A HEC Paris delegation presided by the Dean Peter Todd, and the President of the HEC Foundation, Bertrand Léonard, visited Lebanon from May 3rd to May5th, 2017.
It is the first time that a HEC Paris Dean has visited Lebanon for over 20 years, with an aim to strengthen the historical relations between Lebanon and the top management school in France.
Mr. Peter Todd, the Dean of HEC Paris, who took office in 2015, commented on the visit by saying: “Over 300 Lebanese students graduated from our Grande Ecole, MBA and Executive Education programs in the last decade. Currently, Lebanon is one of the 10 most represented nationalities on our international HEC Paris Campus, which counts students from 93 different countries and 70% of international professors.
On the occasion of our visit, I would like to acknowledge the ongoing friendship between France and Lebanon, the quality of our Lebanese students, in addition to the success of our graduates amidst the Lebanese economy”.
A gala dinner was organized at ESA (Higher school of business) on May 3rd, in the presence of guests of honors and alumni. All proceeds from the dinner will go to financing scholarships to Lebanese students at HEC Paris.
The HEC Alumni Lebanon Chapter is affiliated to HEC Alumni, an association of HEC Paris graduates, which brings together 56,000 individuals. The HEC Alumni Lebanon Chapter regroups all the Lebanese graduates of HEC Paris.
The role of the HEC Alumni Lebanon Chapter is to create and maintain good relations and networks between the students, the graduates and the bodies of the school in Lebanon. The initiatives taken by the HEC Alumni Lebanon Chapter aim to contribute to the development of Lebanon.
Mr. Nicolas Boukather, President of HEC Alumni Lebanon, said: “The historical visit of Mr. Todd and Mr. Leonard to Beirut is a message of hope and deep attachment from HEC Paris to Lebanon. As HEC alumni, we acknowledge that the solutions to all difficulties and wars facing the Middle-East are education, entrepreneurship, innovation and ethics. In our eyes, HEC Paris represents the excellence of these values, to which we resonate to and upon which we shall build the future of the region in general and Lebanon in particular”.
Mr. Michel Fattal, an HEC Paris alumnus and a major donor to the HEC Foundation, concluded: “Personally, I am very happy regarding the effort made for this visit and as graduates. We have a primary role being ambassadors working to increase the reputation and influence of HEC Paris, its academic project, its message and to follow its development throughout our engagements. The alumni and the future graduates are called, in this moment and in the future, to build a better, fair and tolerant tomorrow”.
About HEC Paris
Specialized in the fields of teaching, research and management, HEC Paris offers a full and unique series of degrees to the decision-makers of tomorrow: the program of the Higher School (Grande Ecole), the Specialized Masters (Mastères Spécialisés), the MSc, the Summer University (Université d’été), the MBA, the Executive MBA, TRIUM Global Executive MBA, the Doctorate and a large series of programs for executives and managers. Founded in 1881 by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris, HEC Paris, a founding member of Université Paris-Saclay, counts 138 full-time professors, more than 4400 students and 8000 executives and managers in training, every year.
HEC Paris is ranked the second business school in the general ranking of the European business schools, published by the Financial Times in December 2016.