For many considering the value of an Executive MBA at HEC Paris, a crucial element will whether they can get buy-in from their organization. This can come in many forms; namely, in  time away from professional responsibilities, or potential financial support—or both.

As such, it is imperative to present a compelling argument illustrating how enrollment in the HEC Paris EMBA program will contribute positively to both your own growth and to lay down a strong case about how their company will get a big boost from your HEC Paris EMBA journey.

Outlining the specific skills, knowledge, and connections you anticipate gaining and how they will yield tangible benefits and real wins for your organization.

Leadership Development

 The HEC Paris EMBA’s focus on leadership via both in-class and experiential leadership initiatives presents an unparalleled opportunity to enrich academic learning with actionable insights.

The program’s end-to-end orbit of consolidating leadership principles empowers you to cultivate self-awareness as a leader and strategist, equipping you to seamlessly integrate these newfound perspectives into your daily professional endeavors.

“Before HEC Paris, I never actually thought about my leadership style or the importance of being a leader,” Roberta Guatelli, EMBA ’22, says.

The EMBA helped add to the seasoned F1 engineer’s leadership toolkit, in part, by helping her structure her philosophy of what it means to be a leader.

“I discovered that anyone can be a leader. Leadership is a state of mind. It’s the ability to do your work well, and to foster the growth of people around you, and to help them change and evolve.”

The program’s learning-by-doing leadership training includes a myriad of out-of-the-box opportunities to hone students’ skills.

“The Outdoor Leadership Seminar has not only equipped me with practical skills but also enriched my understanding of leadership dynamics,” said Atilio Gonzalez Morales, EMBA ’24.

“The lessons learned will undoubtedly have a profound impact on my leadership style and decision-making abilities in various contexts. I look forward to applying the knowledge and insights gained from this seminar to my future endeavors, both personally and professionally.”

Business Insights

At the HEC Paris EMBA, you will acquire a robust foundation in fundamental business tools and learn to adeptly apply them to real-world corporate challenges. Our curriculum is designed to foster innovative business insights and foster transformative impact within your current role.

“The EMBA gave me the last set of tools that I needed,” said Dr. Estefania Tapias, EMBA ’23.

“In science, when I felt like I needed something more practical, I was just able to switch to consulting. Now, when I’m able to paint a broader picture— why should cities care, why are these things helpful for sustainable development, I needed strategy, business environment, and finance tools. I needed to understand the business behind different solutions.”

The HEC Paris EMBA is all about giving you a solid foundation in those essential business tools. From the moment they enter the classroom, students have been able to count on fresh and actionable business insights and how to apply them to real-world business challenges.

“One of my key tasks at work is figuring out how I can maximize value creation within the Air France-KLM holding group,” said Wouter Van Beek, EMBA ’23.

“The Odyssey 3.14 Business Strategy technique from Professor Laurence Lehmann-Ortega and Professor Helene Musikas were very relevant and useful for me there. Now whenever we embark on new projects and initiatives, this is one of the theoretical frameworks I use. And It’s broader than that, too. In business strategy, it’s important that we’re not just innovating and transforming for the sake of it; we must have a deliberate ambition for the group.”

When it came to instant impact from class, he says, “I was able to use these lessons right away.”

Specialized Knowledge and Experience

The curriculum at HEC Paris is specifically designed to bridge gaps in your educational or professional background, no matter what they might be. A diverse range of mobility options, Specializations, and electives allows you to delve into topics directly pertinent to your organization.

“At this point of my career, doing an EMBA is going to fast-track my skills where there might be a gap, to expand my network— both with the professors and my peers— and to accelerate my executive-level management capabilities,” says tech entrepreneur Adrien Gendre, EMBA ’22.

“…the [HEC Pari EMBA] experience was so eye-opening to me that honestly it’s hard to describe how much of a difference it made.”

Dr. Quoc Dinh-Trinh, EMBA ‘22, a Boston-based surgeon and hospital administrator, expressed that he “learned so much about negotiating. Negotiating with other parties, with other colleagues. I’ve been able to translate a lot of that to my work, for example in negotiating treatment plans with difficult patients. And then I’m always thinking in terms of ‘How do I maximize value for this colleague? What about for Cystoscopes?’ I definitely have a better understanding of the big picture when making business decisions for my division. “

Access to a Global Network

 The alumni network of HEC Paris extends its reach across prominent global locations, and the Executive MBA Program offers you the invaluable opportunity to connect with seasoned professionals worldwide.

Many students discover that this dynamic community broadens their horizons, fostering novel problem-solving perspectives and enriching their ability to tackle workplace challenges.

Access to this network can serve as an invaluable resource for both your personal growth and, by extension, your company’s success.

“I met people that I would never have if I hadn’t done the EMBA,” explains Lindsey Bergner, EMBA ’23, who pivoted from HR to e-commerce while at Cartier.

“There was a chief scientist in biotech in my class. There’s no way I would have met this person otherwise, working in luxury.

“Class diversity not only comes from nationality, but from the many roles people have in different industries. You learn so much from the people around you, even from something as simple as conversations over lunch.”

Having this network at your fingertips can be a game-changer.

Roberta Guatelli sums it up nicely, saying that her cohort was “really a very united and strong group, from all around the world with diversified points of view. We were very international and open-minded, not a single voice, but a choir of voices. The fact that so many of us were international made us more critical and having the habit of questioning everything. The lesson wasn’t just a lesson; it was almost like a debate with the professor.”

Company Projects as Case Studies

 Enrolling as a student at HEC Paris EMBA affords the opportunity for students to bring real-world corporate projects into the academic setting.

These projects can be customized to address areas requiring in-depth analysis.

In other words, students’ companies get the inside scoop from top leaders across various fields and industries, and the students get to make instant, real impact thanks to their EMBA classroom.

Arnaud Naudan, EMBA ’19, based his Capstone project — the final deliverable of the EMBA program — on a 3-year strategic plan for his company. The Capstone, a 30-page report of executive board standard, puts leadership skills to the test, giving participants the opportunity to apply, integrate, and synthesize their knowledge to a potentially fruitful real-world business outcome.

Arnaud’s would eventually number among the nearly half of all EMBA Capstone Projects, on average, that are launched and go live to market in some way.

“My Capstone project was the culmination of the holistic HEC experience that helped me secure this role,” he explains.

“From the strategic concepts we learned that I integrated into my Capstone and then into the business plan that got me this job, to the soft skills that needed mastering in order to succeed in my new role, to my cohort-mates from whom I learned so much, everything helped convince my partners to accept me as CEO of the firm.”

“The real game-changer of the program is the attitude you gain with respect to the external world. But I learned to change the way I considered people’s opinions from outside my professional domain, and I learned how to adapt to them,” says Donatella Ponziani, EMBA ’18, who used her time at the EMBA to launch an entirely new and commercially viable business unit at her organization.

Unleashing leadership potential

“In large corporations, you are used to designing a 3-year plan, which I don’t think matches the current business environment,” explains Luca Zaccagna, EMBA’20. “That’s important because the most important lesson I learned from the EMBA was the importance of keeping a connection with what’s going on outside of—and seeking challenges and opportunities for—your company.”

Each EMBA student comes to the program with different individual goals but have certain broad objectives in common: to be consolidated with the knowledge and networks necessary to navigate complex business challenges, drive innovation, and lead their organizations to success.

 

Mona Levacher, EMBA ’16, says she had “the fundamentals already. But the HEC Paris EMBA helped me to develop self-awareness, know better my strengths and weaknesses, focus on where I need to improve and which strong points I need to leverage in order to thrive in the corporate world.

The experience was so eye-opening to me that honestly it’s hard to describe how much of a difference it made.”

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More CEOs of Fortune Global 500 companies have graduated from HEC Paris than any other university in Europe. Nearly 4,000 graduates are currently CEOs, CFOs, or have founded their own companies. The Executive MBA at HEC Paris perennially ranks among the best in the world; click here to learn more.

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