HEC in the press

French business schools offered MiF degrees long before schools in the UK or US, says Jacques Olivier, dean of faculty and research at HEC Paris, in an interview for the Financial Times.  The mix of heritage and industry links is well demonstrated at HEC Paris. Prof Olivier says the MiF course was launched at the school in response to the French financial sector’s demand for expertise in new products such as options and derivatives.

In Europe, the regulation that followed the financial crisis has made students with technical and legal knowledge a prized asset, says Olivier Bossard, executive director of the MSc finance programme at HEC Paris business school. “There is a growing demand for our students who can calculate and communicate risks,” he says, in an interview for the Financial Times, including at banks and consulting firms. 

Over the past year, HEC Paris' MBA has seen a 24 percent increase in applications. “We have seen growth across all regions, with notable growth in North America, Central America and the Middle East,” says Benoit Banchereau, director of communications, marketing and admissions for HEC Paris’ MBA

Jana Hock, a 22-year-old master of international finance student at HEC Paris, says young investors who want to "create a world we would all like to retire in" will push sustainable finance into the mainstream, in an interview for the Wall Street Journal. "When I realized that finance can be a tool to create that world, for me that was simply a no-brainer."

HEC Paris' EMBA has been appointed as one of Europe's five most interesting EMBA programmes by Poets & Quants. 

Who is HEC Paris looking for? People who want to make a profound change. “It’s about transforming people’s lives,” says Christine Baldy, director of Executive MBA programs. “At the start, we tell the new intake that this is the first day of the rest of their life.”

Big Data can saves lives, but tech companies, civil society and policymakers must work together to unlock this potential, says HEC Paris' law and policy professor Alberto Alemanno, in an op-ed for Channel News Asia.   

Students on Masters in Management programs are keen to work on initiatives in which they can have a positive impact on society or the environment. 

At HEC, one student co-founded an organization dedicated to social and environmental impact in India. Another broke a Guinness World Record for the longest journey on a motorized bicycle, so as to raise awareness of opportunities in solar energy and clean transportation. 

But some choose traditional jobs in procurement or at consulting firms, yet still have an impact. “They are reinventing completely the way they carry out ‘traditional’ business tasks,” says HEC Paris Professor Jeremy Ghez.  

Julien Levy, affiliate professor of entrepreneurship and innovation and the director of business school HEC Paris’ Digital Center, comments on retail chain H&M’s collaboration with tech giant Google, in an interview for Financial Director. 

The EU Commission has recognized, ahead of the European elections, that Facebook is now doing more against targeted electoral control - but not enough. Critics like the Italian Alberto Alemanno, professor at the HEC Paris businss school, believe that "only one can survive", either the democracy or Facebook. The business model of the company is perverse because it rates the number of views of a post higher than its veracity.

One of the perks of being a French gendarme — military police officer — is the legal right to early retirement after 36 years’ service. Many officers are nonetheless unprepared for the transition to civilian life. In an attempt to ease the switch, senior officers are being offered a 15-day specialist executive education course developed by HEC Paris business school, aimed specifically at serving gendarme officers.