudard (E99): "After working in customer relations at Canal+ and Virgin Mobile, this ESSEC graduate is now Deputy Managing Director of the Aquarelle group, a specialist in floral deliveries, with 130 employees and a turnover of €40 million in 2022."
Read an extract (in French)

Commitment

Agathe Lemaître (M13) made the headlines with the publication of her educational novel, Le Livre de Liane [Liane’s Book] (Harper Collins), based on the true story of her sister, who committed suicide after being bullied at school. More than 700,000 young people are victims of bullying each year, a scourge she now seeks to address by leading various awareness campaigns, including workshops around her book in hundreds of French secondary schools, aimed at encouraging children to speak out.
Listen to her on Brut, on RTL radio and France 3 TV (in French)
See also our article (in French) and our interview (in French)

RTL paid tribute to  Pauline Arnaud-Blanchard (E08) for her efforts as founding Managing Director of the non-profit organisation H’up entrepreneurs, which supports some 80,000 disabled company owners. "Our role is to help invisible figures to emerge. We are proud of this."
Listen to the podcast (in French)
See also our interview (in French)

On the Têtu website, Basile Anthonioz (E17) described the origins of Working Out, a mentoring programme for LGBTQI+ in business, which he co-founded with Alexandre Oriez (E17) and Vanessa Bottero (E17). "When I joined the Roland Berger consultancy firm, there was only one other person out of the 300 employees who had come out. Entering the business world coincides with a time when we are not necessarily very comfortable with this issue on a personal level, and it therefore seems easier and wiser to remain in the closet for a while. It took me 2 years to gain in confidence and become more familiar with the company before speaking up, with close workmates initially and then a wider circle of colleagues. Working Out was born of this experience, because at that time I would have liked to have had guidance from someone experienced."
Read the article (in French)
See also our article (far left column - in French)

Les Échos featured  Lou Welgryn (E18) in its 2023 ranking of 35 positive and inspiring young leaders. Co-founder of ESSEC Transition Alumni, the largest graduate school alumni network devoted to professionals in environmental and social transition, she co-presides the charity Data For Good which brings together 4,000 data experts around projects for the common good. She is also Senior Carbon Data Analyst at Carbon4France, which helps companies to assess precisely their climate performance and strategy.
Read the article (paragraph #26 - in French)

On Welcome to the Jungle, activist  Benjamin de Molliens (M12), known in particular for his eco-adventurer challenges as part of his Expedition Zero initiative, urged the creation of laws "to redirect polluting professions." He explained: "At present, companies who do not comply with the French carbon footprint law receive a ridiculously low fine. We need to raise the penalties for all laws linked to ecology to make companies more accountable. We see it as normal today to be fined for not wearing a seatbelt; it’s the same thing here, it’s for our survival."
Read the article (in French)
See also our article (right page - in French)

On Fréquence Protestante radio, Armelle Gautier (E89) and Loïc Marcé (E07) presented their publication Notre grand pari [Our Great Challenge] (Alternatiba) in which they imagine an Île-de-France region which has successfully accomplished its transition by 2050. "Green activists are known for their climate marches or civil disobedience actions...but we also work from an imaginative perspective. This is intended as a response to those who accuse us of being green Khmer, Amish or opponents of growth. On the contrary, we offer a desirable future; we firmly believe that we will live better and more happily in an ecological society."
Listen to the programme (in French)
See also our article (in French)

Former French-Ukrainian mayor of Hlukhiv and resident of Kiev, Michel Terestchenko (E79) spoke to 20 Minutes on Ukraine after a year of war: "Ukraine has changed a lot since the beginning of the war. For the better. It has begun to deal with its corruption and nepotism issues. It is cleaning up, gaining in confidence and growing. It has become more creative and enterprising. It has become a strong, hopeful country which will one day be a great European nation."
Read the article (in French)

On BSmart, Anne-Claire Pache (E94), Director of Strategy and Societal Commitment for the ESSEC Group, described the generational change currently under way at the School. "We can see it, and the students tell us so; they are on a very different quest at present compared to twenty years ago, when the obsession was to find a company where they would forge a career and make a lot of money. We are light years away from that now. The emphasis is more on joining a company with values that we hold dear, and in which we will feel useful and be ourselves."
Watch the video (in French)
See also our interview

Entrepreneurs

TF1 took us backstage for the launch of the rechargeable make-up brand, Pardi, created by Léa Egger (E24) and Julie Zimmermann, and incubated at ESSEC. After 2 years of research and development, the start-up is launching "the first mascara in glass packaging with a reusable brush and upcycled ingredients." The journalists of the Grands Reportages programme followed the final hours of their participative funding campaign, the first day of production in their Normandy-based plant and their first steps at the Made in France fair.
See the programme (in French)

Les Échos praised Coline Burland (E11), for having persuaded her partner to re-direct their initial project and successfully develop Omie & Cie, an online grocery which sells sustainable, traceable products which promise a fair deal for farmers. The start-up has now raised €15 million.
Read an extract (in French)

On BFM TV, Delphine Lau (EXEC PROG 16) presented the brand she co-founded, Stooly, which produces occasional furniture made of corrugated cardboard. "This solution allows people living in small flats to host guests with furniture which easy to store, stylish and durable." The company has generated profits by drawing exclusively on its own resources and is about to double the number of employees.
See the programme (in French)

Les Échos featured the Nota Climat application, co-created by Elsa Chai (E16). "This new climate Yuka helps consumers to uncover greenwashing and choose brands which are making genuine efforts to reduce their CO2 emissions."
Read the article (in French)

RFI radio interviewed the French-Malagasy entrepreneur Jeimila Donty (E17), who restores marine ecosystems via her start-up Koraï. "We opened our first coral nursery in Nosy Be and aim to expand in Madagascar in the medium term, before heading into other African countries."
Listen to the programme (in French)
See also our interview

Europe 1 ranked Juan Londoño Leon (E18 & M19), founder of Yeasty, among the "positive entrepreneurs committed to tomorrow’s world." His innovation is protein-rich products for agro-food companies, based on brewer’s yeast. "It’s estimated that 15.6% of greenhouse gas emissions are due to the consumption of animal-based products. It is imperative that we find more sustainable, alternative proteins."
Listen to the programme (from 24'02" - in French)

Challenges took a look at Kikleo, a start-up co-founded by Martin d’Agay (E22) and Vincent Garcia (E22), which acts against food waste by developing technological solutions to improve the food surplus management in catering. How does it work? "A camera takes several photos of food trays at the end of a service. These are processed by algorithms which analyse the contents in detail, such as the food thrown away (starches, meat or vegetables, etc.) their weight, financial cost and carbon footprint. The resulting data is analysed by experts who can then present practical and realistic solutions to all the project’s stakeholders."
Read the article (in French)

On the Tech in Asia website, Nathanaël Faibis (E10), co-founder of Alodokter, the leading e-health platform in Indonesia, announced the launch of a virtual assistant for doctors, based on artificial intelligence. "We use conversational AI to pre-screen patients through a series of questions and provide pre-diagnosis recommendations to Alodokter’s telemedicine doctors."
Read the article.

On BFM TV, Yacine Achiakh (E14) introduced Wisear, a neural interface he created to steer digital devices via facial movements. "Mobile technological objects are emerging and accompany us wherever we go. We need to find new human-machine interface methods which require neither our hands nor our voice, because we don’t always want to be heard in a public area."
See an extract (in French)

On the Dauphiné Libéré website, Quentin Bertrand (E08) described his Quaeso platform, which allows brands to involve their customers in both the development of their products and service improvement. "Our solution is also a means to unite a community over the long term."
See the video (in French)

In Le Parisien, Quentin Demeestère (E09) warned: "Two out of three managers have problems managing their teams.’"To this end, he teamed up with  Johann Molinari (E09) to create Popwork, a solution which facilitates dialogue between an employee and their immediate supervisor. "It’s simple to use. The manager defines a regular schedule to meet and take stock with each of their employees. The day before the appointment, the employee must answer a short set of questions on their state of mind, achievements, priorities, sticking points and any other topics they wish to bring up. (...). The manager can immediately take this information on board, personalise their questions or draw questions from a list suggested by Popwork. This helps to structure the discussion."
Read the article (in French)
See also our article (in French)

On Radio Classique, Thomas Donati (M09) described how he managed to take over and develop the family business Steuer, which produces clarinet reeds and is currently based in the Var. "It’s a question of work, know-how and motivated teams. It’s also about knowing how to seize opportunities. I followed a course which is unique in France, 10,000 Small Businesses France (10K SB), run by ESSEC and the Goldman Sachs Foundation, which assists company leaders in the development of their growth plan. It lasts for 4 months, with 2 sessions on offer per year. In addition to its practical aspect, it’s a wonderful human adventure." 
Listen to the programme (in French)

Experts

On CNews, Benjamin Brice (E07) was interviewed by Frédéric Taddeï about his book La Sobriété gagnante [Winning Sobriety]. "We live above our means. We can see this from our trade deficit; we import more than we export. It’s the same thing on the environmental level; the import of manufactured goods and energy has serious consequences in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, extraction, etc. (...) My solution, which I describe in my book, is to lower our material imports."
See the programme (18'52" - in French)
See also our interview (in French)

On France Inter radio, Mounir Laggoune (BBA 13), the financial investment specialist at the helm of Finary, criticised "those speculators who drive up prices artificially’"in the shadow of the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis. "In fact, the raw materials market is dominated by machines. It is computers which push up the indexes. This has far-reaching consequences because speculative funds will locate their data centres as close as possible to the place where the market will receive orders, to ensure that their data transits faster than that of their competitors. Anyone who knows how to exploit this system can generate huge profits."
Listen to the programme (in French)

On the Voxlog website, Philippe-Pierre Dornier (E85), teacher at ESSEC and founder of Newton Vauréal Consulting, analysed why the supply chain has been experiencing very rapid rises and shrinkages in recent years. He described an alternating cycle between period of mass supply through fear of shortages, linked to crises such as COVID-19 or the Ukraine war, and stock purging phases which cause a collapse in demand and freight rates. He compared this swing effect to a rollercoaster, and believes it will not stabilise any time soon.
Read the article (in French)

On BFM TV, Rémi Seners (E07), Deputy Director at BCG, explained what the advertising world means by ‘retail media’, which is presented as key strategic move for mass distribution players, with a potential of €100,000 billion. "The idea is to capitalise on three types of assets. First, data, i.e. customer knowledge assets. Second, media, customer-shop access and e-commerce site assets, etc. Third, sale operations, i.e. customer activation assets."
See the programme (in French)

On the Décision Achats website, Romaric Servajean-Hilst (E99), Dean of MAI Executive Education at Kedge and researcher at Polytechnique, described and analysed the surprising conversation he had with ChatGPT on the subject of payment deadlines in relations between SME and major groups. "As a reminder, late payments in France cost €14 billion to the cash flows of French SME. They are behind 12,000 to 15,000 company defaults in France, which amounts to 50,000 job losses per year. (…) The most interesting thing about this artificial intelligence is that when searching the internet, on a database which is more than a year old, it states out loud what some people express in private: the financial impact in terms of declining cash flow and additional costs, the ripple effect for suppliers who companies have problems paying on time, and the resulting decline in confidence."
Read an extract (in French)

Is ChatGPT well meaning? This the question Sami Biasoni (E08), doctor of philosophy at the École Normale Supérieure and lecturer at ESSEC, asked in Le Figaro. Having transcribed the tests he set the conversational tool to determine whether it contains an ideology, he concluded: "In seeking to avoid the influence of the excesses linked to negative human passions when certain views are expressed too freely, the developers of ChatGPT have created, at the least, the first perfectly well-meaning artificial intelligence. It is sometimes neo-progressive, often carefully moderate, and deftly fosters the “at the same time” rhetoric. In short, and like others, this product is a caricature of its time."
Read an extract (in French)

Les Échos shared the highlights of the guide Entreprendre pour le bien commun [Enterprise for the Common Good] (Vuibert) by Léa Zaslavsky (E13) and Hélène Binet, respectively the co-founder and spokesperson of  makesense, a support solution for impact entrepreneurs. "It’s clear that something is wrong with our society, that inequality is growing, the climate is off-kilter, resources are running out and eco-anxiety is gaining ground; but where do we start, with revolution or transformation? (...) Take the time to examine your deeper motivations and prioritise the issues that concern you before launching into your project. By trying to solve all problems, we generally solve nothing. (...) When you target an issue clearly, it enables you to differentiate between an idea which will really change an aspect of the world and another which will only have a superficial impact, or none at all."
Read the article (in French)
See also our article  (in French)

In the Harvard Business Review, Jérôme Barthélémy (E93), professor and Executive Vice-President of ESSEC, examined whether a company working for the common good can also be profitable. "If there is no clear answer, it’s because the question has not been asked correctly. Companies should be asking themselves the following question: in which cases is it possible to combine common good and profitability? The answer is surprisingly simple. A strategy which takes into account societal and environmental matters can be profitable, but only if it enables a reduction in costs or a growth in turnover."
Read the article (in French)

On France Inter radio, Sophie Rosso (E08), Deputy Managing Director of the property developer Redman, called for a lowering of the VAT on building materials which are bio-sourced, geo-sourced or recycled.. "The current system is absurd. Because there is no carbon tax, it’s cheaper to build a concrete or cement building than a virtuous one. This is crazy. We cannot go on like this in 2023."
Listen to the programme (in French)

On BFM TV, Guillaume Paoli (E95), co-founder of the Aramis Group, summed up the teachings of his book Réussir en équipes [Successful Teamwork] (Eyrolles), in which he explains how lean management  methods and collective intelligence enabled his second-hand car sales platform to achieve a turnover in excess of €1 billion while ensuring customer satisfaction and happy workers.
See the programme (in French)
See also our article (in French)

On Europe 1 radio, Franck Pétel (EXEC PROG 03), professor of management practice and holder of the Property and Sustainable Development Chair at ESSEC, explained why co-working has gained in popularity since the health crisis: "Teleworking must rhyme with flexible working, not home-working.’"
Listen to the programme (in French)

In the Harvard Business Review, life coach Guila-Clara Kessous (E03) warned of the "burnout love" phenomenon on the double date of Saint Valentine’s Day and International Work Burnout Day. "This coinciding date is no accident. When you observe the brains of someone suffering from burnout and someone in love, you realise that they suffer from similar ‘neurological disorders’. Certain parts of the brain are partially deactivated, such as the medial prefrontal cortex, which plays a role in critical judgement. Both love and burnout are blind."
Read the article (in French)
Meet Guila-Clara Kessous on 14 April at the 2023 ESSEC Gala, which she is sponsoring. Book your tickets

On BFM TV, Ludovic de Gromard (E11) explained how his psytech solution, "Chance", can help you to know yourself better and thus thrive at work. "France is seeing a movement of mental resignation, a crisis in terms of professional commitment and meaning. Employees and HR managers need to ensure that everyone finds their place in the company." How can an algorithm help? "Our method includes a self-coaching step: two hours alone with the machine including videos, tests and questions, which provide data for our professional coach to then use."
See the video (in French)
Discover the Chance x ESSEC Alumni partnership (in French)

20 Minutes awarded 5 stars to the podcast Ma dernière séance de psychanalyse [My Last Psychoanalysis Session] hosted by Guillaume Bonnet (BBA 09). "As all the participants share with us the end of a path and a long relationship, which sometimes lasted years, we find ourselves waiting for the next episode, like a patient addicted to their therapist. Neither voyeuristic nor probing, the programme simply and discreetly reveals human complexity. This excellent podcast will not replace a session with your therapist, but it may encourage you to make your first appointment."
Read the article (in French)

La Libre praised L’écologie d’intérieur [Interior Ecology], an eco-responsible lifestyle guide (Eyrolles) by Marie Quéru (M04). "Interior ecology is a “philosophy of the essential, which suggests how to boost our personal well-being while having a positive environmental and societal impact.” Instead of minimalism, a notion immediately associated with a “minimal quantity and deprivation”, the author prefers the term “essentialism”, which is “more accurate because it describes a healthy relationship with objects, the things we keep because they are essential to us.”"
Read the article (for subscribers only).
Find the book L’Écologie d’Intérieur: Vivre Mieux avec Moins here (in French). 

Culture & Entertainment

Les Échos paid tribute to the "countertrend success" of Society magazine, run by Franck Annese (E00), as the magazine celebrated its 200th edition. "After 8 years in existence, Society continues to defy those who no longer believe in the paper press. With more than 45,000 copies sold on average per edition, this profitable bi-monthly has become a reference in the news magazine sector.’"
Read an extract (in French)

France Culture radio reported on the release of  Constance Debré's (E99) latest novel, Offenses [Offences], (Flammarion). "The writer explores the frontier between good and evil through a fictional account of the murder of an 80-year-old man by a youth of 16. In a short, incisive text, this former criminal lawyer delves into the horrors of our society to question the methods of 21^st-century justice, and more broadly the human condition."
Listen to the programme (in French)
See also our article (in French)

Paris Première aired the second season of Archibeau, a programme devoted to design and architecture, co-hosted by Jean Desportes (E06) (Sundays at 12:35pm). "Inner beauty is what matters. Finding decoration from local craftworkers, unique objects and places, and tips for sourcing second-hand items."
See the trailer (in French)

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