The Centenary Year started apace, with events on campus, at the headquarters of the School’s Alumni Association, and abroad.
Two headlining academic events were organized as part of the celebrations, starting with a cross-disciplinary seminar on the theme of Diversity, co-organized by ESSEC’s Apprenticeship Tax Department and the Corporate-Student Relations Service.



Via a series of workshops and plenary sessions, chosen experts in the field broached issues pertaining to Social and Cultural Diversity, Managerial Diversity (namely men and women in business), Age Diversity, and Handicap in the Professional World.

Whilst each of the break-out sessions were initially designed to assess the extent to which obstacles and discrimination still exist in the business world, the primary aim was to identify ways in which Diversity of all types can actually contribute to the performance of businesses.

This was brought into focus during the second half of proceedings, at which point the findings of each break-out session were presented, and then discussed during a round-table session that included representatives of ESSEC faculty and alumni, as well as leading supporters of Equal Opportunities and Entrepreneurship.



On February 6, it was the turn of ESSEC Alumni (specifically, the “ESSEC Women in Business” network) to host a Centenary event. The theme of “Businesswomen leading the way in the next century” was illustrated perfectly by a distinguished panel of guests:

• Susan Bird (founder and CEO of wf360°, New York),
• Nicolas Bordas (Chairman of TBWA France),
• Kate Grussing (founder of Sapphire Partners, London),
• Kathy Kopp (Head of Human Resources and Sustainable Development, ACCOR),
• Margaret Milan (founder of Eveil & Jeux and President of EPWN),
• Cécile Bonnefond (President of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin),
• Laurence Berman-Clément (CEO, Jet Tours).