It was in the plush surroundings of the Pavillon-Elysée on Paris’ most famous avenue that ESSEC’s Centenary celebrations were officially launched on January 11, at a specially-arranged press conference.
Proceedings were led by Pierre Tapie, President and Dean of ESSEC Business School, and Jean-Luc Decornoy, President of ESSEC Alumni.

Mr. Tapie addressed the assembled media on the subject of the School’s most recent achievements, as well as projects and targets for the near future.
Mr. Decornoy focused on the dual nature of the Centenary, as a moment for taking justifiable pride in current progress but also for paying tribute to those who made it possible at the very beginning – the founders of ESSEC (or the “Ecole Saint-Geneviève”, as it was known in 1907 before assuming its current name in 1913).
Symptomatic for Mr. Decornoy of the “great strides” taken by the School over the years was the intake of 7 students in its inaugural year, as opposed to the 500 that will graduate in October of this year.

In addition to this particular elocution, various promotional initiatives have been set in motion to increase awareness of the Centenary, including the production of a film, the development of a web site by ESSEC students, and the unfurling of a 212m² promotional banner within Paris.
To this will be added the launch of a line of Centenary products and the publication in April of a luxurious photographic history of ESSEC.

Whilst the celebrations promise to be special for all members of the School, the Centenary is also an excellent opportunity to increase further still the profile of ESSEC both at home and abroad.