More than 2 000 members of ESSEC’s ever-increasing community gathered in the ornate surroundings of the Carrousel du Louvre in central Paris for a gala evening in celebration of ESSEC achievements past and present on June 2.
Above all, the evening turned out to be a celebration of ESSEC’s many talents and the perfect opportunity for former students to re-unite with their professors and colleagues and join in the festive spirit with current students.
The first half of the evening was dedicated to an introductory cocktail and dinner, during which members and friends of ESSEC past and present entertained the 1 300 people in attendance with classical and jazz performances, and performances by ESSEC student associations (namely vocal performances by Musical and dance by ESSEC Chine ). The perfect balance was struck between formal recognition of the School’s grand history and a more humorous slant on its activities and pioneering members, namely via the contributions of Master of Ceremonies “Bilco” (a.k.a. Alexis Cadrot, E00), a video message from alumni living in Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, Switzerland, Italy and the USA, and the introducers of the international section of the evening, Jeremy Webber (Director of ESSEC Management Education ) and Ellen Kountz (B99).
All those gathered were brought together in song via a rendition of the official ESSEC Hymn, which was composed by Alexis Khouri (E04), co-arranged by Alexis Khouri, Olivier Rabet, Fabrice Grimal (E05) and Nicolas Gabet (E05), and with lyrics by Delphine Drutel (E99) and Daniel Chenain (E68).
This was followed by a highly graphic celebration of the diversity of ESSEC in 2007 via a parade of flags representing the many nationalities now present on campus. This technicolor parade heralded the official commemoration of the Centenary and the beginning of a night’s partying that lasted until the early hours of Sunday 3.
Special thanks go to the partners that supported the event: KPMG, Société Générale, ACCOR, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, LVMH, Pepsico, Pernod, PriceWaterHouseCoopers, and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Versailles-Val d’Oise-Yvelines.
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