Vincenzo Vinzi, Managing Director of the ESSEC Group, and Elisabeth Moreno (EXEC MBA 06), the former minister leading numerous actions for equality, have been nominated in the ‘Personal Engagement’ category of the Economic Inclusion Awards organised by the Mozaïk Foundation. You can vote for both of them as of now, and the results will be announced on 28 November!

The Personal Engagement Awards honour a figure committed to economic inclusion on an individual level or as the leader of a company or institution. The jury panel assesses the actions and initiatives led by the person and/or the organisation they represent. Nominees are then submitted to a public vote. The 2023 winners will be announced on 28 November, during a live event at Bercy, as part of the Economic Inclusion Summit.

In the words of Vincenzo Vinzi, engaged for environmental and social transition at ESSEC,

‘Diversity drives value creation for an inclusive, fair and sustainable economy’. Steered by this personal conviction, Vincenzo Vinzi is responsible for initiating the launch of ESSEC’s Together programme, with an aspect devoted to inclusion and diversity, promoting respect for others, gender equality, social opening and an ambitious disability policy. 

The actions conducted include the creation of a dual call to oral interviews to enable certain scholarship applicants to take the Grande Ecole entrance orals even if non-admissible, and which forms part of a vaster aim to reach a target of 27% scholarship students by 2025; the growth in the number of apprentices, which has already reached the 1000 students per year mark, and the creation of the Diversity Fresk, a workshop exploring the subconscious mechanisms behind discrimination, open to all ESSEC members and expanding its reach beyond the School to total more than 13,000 people trained to date.

In recognition of this engagement, ESSEC has obtained DD&RS certification for sustainable development and societal responsibility in higher education. This certification is based on a highly-rigorous national benchmark. For the second year running, the School has also been listed as France’s most engaged school for environmental and social transition in the ChangeNow / Les Échos START ranking. 

Furthermore, Vincenzo Vinzi is currently presiding the CGE (Conférence des Grandes Écoles) Diversity Commission, which supports the diversification of profiles relative to societal responsibility in member institutions, to enhance their overall performance.

Fully aware of the efforts that are still needed, Vincenzo Vinzi remains committed to these issues alongside the entire community, striving to make ESSEC even more inclusive.

Elisabeth Moreno, the serial activist for inclusion

Elisabeth Moreno, originally from a modest background in Cape Verde, arrived in France at the age of 7 and has shattered several glass ceilings throughout her career. 

The young founder of a public works company in the early 1990s, she went on to manage France Télécom’s major accounts division and then moved to Dell Computer, Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard. At HP, she was made Vice-President Africa, prior to her appointment as Deputy Minister for Gender Equality, Diversity & Equal Opportunity under Prime Minister Jean Castex. 

At present, her primary concern remains education, inclusion and professional diversity. She is a member of the Sanofi Group’s Council for Diversity, Equality & Inclusion (DE&I); administrator of the Each One start-up specialised in the integration of refugees in major groups; founder of the NPO La Puissance du Lien, which works with private and public organisations on matters of male-female, intergenerational and regional ties; President of the Femmes@numérique foundation, which strives for greater diversity in the tech sector, and sponsor of ESSCA Alumni’s Africa in France Club. The next Reflets ESSEC Magazine is devoting its cover feature to her impressive career.

Vote for Vincenzo Vinzi and Elisabeth Moreno at the Personal Commitment Awards online!

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