Audencia's Alumni Magazine

The Mag catches up with Christophe Germain, Dean of Audencia Business School as of spring 2018. He takes us over Audencia’s dedicated strategy in terms of international partnerships.

Going global is a key component in any business school strategy. Where does Audencia currently stand on this?

Christophe Germain: Scaling across borders works in two complementary ways. First of all, we attract international students that come to study here at our campus. They enrol on our various courses, either via exchange programmes or as students here at Audencia. Five years ago, 25% of the school’s undergraduates came from overseas. The current headcount is approximately 40%, representing 102 different nationalities, so nigh on half the globe! The other vector for going global is by enabling our French students to spread their wings and experience their own overseas adventure. On this point, Audencia has managed to successfully develop its partner strategy that has helped in setting the school apart.

How exactly is Audencia making a difference?

Christophe Germain: Rather than by establishing relations with overseas institutions to foster student exchanges, we are forging close alliances with local institutions, based on building joint projects and programmes, and also by designing initial or continuing education activities. We are endeavouring to incorporate the local ecosystem and, over time, hope this will become an integral part. This sense of partnership is at the very core of our collaboration with Shenzhen or Beijing, for instance. This manifests itself either with the establishment of a school, such as Shenzhen Audencia Business School developed by partnering with Shenzhen University in 2016, or by a campus. We are also looking into other windows of opportunity across the globe. Other partnerships should come to fruition over the next 18 months.

How do students at Audencia stand to gain from this?

Christophe Germain: This partner strategy enables us to provide students with even greater added value. An overseas placement already enables them to access studies which are further enhanced by the chance they provide to be in direct contact with the local ecosystem. Having access to the network of the partner institution means that students have a far better chance of finding an internship in situ and so make the most of their career opportunities. This also opens up the possibility for students to aim for a double diploma. With a Chinese diploma from Shenzhen Audencia Business School, you have a much greater chance of finding exactly what you’re looking for in the local job market!

Guy-Pierre Chomette, Editor

A number of Audencia alumni, among them Estelle Marie (GE 04), Olivier Papon (GE 14) and Mélina Boudot (GE 14), all have first-hand experience of what it’s really like to become an expat. We shine a spotlight on their international experience.

Back in 2007, Estelle Marie jumped at the opportunity given to her by the Cartier group to move to New York, before eventually coming back to Paris. We catch up with her in Madrid, where she is now based.

“In 2015, I took the decision to resign from my job in New York in order to follow my husband who was being posted to Madrid. It gave me the ideal opportunity to set up my own company without the need for any specific mentoring: a shared workspace café.”

The workspace closed last June, providing Estelle with the chance of bouncing straight back into something new.

“I’m working for the French Founders business club now and am currently running this community of business leaders and entrepreneurs in Spain, Portugal and Switzerland.”

Geneva is in fact where Olivier Papon and Mélina Boudot, both from the same class year, have just settled down after spending the last three and a half years in Australia. This couple, both aged 29, are well aware that their expat profiles made all the difference to recruiters, both for her as a marketing manager for a hotel group, and for him as a digital marketing consultant, despite the Swiss market being “fiercely competitive”.

Not as easy as it may seem!

During their overseas stays, these three alumni all faced a number of obstacles. For Estelle, the language barrier proved to be her greatest challenge, leading to her experiencing “a great deal of frustration”. However, for Olivier and Mélina, being far away from their family was not easy to deal with, in addition to the challenges of arriving in a “foreign land”. It took them six to twelve months before they could forge some close friendships. Therefore, after “a lengthy thought process” they plumped on Switzerland as their second home of expatriation. This time, there was no rushing things. Mélina remembers all too well their hasty departure for Australia.

“Within a month to six weeks of finding out that I’d got the job, that was it, we were on our way out. It was all too much of a rush, leaving us with no breathing space.”

Yet, despite encountering these difficulties, all three are still open to the possibility of heading back out somewhere new one day. In fact, Estelle would recommend this experience to anyone considering it:

“An overseas experience can bring all kinds of good things to your career! It’s all about embracing new opportunities, challenging yourself, and a whole lot more.”

Florence Falvy, Editor

2019 has seen a whole host of projects come to fruition: that’s an impressive 250 alumni-organised events rolled out, with over 3,200 alumni getting involved. 

Some new event-driven proposals have taken shape, including:

• The first ever CES/Silicon Valley Learning Trip: as part of this learning expedition, six students, each displaying entrepreneurial spirit and passionate about all things digital, headed off to experience the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas and “The Valley”. This awe-inspiring trip was co-designed, built and funded by Audencia graduates.
• Career Connections Week: an event dedicated to helping students build their own career plan. Alumni, companies and career advisors joined forces for a week-long career coaching fair.
• Audencia Around The World: shining a spotlight on our worldwide alumni communities.  Audencia Around the World boasted more than 30 events, spanning 5 continents, over an 8-day period, with 450 participants.
• IDxA Nantes: a conference full of daring on the inspiring theme of “These Explorers Braving All” featuring Matthieu Tordeur, the youngest solo French explorer to have reached the South Pole, while managing to remain completely self-sufficient.
• Audencia Homecoming Day: over 200 alumni from all programmes, gathered together back here in Nantes. It was an unforgettable day and evening, full of emotions and nostalgia, fond memories, surprises, reunions, and a whole lot more besides.  In short, this was an all-out extravaganza celebrating our class year anniversaries in style!  

Not forgetting:

• The 2nd edition of the IDxA Paris conference
• The 32nd edition of the Audencia–La Baule Triathlon and the very first Alumni challenge
• The 2nd end-of-year party for our Parisian alumni
• The publishing of a white paper on international strategy but also 7 issues of The Mag
• A constant increase in the levels of support pledged to our Audencia Foundation: +48% rise in individual donations

We’d like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of our generous alumni for your continued support to the School, its events and also its network. You have done these new initiatives proud, turning them into an essential part of the School’s activities for the forthcoming year.

Indeed, 2020 stands to be a landmark year for the School which will be celebrating its 120th year of existence, as well as the 20th anniversary of the Audencia brand, our 10-year collaboration with the WWF and the Foundation’s 10th anniversary. To mark this year of celebrations, there will be 120 events taking place throughout the year and this is all set to begin in January with the second edition of our Career Connections Week (sign up here if you wish to share your story with our students).

We are so looking forward to unveiling the contents of the new programme!

Lauranne Heaume and Amandine Luce, on behalf of the communication team and the Audencia Alumni team

The historic campus is getting a revamp

Following two years of construction work, students can now benefit from our brand-new working and learning facilities.

First off, the former media library, which has now become The Knowledge Hub. The English name is a nod to the school’s strong international outlook. This facility, covering 1,080 m2, has a seating capacity of 222 places, each with its own power socket, so much more convenient for students. In addition to this, eight study rooms have now been made available to undergraduates, as well as six computer workstations and access to 11,000 publications. A team of eight librarians are on hand, assisting students with their inquiries. All of this is provided in a bright setting, tailormade by businesses in the local area.

It’s also the end of the line for the old computer rooms! They have been replaced by a modern Student Hub, comprising 95 workstations and six bubbles, making it possible for undergraduates to conduct phone conversations in peace and quiet. Individual spaces, 4-person pods and large tables have all been designed to provide students and staff with optimum working conditions.

Three lecture halls have also been renovated. Thanks to state-of-the-art digital technology, fully automated lighting, lesson projections and audio broadcasts can all be operated via a touch-screen display.

And finally, work is still underway over at the Audencia Atlantic Campus. This should be completed by the summer of 2020. An entire 250m2 storey is being added to the existing building and the interior spaces have been redesigned so as to integrate the latest in innovation, whilst enhancing cohesion between undergraduates, businesses and staff members.

Introducing our all-new campus in the Vendée 

That makes it five! By September 2020, Audencia will have established its fifth French campus situated at the La Roche-sur-Yon, in the Vendée department. Officially named Audencia Campus Vendée, this new business school has been achieved thanks to our partnership with the CCI Vendée. This reflects Audencia's commitment to honouring the pledge to provide an economic offering in the area so as to better meet the HR needs of local businesses.

Two initial training programmes will be taught there from the start of the next academic year. Firstly, a Bachelor programme for a group of 40 undergraduates. Graduates will earn a three-year degree from Audencia and this course is also currently available in Nantes. There will also be a specialised master, catering for a group of 20 students, leading to a 6-year post Baccalauréat diploma. A range of other specialised master programmes may be launched at a later date.

Géraldine Lance, Editor

There are only 100 days to go until the launch of the second edition of Audencia Around The World, a whole host of events together with a massive digital campaign, all aimed at putting Audencia’s worldwide alumni communities firmly on the map and boosting the engagement and drive of our alumni.  

The principle is simple and was first rolled out in 2019 by teams here at Audencia and brought to life with the support of 56 alumni volunteers: an eight-day extravaganza, following in the footsteps of Jules Verne, with a whistle-stop world tour of Audencia Alumni, featuring a series of daring, convivial and inspiring gatherings, helping alumni from across a wide range of career paths, formats and academic courses to come together.

The end result:  an enriching week of discovery, a great turn out with over 450 participants at one of the 31 events organised across the globe, 308 alumni successfully reconnected to the network, 3 new communities set up (in Seoul, Chengdu and Algiers), 6 new ambassadors, as well as 35 faculty and staff attending events. What’s more, at the end of this journey, we are immensely proud to report that over 90 testimonials have now been compiled in our souvenir roadbook, with unprecedented levels of involvement from the Audencia alumni community on social media.

So, the message is loud and clear: Audencia Around The World is back again. Today, the wheels are being set in motion to pull off what promises to be an equally ambitious and far-reaching 2020 edition with all our alumni volunteers getting behind the campaign, organising a local event, rolling out initiatives in their communities and taking part, in one way or another, in this project which has been specifically designed to boost alumni presence and forge links between graduates right across our Audencia programmes all over the globe.

Audencia Around The World 2020 is:

• From 13 to 20 March
• 30+ events spanning 5 continents, with organisers free to choose their own format with the backup of teams here at Audencia (e.g. webinar, afterwork, conference, beach clean-up, activity, etc.) and dedicated support kits provided
• The possibility to put the event on the map, no matter how big or small the community is in your town (from 4 members in Nairobi to 308 in London)
• Audencia staff attending certain events
• The opportunity for graduates to gain an insight into the School’s new strategic plan and for alumni to give their feedback on Audencia’s strategy
• Certainly, many more wonderful innovations to come, for which we welcome your input, so be as bold as you like with your suggestions.

In 2019, Liming Meng (MSCPM 19) from Helsinki missed the event but hopes to put her city on the map in 2020. If like her, you would like to become part of this adventure, then please contact Katie Francois by email: kfrancois@audencia.com

Florence Alix-Gravellier, on behalf of the Audencia Alumni team

Careful you don’t get hooked! With adventures to be had, the chance of broadening your mind and the challenge of continuously having to adapt. Once you’ve had your first taste of an international experience, it’s not always easy to turn the page. Not unless you make a good job of preparing your return to native ground. 

Spinning the globe from Thailand to the United States and from China to Germany, Jérôme Beilvert (MBA 10) has clocked up 12 years’ experience abroad since 2001, when he graduated from the engineering school ICAM (Institut Catholique des Arts et Métiers) in Nantes. His first real experience of faraway lands dates back to 2007, to a time when he was made head of industrial leadership Asia for the Guy Degrenne company. Based in Bangkok, he came to realise just how fulfilling the life of an expat can be, both in terms of the way it broadens one’s outlook on the world and also the way it can make you more self-aware.

On returning home to France in 2009, to pursue an MBA at Audencia, he headed straight back out after graduation. No matter where he ended up, albeit Atlanta, Shanghai or Frankfurt for a range of diverse firms such as Gravotech (an industrial brand), Autajon (in luxury packaging), or Fayat (in construction), something inside continued to spur him on to find a way of fitting into the various cultures:

“Heading out to work in China,” he shares, “is akin to taking part in a 100m race wearing skis. You stick out and have no grasp of the language. You are constantly on high alert, in a kind of permanent state of second-guessing yourself, at the same time trying your best to make progress. You no longer have the option of resting on your laurels, so this creates a kind of positive sense of tension, where you have to be open to others and differences.”

His trips back to France have opened his eyes to just how difficult it can prove to fit back in, both socially and professionally.

“It can be difficult to share your experience with others when you return to France. You have to find different things to connect over which are different to how you would do things abroad. But the most important aspect to consider when you come back, is the job itself. If you come back for a position where the business activity is mainly limited to France, then that can prove really challenging. Working abroad is an art form. Having to leave that behind can lead to a sense of frustration. If you have to return, then it can only be for a job with an international focus.”

Jérôme would like to try his hand at becoming an entrepreneur and is currently considering taking over a French business. Naturally, this would be on the proviso that the business has the potential to be taken global! So Jérôme, would you say you’re hooked?

“You may be right! When you live overseas, you get to develop parts of your brain which govern things such as interpersonal connections, interest in different cultures, and continuous dynamics. Not easy turning your back on all that!”

Guy-Pierre Chomette, Editor

Philippe Cholet graduated back in 1964 and has continued to remain committed to the school in one way or another ever since, such as donating to the Audencia Foundation.

How and why have you managed to remain so committed to your school?

Philippe Cholet: There were sixty undergraduates in my class year of 1964. We all knew each other and there was a great sense of camaraderie. I kept in touch with the others for a long time, even more so than I did with the school itself that can often be overlooked once you’ve graduated. Years went by and I found myself turning back towards the school. Back in the day, I remember three students calling me up, canvassing for contributions towards the apprenticeship tax at Audencia. I jumped at the chance! More recently, my dedication to the school can be seen by my pledge to support the Foundation and I also attended the first ever Homecoming Day on 12 October, for instance.

The support you provide the Audencia Foundation with is clearly demonstrated by the living endowment, awarded to deserving students in need of support in particular for their entrepreneurial projects. What sparked your interest in entrepreneurship?

Philippe Cholet: Much of my career has been spent working for large groups but business creation has always appealed to me. When I was 26 and just starting out in my first job, at the same time I was also launching a business alongside two of my brothers. My evenings were spent setting up a shop signage company with them. A parallel professional life as it were! I then went on to set up SIGMA, a family-run venture capital holding, which currently manages 23 subsidiaries and investments including SIGMA GESTION that has raised and invested 200 million euros through FIP and FCPI funds. Our target groups are SMEs with huge potential, as well as start-ups showing great promise. In France, when you have your hands on a good project and a great team, you can make a success of it. There are opportunities aplenty if you want to expand: small venture capital companies like ours, BPI, the research tax credit, and more besides.

Do you have anything to say to graduates to encourage them to get behind students at Audencia through the Foundation?

Philippe Cholet: Giving needn’t cost much! A gift of €100 only comes to €34 after the tax rebate. Every year, I donate to a range of associations, Médecins Sans Frontières, Cancer Research, and so forth. The donations I pledge to the Audencia Foundation are especially dear to my heart, since they demonstrate the commitment I have to the school and the faith I have in the training it provides students with. It’s important to spare a thought for those in need of support, to help them and their projects reach their full potential.

Guy-Pierre Chomette, Editor

Opting to work from home is not incompatible with exercising an internationally-oriented professional activity. Here’s how with Tarek Alassar (IMM 14). Now a country manager, he represents a Parisian firm in multiple countries worldwide.

Supporting the international launch, establishment and development of French companies (multinationals, start-ups, and SMEs). This is the job description of Tarek Alassar holder of an International Master in Management from Audencia. At the age of 28, he has already won his spurs by working for Alcatel-Lucent (Nokia Networks), where he was in charge of their international portfolio. He has also contributed towards the business expansion of the Pixmania e-commerce website in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Equally, he has served Dayuse and supported this French start-up (day-bookings of hotel rooms) in pursuing its international growth in the Middle East (United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain), in Australia as well as the United Kingdom.

Since early 2018, he has been country manager at Legos, a company operating in the B2B telecommunications technology sector. Moreover, the international expansion of Legos to the UK, Ireland, Germany and Poland, was all carried out from Tarek’s head office in Paris, the place he calls home. Looking to 2020, his sights are set firmly on North America and Canada.

Keeping a flexible working schedule

Although Tarek may be seen making his way to the company head office, or travelling back and forth to the UK, he has equally opted to work from home once a week. As he sees it, “Each working method comes with its own benefits”. In this way, teleworking gives him a sense of “flexibility” and allows him to be more performant when it comes to some of the routine tasks he can get on with by himself: writing up contracts, organising conference calls with international customers, sending e-mails, conducting market research, and the like. Skype, Zoom, Outlook and WhatsApp are his go-to tools when working with his clients across the globe, without a thought being given to any geographical distance. Besides, Tarek believes that more businesses should be introducing teleworking for, in his eyes, this can make “a huge difference”. So, what’s in it for them? Greater productivity.

Florence Falvy, Editor

Go France! - The guide to working in France

Written with input from HR professionals and international alumni, Go France is the result of a combined effort between Audencia’s Career Centre and the Audencia Alumni team. It aims to provide international students with professional guidelines to working in France, helpful resources and tools but also insights into life in France and the cultural context which internationals will find themselves experiencing.

New perspectives in multiple criteria decision making

This book provides comprehensive coverage of the latest research on multiple criteria research analysis (MCDA) and related areas, gathering a collection of high-quality chapters prepared by leading scholars in the field.

By covering the established streams in MCDA research and simultaneously exploring new and emerging areas of application, it offers a unique reference resource for the future development of MCDA.

Zopounidis C., Doumpos M., Rui Figueira J. & Greco S. 2019. Springer

A human-centred approach of organizational project management

In the past 30 years, projects have gone from technical product development to change management in organisations, and methods from project management to project-based management.

The consequence of this evolution is that many managers find themselves in charge of projects without having a real notion of what project management involves.

The aim of this book is to give food for thought, a general knowledge of the project mode and a method easily accessible to students following a course in project management, and instructors wishing to build a course without imposing a specific method. At a professional level, it will help project managers in charge of organizational projects not necessarily very important in size, but who would nevertheless benefit from a methodology easily applicable

Bernardin E. (2019). Lulu.com.

Are you a published alumnus and would like to share your published work with fellow alumni? If so, then please drop the team a few lines here at: audenciaalumni@audencia.com

Emilie Tendron, on behalf of the Audencia Alumni team