ESSEC was the first Business School in France to launch an Executive MBA programme, in 1994, and was this year very proud to celebrate its 15th Anniversary.
The Executive MBA Alumni Association organized the event with great enthusiasm and it took place on September 18th.
During the day participants were given a unique opportunity to gather and to debate with some of the most influential lecturers who had taught them during their MBA program. More than 50 EMBA alumni started the seminar by questioning the leadership model in the current crisis scenario with Prof. Alain LEMPEREUR, a leading figure in the fields of Negotiation and Mediation and a driving force behind the ESSEC forum "Questioning the crisis" that led to the recent publication of the book “Le Leadership Responsable”.
Then the participants attended a discussion panel with industry veterans and practitioners on the “virtues and vices of modern leadership”. The discussion panel was facilitated by Prof. Jean Louis ROY, one of the architects of the EMBA program at ESSEC at its inception. A paper on Leadership will be published in January 2010 by Prof. Roy which will build on a prior survey of alumni opinion and on their contributions to the seminar.
After casual networking and lunch, the seminar focused on the financial markets. In his lecture “From Wall Street to World Street", Prof. Jean Marie CHOFFRAY, who has always taught students “out of the box” thinking, energized the seminar with his visionary thinking and shared his views on current market transformations and the opening of a new era in financial markets. The seminar experience, for both participants and professors, was an opportunity to review ideas and to build on enthusiasm for continuous learning and knowledge sharing.
Later, under a delightful sunset, participants were invited to board the barge “Bel Ami” for a refreshing and friendly cruise on the Seine. Over 180 alumni took up the invitation and most classmates quickly started to reminisce over the good old days! The top management of the ESSEC Group was present in the person of Pierre TAPIE, President of ESSEC Group (and President of the “Conference des Grandes Ecoles”) and Michel FENDER, Dean of ESSEC EXECUTIVE EDUCATION. Also present were Alan JENKINS, Academic Director of the Executive MBA, Mahamadou SAKO, president of ESSEC Alumni Association, Jean-Manuel PRUDON, President of the ESSEC Executive MBA Alumni Association along with professors and designers of the program. Current class participants from France, Switzerland, Germany and even from Singapore, and of course Alumni from almost all classes and regions, were present. It was also a chance to meet two pioneers from the very first class of 94!!
This celebration was an opportunity for Executive MBA alumni and for current participants to meet and exchange on the opportunities made possible by the EMBA. Throughout the river passage, discussions of life changes, projects and career developments became more and more intense and pleasurable.
The success of the EMBA 15th Anniversary will not be forgotten: it showed clearly the fulfilment and the commitment of all participants.
Thanks once more to the EMBA Alumni Association for such a memorable event. We are all looking forward to participating in the next EMBA gathering.
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