ESSEC Institute for Geopolitics & Business || ESSEC

Created in 2024 by ESSEC, the Institute for Geopolitics & Business studies the impact of geopolitical shocks on companies' economic models.

Based on the ESSEC Business School campuses in France, Morocco and Singapore, the Institute for Geopolitics & Business examines, on a tricontinental scale, what makes companies competitive in the post-globalisation era: vigilance, resilience and independence.

It contributes to ESSEC's initial training, continuing education and research programmes with the aim of nurturing a generation of business leaders capable of managing and developing a business despite the brutalisation of the world.

According to the Institute's Geopolitical & Business Barometer, 97% of French business leaders acknowledge that they have already experienced the direct impact of geopolitical shocks on their business model.

However, only a minority have adapted their organisation's strategy to deal with this. The Institute for Geopolitics & Businesstherefore aims to help future managers and today's executives to:

Strengthen companies' vigilance in the face of geopolitical threats to businesses;
Develop a culture and capacity for resilience that will enable companies to thrive in a more brutal and uncertain world;

Reduce critical dependencies that are vulnerabilities for business models.

Aurélien Colson

Academic Co-Director Institute for Geopolitics & Business, Professor in Political Sciences

Director, IRENE Centre on Negotiation & Mediation

Co-director of Centre Géopolitique, Défense & Leadership

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Cédomir Nestorovic

Academic Co-Director Institute for Geopolitics & Business, Professor in Geopolitics and Business

Director Executive MBA Asia Pacific

Academic co-director MBA Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Bahrain

Thomas Friang

Executive Director Institute for Geopolitics & Business

Centers embodying the Institute's specific expertise:

The IRENE Center for Negotiation and Mediation - Directed by Professor Aurélien Colson, it was created in 1996. This Center has conducted training and consulting missions in over 80 countries. It brings together ESSEC's experts in negotiation, mediation, and international relations and leads the Geopolitics & Negotiation program, which attracts over 120 students per year.
The European Center for Law and Economics - Directed by Professor Viviane de Beaufort, it was created in 2008. This Center focuses ESSEC's expertise on European competitiveness and its geoeconomic importance. It leads the European Affairs program, which attracts over 30 students per year.
The Geopolitics, Defense & Leadership Center - Co-directed by Prof. Aurélien Colson, Prof. Frédéric Charillon, and Admiral Loïc Finaz, it was created in 2021 and operates unique partnerships, for example with the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, for highly innovative educational immersions. It runs the Geopolitics, Defense & Leadership program, which brings together 150+ students each year.