The Head of French Diplomacy, Jean-Noël Barrot, to Deliver 2025 Commencement Address at HEC Paris
HEC Paris is honored to welcome Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs and Associate Professor of Finance (on leave), as the Commencement Speaker for the Class of 2025 of the MBA, Executive MBA, and Executive Masters programs, on June 14. He will address more than 3,000 graduates and their families, with large international cohorts coming from HEC Paris in Africa, the Middle East, and China.
The world is his daily field of action, and that’s why he will feel at home returning to campus for this special moment. He will speak to a graduating class of experienced professionals coming from all over the world, many preparing to take on senior leadership roles across sectors and continents.
“I'm not returning to the HEC campus, as I've never left this institution since I obtained my PhD. I'm traveling the world to represent France. At the graduation ceremony, I'll be representing both France and HEC, which share the excellence and diversity I'm so proud of.”
“Immersing yourselves, without getting bogged down, in cultural and political complexities that you must navigate with your eyes closed in order to act effectively. Keeping one foot in the present to grasp what can be grasped now; the other in the longer term, to overcome defeats and prepare the future. Seeking compromise when possible, while remaining uncompromising about what is essential.” (30th Ambassadors’ Conference, January 7, 2025)
From his PhD at HEC Paris to teaching at MIT Sloan, from representing the Yvelines in the French National Assembly to leading France’s digital and foreign policy, Jean-Noël Barrot represents a rare combination of academic research excellence, political engagement, global perspective and foreward thinking.
The Value of Research-Driven Decision-Making
A graduate of the HEC Paris Master in Management – Grande École (2007), Sciences Po (2008), and the Paris School of Economics, Jean-Noël Barrot earned a PhD in corporate finance at HEC in 2012. He then became Assistant Professor at MIT Sloan School of Management before returning to HEC as Associate Professor of Finance in 2017. His work focuses on entrepreneurial finance and innovation, published in top-tier journals.
His entry into public life, first in 2015 as a departmental councillor, then elected deputy for the 2nd constituency of Yvelines in 2017 and re-elected in 2022, reflects his desire to bridge academia and politics.
“At each stage of my term of office as a member of parliament, I have made use of the expertise I have developed first as a Ph.D. student at HEC, then as a professor at MIT, then back at HEC as a professor. I've tried to guide some of my decisions in light of my academic research into economic and financial issues. At HEC, we have probably one of the best financial economics departments in Europe, so simply discussing things with my colleagues has allowed me to shed light on certain decisions I have had to make."
"What I hope is that, when possible, we base our public decisions on the results of academic research.”
A Champion of Responsible Innovation
As Minister Delegate for Digital Transition and Telecommunications (2022–2024), Barrot played a key role in advancing France’s and Europe’s leadership in digital innovation and tech sovereignty. His research background gave him a clear lens on how financial systems can support - or hinder - innovation.
Advocating for a responsible approach to artificial intelligence, Jean-Noël Barrot has emphasized the need for a regulatory framework that supports innovation while safeguarding citizens. He has promoted the development of European AI models, grounded in the continent’s cultural and linguistic diversity, to help shape technologies that reflect European values.
Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot and Inge Kerkloh-Devif, Senior Executive Director of the HEC Paris Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute and Co-Site Lead of the Creative Destruction Lab Paris - Photos by: © Ana Torres / Jeremy Knowles
His vision for fostering innovation also includes reducing dependency on non-European tech giants by supporting the development of a sovereign cloud industry in France and across Europe, as well as backing Deep Tech and high-potential startups. These are convictions he has continued to uphold as Minister for Foreign Affairs. In December 2024 , we found him at our side in Berlin for the launch of the Next Generation Computing Stream at the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL), where he underscored Europe’s commitment to technological leadership and called for greater synergy between public and private funding to drive innovation forward.
Thanks to his dual expertise as a researcher and a minister, Barrot has been able to advance innovation both in theory and in practice. He has played a pioneering role in regulating digital platforms and online influencers, protecting minors online, promoting digital inclusion, and overseeing the implementation of the Digital Services Act in France.
His work also led to impactful policies on digital inclusion, online safety for minors, and the implementation of the Digital Services Act in France.
A Global Diplomatic Role Guided by Law and Justice
Since September 2024, Jean-Noël Barrot serves as Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, shaping France’s foreign policy through a lens that includes geopolitics, climate diplomacy, technology regulation, and the promotion of human rights.
An advocate of multilateralism, he has represented France at the UN Security Council, the G7, and the G20. He has been a consistent supporter of Ukraine, a promoter of peace through justice, and a defender of international law.
At the 2025 Paris Peace Forum, during a conversation with HEC students including Najwa Alam (Afghanistan, Imagine Fellows), Barrot affirmed:
“Peace needs to be built on international law and justice. There is no peace without justice. You will always find France on the same side — the side of international law and justice.”
He also highlighted France’s commitment to feminist diplomacy: “We put a lot of weight on gender equality, on the protection of the rights of women and the promotion of progress to their rights.”
Just days before the HEC graduation ceremony, Barrot presided over the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, co-chaired by France and Costa Rica. He declared: “Yes, we are an ocean nation. We belong to a continent, Europe, shaped by and turned toward the sea. This is why we have a duty to protect the ocean — and to mobilize the international community to do so. The summit embodies the vision promoted by France: an ambitious blue diplomacy based on science, the law, and cooperation.”
Making a Difference
When asked by students what led him from financial research to diplomacy, Jean-Noël Barrot responded:
“The work that I’ve done as a PhD student and researcher at HEC has shaped the way I think about the world... and is helping me today as Minister of Foreign Affairs to come up with innovative and smart solutions.”
His advice to students?
“Try and identify where you want to make a difference - whether it's in business, academia, or politics - and then do it well. Do it as perfectly as you can.”
With a career spanning economics, academia, public service and international justice, Jean-Noël Barrot embodies the deep link between intellectual rigor and civic responsibility that HEC Paris seeks to instill in its graduates.
Watch Jean-Noël Barrot's graduation speech live!