The Sanofi Transformation: How 2,000+ Executives Are Driving a Data-Driven Revolution

To achieve its ambition of becoming the first biopharma powered by data and AI at scale, Sanofi initiated a major upskilling initiative with HEC Paris Executive Education. Sanofi’s intentions were clear: initially training all the spheres of the company, starting with their top executives and then the next tier of leaders, to drive their digital and data-driven transformation. 
 

Partnering with HEC Paris led to co-creating two ambitious customized programs: Drive Digital in 2023 to upskill Sanofi’s Top 150 executives, followed by Drive Digital@Scale from 2024 to embark on the second tier of leadership until 2026.

From Strategic Question to Executive Action

Sanofi senior leaders during an executive learning session at HEC Paris — the first step in building a shared language and mindset for the company’s data-driven transformation.

“Do we have the necessary skills and capabilities in data and AI to lead our digital transformation?” This question, raised in 2021 by Sanofi’s Leadership Team, led them to acknowledge the urgent need to upskill their entire executive base in data and AI. The group needed a tailored approach across the company, focusing on key capabilities required to deliver the company's strategy, both from a strategic perspective and from a foundational one.

The ambition was set, and it was high: Sanofi needed more than just a development program; they expected a transformative learning journey, putting each senior executive and leader in the driving seat of their Data and AI transformation, led by their Chief Digital Officer Emmanuel Frenehard.

Embedding Leadership at the Core of Transformation

Dialogue and accountability in action: Sanofi executives exchange perspectives during an HEC Paris session — a critical step in shaping the culture and behaviors needed to drive transformation from the top.

To ensure the transformation would happen and spread through all levels, the first step was to empower the Top 150 executives to enable them to be role models in the transformation process and to meet three key objectives:

1.  Accountability: Ensuring that all executives understand their role in shaping Sanofi’s strategy & digital transformation.

    

2. Enablement: Supporting all executives to apply agile working methodologies, create consumer & user-centric innovations, shape data-driven decisions, and reflect on digital transformation.

    

3. Delivery: Creating and delivering tangible outcomes, collaborating with leadership peers and technical partners across the organization, and leading their teams as internal sponsors to scale use cases.

With these objectives in mind, both entities co-created two flagship programs designed to foster collaborative learning, establish unified technical foundations, implement data-driven decision-making, and, most importantly, guide teams in developing impactful use cases.

Two Custom Paths, One Strategic Vision

Drive Digital

• Target audience: 150 Top executives, spread over 4 cohorts of 30-40 leaders in 2023
• Format: 6 weeks of Theory Learning + 6 weeks of Learning by Driving, including a 3-day bootcamp at HEC Paris to develop and pitch a group Value Theory.
• Outcome: 24 value theories and ideas

Drive Digital@Scale

• Target audience: over 2,000 executives split into 3 cohorts of up to 250 executives in 2024, 2025 and 2026
• Format: 6 weeks of Theory Learning followed by 3 weeks of Learning by Driving, including an Ideation workshop, an ExCom Shark Tank and a one day face-to-face event in Boston and in HEC Paris
• Outcome: 40 valuable ideas per cohort

We selected HEC Paris because they were number one in this space from an academic perspective. We also felt a great chemistry with HEC Paris Professor Julien Schirmer, the Academic Director of the program. We appreciated the team’s collaborative approach to designing a very innovative program, using data and AI in the learning program itself to help us to transform –  Joanne Beardsley, Global Executive Development Program Director at Sanofi

Paul Hudson, CEO of Sanofi (left), and Julien Schirmer, Academic Director at HEC Paris (right), open a Drive Digital session — a moment that reflects the deep alignment between strategic leadership and academic partnership.

From Theory to Action: A Learning Model Built for Impact

Small groups, big ideas: Sanofi executives engage in peer-to-peer collaboration as they turn new knowledge into actionable innovation during the Drive Digital program.

Once equipped with the necessary knowledge and inspiration, participants collaborate in small groups to develop innovative projects, with the best of them coming to life. These disruptive use cases are critical to delivering the key pillars of Sanofi’s strategy and leveraging the power of data and AI. Some of them are even built into the strategy of some of the functions and GBUs around R&D.

One illustration is Blockbuster Booster, an R&D project utilizing data and AI to predict Sanofi’s next blockbuster drug and product. Once presented to the Executive Committee (ExCom), the project became part of Sanofi’s R&D strategic planning and gained dedicated resources and investments. 

Other projects initiated before the program, such as the Turing Project, received central visibility and boost right after the training. Turing uses data and AI to help Sanofi’s commercial teams personalize their approach to meet the patient’s needs by connecting the right customers to the right physicians at the right time.

How does this happen? The top five projects from each cohort of DriveDigital@Scale get to pitch their idea to a jury, with the top two teams pitching to Sanofi’s ExCom jury. As the use case development generated many brilliant ideas, Sanofi and HEC Paris are collaborating to share these insights effectively throughout the organization and potentially develop them further.

Executive Sponsorship: The Backbone of Success

“We couldn't have had the program success without the sponsorship group, who has been a key enabler for the program” – Ryan Eagar, Global Head of Executive & Leader Development. 

The program's success is fundamentally driven by its sponsorship at two levels. First, through the business advisory group sponsorship board, including Sanofi’s senior business leaders and a number of ExCom members, who helped Sanofi’s HR team and HEC Paris with the program design and delivery. This leadership engagement ensured the use cases integrated into the programs were representative of Sanofi’s challenges. Second, the active sponsorship of CEO Paul Hudson and ExCom, who participated in kick-offs, face-to-face sessions, and open discussions, undoubtedly contributed to the program's success.

Creating a Shared Language to Drive Change

One vision, one language: Sanofi leaders celebrate the collective learning journey at Station F — a symbol of shared ambition, cultural shift, and organizational alignment.

Sharing a common language plays a pivotal role in the program, making the alignment of the strategy and execution possible and fuels mindset shift and action. The entire Executive Committee underwent a condensed version of the Drive Digital program, demonstrating their commitment to Sanofi's digital transformation and setting clear expectations for the initiative. 

Ultimately you want to create One Sanofi glue and build; the digital transformation is really about the way we work. It's not about data and digital. It's about the people and ways of working.

From Sanofi’s executive committee to its future-facing teams, this transformation is living proof that strategic learning — when designed with precision and purpose — can accelerate innovation, empower leadership, and unite an entire organization around a common goal.

Looking to equip your teams with the mindset, skills, and confidence to lead your next transformation? Let’s build your custom journey together. Discover HEC Paris Executive Education Custom Programs.