Press Release

HEC Opens Sustainable Development Conference

14th – 15th September, 2006

Jouy-en-Josas, September 12th, 2006

For the third consecutive year HEC MBA participants are hosting a two-day Sustainable Development Conference on the HEC campus from September 14th to 15th, 2006. Planned and executed by MBA participants, this groundbreaking event will feature high-level executives, key industry decision-makers and outstanding HEC faculty members in the field of sustainable development, corporate social responsibility and the environment.

This year MBA participants are working to strengthen sustainable development ties with other MBA programs and have invited representatives from 12 top international MBA programs to the conference.

“We want to build new courses of action and business opportunities contributing to sustainable development,” said Bettina Gilomen, Special Events Officer of Net Impact HEC. “Newly minted MBAs will have to address sustainable development in their careers.”

Richard Broadbridge, the current president of the Net Impact HEC, said, “We have the responsibility to find better ways of defining choices, taking action and doing business that will address the environmental and social problems that we face today.”

Valérie Gauthier, Associate Dean of the HEC MBA Program, will open the Sustainable Development Conference. “This event is a turning point for HEC in the area of corporate responsibility and sustainable development, as it unites for the first time the HEC MBA Program, the HEC Specialized Masters and the HEC Master of Science in Management,” said Valérie Gauthier. “By addressing these issues together at this conference, we will engage ourselves and others in teaching business sustainability.”

Conference speakers will discuss environmental and social problems: Among the featuring speakers will be Jean Jouzel, Research Director at CEA, the French government-funded atomic energy agency and Director of the Research Institute Pierre Simon Laplace. Also speaking will be Pascal Husting, General Director of Greenpeace France and Didier Pineau, Founder and CEO of Europlasma.

A requirement for MBA participants in the second phase of the curriculum, the conference will also feature a series of relevant case-cracking sessions, which will focus on the energy, retail, luxury, and telecommunication industries. They will be guided by the following individuals:

  • HEC Professor of Strategy and Business Policy Jean-Loup Ardoin, who specializes in Management and Sustainable Development. Providing industry expertise will be Jean-Paul Gourlia, Director of Hygiene Security Environment, Gas and Electricity for Total.
  • HEC Professor of Accounting and Management Control Eve Chiapello, who co-created the Alternative Management major within the HEC Masters in Management Program. Providing industry expertise will be Roland Vaxelaire, Quality and Environmental Director of Carrefour.
  • Pedagogical Director of the HEC Specialized Master in Sustainable Development Bénédicte Faivre-Tavignot. Providing industry expertise will be Sylvie Benard, Environmental Director of LVMH.
  • Ph.D. candidate Deborah Philippe, who is writing a thesis on sustainable development at HEC. Providing industry expertise will be Thomas Busuttil,, Director of Sustainable Development of SFR.

In addition, the conference will focus on sustainable financial concepts, including the importance of ecologically and socially responsible investments and changes in investment criteria for the world’s largest financial institutions. Speakers include Robin Edme, Partner at Grant Thornton and Co-Founder and actual President of FIR (French Forum for Responsible Investment); and Ted Scheidegger, CFO and member of the board of Precious Woods, a leading company in the sustainable management and use of tropical forests.

For more information about the conference and Net Impact HEC

please contact MBA participants and conference organizers:

Richard Broadbridge at

Bettina Gilomen

Net Impact HEC is part of a network of over 13,000 MBA students and professionals with 100 chapters worldwide. Additional information on sustainable development and the HEC conference is available on the Net Impact HEC website at

Press Contact, HEC School of Management

Catherine Rousseau

+33 1 39 67 94 23

 +33 1 39 67 94 46