André, Syria

André, a Syrian national who also holds Greek citizenship, joined HEC Paris in August to enrol in the Master’s in Management programme. He arrived on campus on 18 August for the Summer Prep course.
He speaks fluent French and has shown strong enthusiasm for the programme. With a strong interest in finance, strategy and geopolitics, André holds a BBA from IE University, during which he spent six months on exchange at the University of St. Gallen.
At HEC, he aims to contribute to the development of a mentoring scheme connecting students with young people from war-torn countries, with the goal of encouraging a new generation to rebuild and shape the future of their nations.
André draws inspiration from Ronaldo Mouchawar, Syrian entrepreneur and founder of Souq.com (later acquired by Amazon): “You create your legacy when you inspire others to dream again.”