HEC in the press

The Financial Times explores the skills young finance professionals will need in the AI era, arguing that technical expertise must be combined with strong financial fundamentals and critical thinking. Alina Rosu, Professor of Finance at HEC Paris and Co-Director of the Master in International Finance, argues that future financiers must understand how AI works in order to challenge its outputs and use it effectively, while maintaining a broad perspective on the evolving financial landscape.

The Financial Times examines how business schools are updating their change management teaching to help leaders navigate continuous disruption, moving beyond rigid frameworks toward more adaptive and reflective approaches. The article highlights Mathis Schulte, Associate professor at HEC Paris, who co-leads the Executive MSc in Change Leadership with Oxford Saïd Business School, a programme that emphasises critical thinking and challenging leaders’ assumptions about organisational change.

TIME explores the construction of Nscale’s giant AI data centre in northern Norway as a symbol of Europe’s AI ambitions, while examining the financial, energy and geopolitical challenges behind the global data centre boom. Olivier Darmouni, Associate Professor at HEC Paris, notes that although tech companies have helped accelerate renewable energy projects, the rapid growth of AI is increasingly pushing operators toward fossil fuels as they seek faster access to power.

The Guardian reports that the European Commission wants to reduce Europe’s dependence on foreign cloud, AI and semiconductor providers to strengthen the EU’s technological sovereignty. Olivier Darmouni, Associate Professor at HEC Paris, argues that producing cutting-edge AI chips in Europe is unrealistic in the short term and suggests focusing instead on memory chips, while warning that the planned expansion of data centres could conflict with the EU’s climate goals.

Handelsblatt examines Emmanuel Macron’s announcement of €93 billion in foreign investment commitments at the Choose France summit, highlighting major AI and data center projects led by SoftBank while questioning whether these record figures can offset France’s mounting political instability, weak public finances and slowing reindustrialisation. Interviewed, HEC Paris professor Tomasz Michalski argues that beyond the global economic slowdown and trade tensions, France’s prolonged political instability has delayed investment projects, but adds that stronger economic growth and continued technological progress could help ease the country’s fiscal challenges.

Bloomberg Businessweek Daily features Eloïc Peyrache, Dean and CEO of HEC Paris, in a special episode on how business schools are adapting to artificial intelligence and economic uncertainty. He discusses the evolving role of management education, highlighting how HEC Paris is preparing future leaders to navigate AI-driven transformation while developing the skills needed for an increasingly complex business environment.

In an op-ed published by The Guardian, law professeur at HEC Paris Alberto Alemanno argues that the EU’s regulatory framework is a strategic asset rather than a drag on competitiveness. Using the bloc’s tethered bottle-cap rule as a case study, he contends that European regulation has shaped global corporate behaviour and warns that dismantling these standards in the name of deregulation would weaken Europe’s economic sovereignty while primarily benefiting US interests.

In an op-ed for Forbes, Olivier Darmouni, associate professor at HEC Paris, arguing that the energy demands of AI have become a strategic leadership challenge rather than a purely technological one. He contends that Europe must align AI, energy and climate policies by investing in power generation, grids and financing mechanisms, warning that AI competitiveness will ultimately depend as much on energy infrastructure and long-term investment as on advances in computing.

Die Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung examines the luxury industry's sharp slowdown after years of rapid growth, arguing that the sector is facing a crisis largely of its own making. The article suggests that repeated price increases and an increasing focus on exclusivity have alienated parts of the customer base, forcing luxury brands to rethink their strategies in a more challenging market environment.

CNBC analyzes how high electricity prices could undermine Europe’s AI ambitions by discouraging investment in data centres and compute infrastructure. Olivier Darmouni, associate professor at HEC Paris, argues that affordable energy has become a matter of economic sovereignty, warning that Europe cannot achieve technological leadership in AI without a more integrated energy market, greater investment in electricity infrastructure and abundant low-cost power.