The official opening of ESSEC’s Centenary weekend began in the form of an international colloquium on the theme of “European and Asian Challenges for Business in a Society facing Globalization”.
For a school of increasing global renown, a suitably international roster of guests participated in the event, many of whom were already present at the Cergy campus for the second annual International Advisory Board meeting.

Held in partnership with ESSEC’s press partner, the French national daily “Le Figaro”, the conference began with an opening address by Pierre Tapie focusing on the values and situation of ESSEC today and the similarities with and differences to the school’s beginnings 100 years previously.

The first keynote speech was delivered by Gilles Pélisson (E79, Chairman of ESSEC’s Board of Overseers) who, in his capacity as CEO of Accor, offered expert analysis of how a global company meets the corporate and human challenges of setting up business in very different parts of the world.



The floor was then given over to two contrasting roundtable sessions featuring highly prominent speakers.
The first session, chaired by Professor Frédéric Jenny (ESSEC Professor and Judge at the French Supreme Court), offered a detailed portrayal of challenges within Asia, specifically to the business and education sectors.
Yuichiro Anzai (President of Keio University, Japan), Bakul Dholakia (Director of IIM Ahmedabad, India), and Arun Maira (Chairman of the Boston Consulting Group, India) spoke at great length on the economic rise of their respective countries, but also of the considerable work required, particularly at infrastructural and educational levels, to cope with such an upward trend.

The second session, chaired by Hervé Mathe  (ESSEC Professor of Management and Chair-holder of the Institute for Strategy and Service Innovation), saw the following distinguished members of the IAB assess the future role of Europe in economics and geopolitics: Enrique Barón Crespo, Claude Czechowski, Otto-Hans Jacobs, Eric Labaye, and former French Prime Minister Michel Rocard.

The moderator for proceedings Marie-Laure Djelic (E87, Dean of ESSEC Faculty) then invited two eminent figures from the worlds of education and the media to address the gathered audience.
Tom Campbell (Dean of Haas School of Business, University of Berkeley, USA) projected the audience 20 years into the future with a look at the challenges lying ahead for business schools.
The conclusion was provided by Nicolas Beytout, editor-in-chief of “Le Figaro”.

This highly successful beginning to the weekend of celebrations drew to a close with a cocktail evening.