HEC Paris, NAOS and Heart Leadership University announce the creation of the NAOS Lab for Leadership to rethink leadership in a world facing profound change
- HEC Paris, NAOS (the founding company of Bioderma, Institut Esthederm and Etat Pur) and the educational and scientific non-profit organization Heart Leadership University announce the launch of the NAOS Lab for Leadership.
- Backed by financial support from the Jean-Noël Thorel Foundation totalling €4 million over three years, this new laboratory aims to become a European benchmark for fostering leadership that meets the challenges of our time.
- The NAOS Lab for Leadership will be dedicated to research, pedagogical innovation and the dissemination of new leadership practices and frameworks tailored to economic, technological, ecological and geopolitical shifts.
Rethinking Leadership in a Changing World
The laboratory aims to foster the development of leadership frameworks and practices for the 21st century. The major challenges of exceeding planetary boundaries, increasing inequalities and the meteoric rise of artificial intelligence raise profound questions about the future of our economies and our humanity, as well as the way we make decisions, govern institutions and train future leaders.
The NAOS Lab for Leadership bridges academic research, trend forecasting and pedagogical innovation. Its goal is to bring to light, study and equip a form of “lucid leadership” rooted in intuition, empathy, courage, critical awareness and discernment in the face of complexity and uncertainty.
“As part of its New Responsibilities strategy, HEC Paris aims to help redefine the very essence of leadership training by balancing academic rigour with transformative practices and societal impact. It is now essential to reconcile academic excellence with leadership based on intuition and empathy,” notes Eloïc Peyrache, Director General and Dean of HEC Paris.
“The crises currently unfolding across our world cannot be solved by the same leadership models that helped create them. In response to the unchecked, limitless expansion of artificial intelligence, I have chosen to transfer all shares of NAOS to the Jean-Noël Thorel Foundation, a philanthropic entity dedicated primarily to unlocking human potential. By establishing the NAOS Lab for Leadership, we aim to cultivate a new generation of leaders guided by emotional intelligence. I am profoundly convinced that this will offer immense value to those who undergo this training, and to recruiters seeking leaders with the courage to follow their hearts and challenge today’s economic models and power structures,” explains Jean-Noël Thorel, entrepreneur and founder of NAOS.
A Lab at HEC to Structure Teaching, Research and Outreach
The NAOS Lab for Leadership will be under the academic direction of Professor Brad Harris, Associate Dean of MBA Programs at HEC Paris. Through an approach that bridges academic rigour, experimentation and practical application, the NAOS Lab for Leadership is part of an action-research and trend-forecasting initiative. It will draw on the expertise of the HEC Paris faculty, Heart Leadership University, business leaders, experts and committed partners.
The Lab will structure its activities around three pillars:
1. Research
• Producing and sharing research on emerging leadership models, identifying the skills and profiles that are both vital and sought-after in tomorrow’s world
• Exploring the roles of intuition, courage, and empathy in decision-making, specifically within an AI-driven landscape
• Examining the intersection of leadership, artificial intelligence, governance and organisational change
• Modernising the leadership frameworks used by businesses and recruiters
2. Education
The NAOS Lab will develop a range of flagship pedagogical initiatives:
• Designing and launching a bespoke certificate program
• Embedding “Intuition & Leadership” modules into existing curricula, including the Executive MBA and other degree-awarding programs
• Developing innovative educational formats that are immersive, hands-on and transformative
3. Influence
• Deploying assessment tools and studies designed to decode the complexities of contemporary leadership
• Disseminating research and frameworks to corporations, senior executives and the wider academic community