ESSEC Alumni in China: “Our Alumni Community Is Expanding Fast Here!”

Matthieu David-Experton (E09), President of ESSEC Alumni’s China Chapter, tells us about the alumni community in his country – and the services his team offers to them.

ESSEC Alumni: Are there many ESSEC alumni in China?

Matthieu David-Experton: We are about 1,000 alumni in People's Republic of China and more than 1,200 within Greater China. With around a hundred Chinese students at ESSEC every year since 2008, the community of Chinese alumni has been expanding fast! 

EA: What opportunities are there in China for our alumni? 

M. David-Experton: It is for sure challenging times for all alumni here as it is for China as a whole. That being said, the country remains the second largest economy in the world and has been at the center of many multinational companies’ agenda and industry players, so the next few months will be about navigating through headwinds for the market to rebound. In that context, the access to job opportunities proves to be a bit more complex. Our Chinese alumni might now consider more Chinese players and China-based start-ups or scale-ups over large established MNCs. 

EA: What about foreigners?

M. David-Experton: The key is to speak the language and being able to enter the country, which has been a challenge with the 0-COVID policy! However Chinese companies are getting more and more international, and we are seeing some prominent positions in banking, tech or consumer goods businesses open to foreign profiles irrespective of their skills in Chinese – and those positions can be both in China or overseas. This trend is actually growing currently.

EA: Why is that?

M. David-Experton: Chinese companies consider more and more balancing the risk of getting revenues from one single country. As an example, back in 2018, Chinese companies in the gaming industry could not publish any new game in China because of a suspension in delivering authorizations. That situation favored the Chinese players which had studios overseas. Similar situation happened in the education sector last year. 

EA: What is the current economics and politics situation currently in China? How does it affect our alumni’s prospects and opportunities there?

M. David-Experton: It is hard to elaborate on a clear perspective. The recent Shanghai lockdown made predictions all the more uncertain and speculative especially on the attractiveness of China as a destination for our alumni. The population of foreigners has been steadily decreasing from 2019 and is now similar to the population of 2003-2004 (pre-iPhone and pre-taobao time!). For our Chinese alumni, working overseas is all the more of a choice as coming to China would cost from $5,000 to $10,000 in economy class from Paris to Shanghai and the 10-day quarantine is making the trip heavier than it used to be. So, our alumni community might also “decouple” where Chinese alumni might work more in China not to be cut from their family and foreign alumni might work more with China from Singapore or from the West. That being said, the directions taken might set some optimism as restrictions are loosening on quarantine, travel within China is getting easier, the country has been less impacted by inflation as the rest of the world and the economic prospects for 2023 should look better than 2022.  

EA: As a foreigner, what makes it interesting to live in China?

M. David-Experton: The striking point is to witness the gap of perception between what most people think it is like to live in China and what it is really like. There might not be any other destination in the world where that gap is as wide – and it is widening with the restrictions on travel! Also, the country is changing constantly, both society-wise and technology-wise. You never stop learning here – all the more since mastering the Chinese language is an infinite quest! Last but not least, most foreign alumni praise Chinese cities’ safety (you can leave your helmet on your motorbike or your phone on a table without those getting stolen), convenience of life (partly thanks to technology and the Internet giants that went with it), and cultural offer. 

EA: Is the ESSEC diploma an asset in China?

M. David-Experton: ESSEC has been putting more efforts into relationships with Chinese companies for a while. We also capitalize on our exchange programs with local universities such as Beida or Fudan. And of course, ESSEC is known in international groups, and those groups are present in China. 

EA: What advice do you have for our foreign alumni moving in China?

M. David-Experton: Learning Chinese will always be somewhere in your mind, better start early. Also, the job market for foreigners is not "liquid" but "opportunistic" so it is key to get acquainted with the communities that are either here or linked to China wherever you stay in the world, as the Chinese diaspora is pretty active and widespread. Finally, make sure your understand all the Chinese regulations so as to avoid unfortunate mistakes. 

EA: And what advice do you have for our Chinese alumni considering whether to work abroad or to go home?

M. David-Experton: I would recommend our young Chinese graduates to spend a few time working in France, Europe or the West, as it is where they can best leverage their degree for the first few years. And if you feel you’re missing out on all the transformations your home country has been going through for 40 years, you can always try and work in a company in relation with China. 

EA: What is the offer of ESSEC Alumni’s China Chapter?

M. David-Experton: Despite Shanghai lockdown and the restrictions, our alumni are among the most active ones within the French schools’ community in China. We have 4 chapters: Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong-Shenzhen and Guangzhou-Shenzhen. Each of our many events gathers from 30 to 100 people. They go from after-drinks to parties with the consul, art galleries' visits, meetings with outstanding alumni and entrepreneurs, skiing trips, bike excursions or outings in outstanding places such as Maison Hermès in Shanghai. We also like to get together with our sister schools ESCP, HEC and Sciences Po, which leads to events with in-between 100 and 200 people. 

EA: How and why did you become your country’s ESSEC Alumni Chapter’s President?

M. David-Experton: As I have always worked in China after graduation, it became natural for me to continue to be involved with the school I had just graduated from. Being part and active within the alumni association has always been a very enriching experience and a good way to meet and share with very different people. Also, for many of us, our time at ESSEC Business School means a lot and has participated in building our own identity. As such, I am thankful to the school and the alumni who contributed to build this set of skills and identity of mine. I wanted to give back and keep this community alive, all the more since we are 10,000 km away from Cergy and the heart of our alumni’s activities of alumni is in Paris.   

EA: Do you need more volunteers to get involved in your team?

M. David-Experton: We do need more volunteers! Feel free to reach out and join us! 

Reach out to ESSEC Alumni’s China Chapter’s team: 

Beijing Chapter:

President: 

- Xueying Bai (E16), xueying.bai@essec.edu

Board members: 

- Xiaotong Wu (E17), xiaotongwu121@gmail.com

- Hui Peng (E15), hui.peng1023@yahoo.com

- Wen Si (ISFOGEP 10), 1145154223@qq.com

Shanghai Chapter:

President:

- Matthieu David-Experton (E09), david.matthieu@gmail.com

Board members:

- Keqing Lyu (E19), lkq0430@sina.com

- Yunfei Qian (E22), yunfei.qian@foxmail.com

- Rico Ling Yang (MBA 15), rico.yang@ofchineseorigin.com

- Jiaqi Zhang (E17), jiaqi.zhang@essec.edu

- Luobing Wang (M20), b00758331@essec.edu

Hong Kong Chapter:

President: 

- Jonathan Ly (E16), jonathan.ly@essec.edu

Board members: 

Treasurer: 

- Alexandra Lam (E14), alexandra.lam@essec.edu 

Events: 

- Marie Kretz di Meglio (E09), m.kretzdimeglio@gmail.com

- Maxime Danjoux (M14), maxime.danjoux@gmail.com 

- Maria Hadjiolova (E05), maria.hadjiolova@gmail.com  

- Eran Benichou (E06), eran.benichou@essec.edu 

- Astrid Benichou (M06), astrid.benichou@essec.edu 

- Sophie Tan (MBA 12), zhiyingtan@hotmail.com

- Thomas Miklavec (E04), thomas_miklavec@yahoo.fr

- Adrian Clevenot (E09), adrian.clevenot@gmail.com

- Vincent Lebleu (E14), vincent.lebleu@gmail.com

- Loïc Benattar (E06), loic.benattar@gmail.com

Interview by Louis Armengaud Wurmser (E10), Content Manager at ESSEC Alumni 

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