18.9.2026
Brand Director at Voltaire Group and a high-level equestrian athlete, Barbara Sayous-Pons is also a member of the ESSEC Hybrid Executive MBA Class of 2027. In this interview, she reflects on how sport has shaped her approach to leadership, how the Hybrid EMBA is helping her develop a more strategic perspective, and why she believes women should not wait until they feel completely ready to take on greater responsibility.
Barbara Sayous-Pons has been riding horses since she was three years old. Today she is Brand Director at Voltaire Group, shaping the strategy of one of equestrian sport’s leading brands, Forestier — and is part of the ESSEC Hybrid Executive MBA Class of 2027. Her story is not about choosing between two demanding worlds. It is about what happens when they start reinforcing each other.
“My professional and athletic journeys have always developed side by side,” Barbara says. “I cannot imagine starting my day without horses, or continuing it without my role at Voltaire Group.”
Competing at a high level, she says, taught her discipline, resilience and humility long before it taught her anything about business. “With horses, progress is never linear: you learn to question yourself, adapt quickly and keep working even when the results are not immediate.”
“I approached my career as I approach sport: setting ambitious goals, learning from setbacks and constantly looking for ways to improve.”
The decision to apply came from outside first. “I joined the Hybrid EMBA after my CEO suggested it as a way for me to step up within Voltaire Group and prepare for the next stage of my career,” she recalls. “It means both an opportunity and a sign of trust.”
After years immersed in the equestrian world, she also saw the programme as a chance to step back from what she already knew, and to gain perspective and expertise from professionals in entirely different industries. The programme’s hybrid format, 70% asynchronous and 30% in-person, was what let her hold professional commitments, sport and the degree all at once.
“I initially joined because someone believed I was ready to step up. Since then, the experience has also made me think more deeply about the leader I want to become.”
This is where the two worlds meet most directly. “High-level equestrian sport and business leadership have much more in common than people might imagine,” she says — discipline, preparation, performing under pressure. But sport adds something a boardroom rarely demands: a partner who “does not communicate with words.” You cannot lead a horse through authority alone.
“Leadership is not about controlling everything. It is about creating trust, giving clear direction and adjusting your approach to the individual in front of you.”
Sport has also reshaped her relationship with failure — months of preparation can be challenged in a few seconds, and she has learned to analyse what happened without letting one result define her.
“Constant performance is not sustainable,” she says. “Progress sometimes requires patience, perspective and the courage to slow down.”
Before the EMBA, she moved fast, from challenge to challenge, relying on instinct and experience. The programme, she says, “encouraged me to take a step back, question my own decisions and consider their financial, organisational and human consequences more systematically.” Learning alongside executives from different countries and industries showed her there is no single model of leadership — which built her confidence in her own, rather than replacing it.
“I see leadership less as having all the answers and more as creating the conditions for people to contribute, challenge ideas and move in the same direction.”
Equestrian sport is one of the few Olympic disciplines where women and men compete against each other under identical rules — performance defined by preparation and skill, not gender. “The business world does not always operate with the same sense of equality,” she says.
Women, she has noticed, often feel they must prove their legitimacy before taking up space. She is learning otherwise: “I do not need to wait until I feel completely ready to take on greater responsibility. Confidence is also built through acting, deciding and accepting that not every decision will be perfect.”
“I do not want to become a different person in order to be a senior leader. Just as in equestrian sport, I want to be judged by the quality of my work, my commitment and my results.”
Her advice to other women is direct: “Do not wait until you feel completely ready.” An EMBA alongside a senior role and elite sport is demanding — it takes organisation, discipline and support from the people around you. But it also opens something rare in day-to-day professional life: time to question yourself and reconsider what you are capable of.
“As in sport, you rarely feel completely prepared when you enter the arena. At some point, you have to trust the work you have done, step forward and allow yourself to be ambitious.”
Athletes, she has noticed, often hesitate to pursue further education for fear of not having enough time; others give up their sport to focus entirely on their career. She wants her own path to argue against that trade-off. Sport keeps her grounded; her role lets her channel that energy into building brands and leading teams; the Executive MBA gives her room to step back and keep growing.
“If sharing my experience can encourage even one athlete not to give up on education — or one student not to abandon the sport that drives them — then I will consider that meaningful.”
The ESSEC Hybrid Executive MBA is designed for experienced professionals seeking to develop their leadership and strategic capabilities.
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