Robert PAPIN

Founder and Director of HEC Entrepreneurs for more than 25 years.

A former officer of commando parachutists and combat swimmers, Robert PAPIN went on to become Head of Studies at the IAE (Management School) in Montpellier, an associate university  professor (specialised in Economics and Management), holder of a Doctorate in the Rule of Law, holder of a Masters of Advanced Studies in Economic Sciences from the CAAE Management School and a qualified chartered accountant.

In 1971 he was Visiting Research Professor at Stanford Business School in California, where he honed and perfected his innovative teaching style.

In 1973 he joined the HEC Group as a professor in strategy.

In 1978 he created HEC-Entrepreneurs, in order to train business leaders and future business leaders. This programme quickly gained an international reputation. It brings together hundreds of business professionals to train its students. 

Today, over 50% of Robert Papin’s former students are presidents or director generals in their respective companies.

Harvard Business School has today opted for Robert Papin’s form of teaching through its Field programme, and President Putin, who Robert Papin met in 1994, has also chosen Mr. Papin’s methods for a business school in Moscow.

In 2004, Robert PAPIN retired from the HEC Group in order to help several schools and universities transform their curricula in order to train leaders and entrepreneurs. Notable beneficiaries of his services have been the University of Liege (Masters in Entrepreneurship), EDC (School for Business Leaders and Creators), the Normandy Management School, the Alès Mining School and La Sorbonne (Masters in Business Law for Companies in Difficulty).

Robert PAPIN has himself created and developed several companies and offered consultancy to several prominent business leaders in France and abroad.

He has also written numerous articles and best-selling business publications:

- Stratégie pour la Création d'Entreprise (création - reprise - développement). Dunod editions. This book has sold over 80,000 copies. Its 16^th edition came out in January 2015.
- Le Directionnaire, which is also available in Italian, Spanish and Arabic (sold out).
-  L'Art de Diriger (3^rd edition, Dunod editions): Volume 1 : Management des hommes et Stratégie, Volume 2 : Gestion-Finance.
- Le Nouveau Manager (2^nd edition released by Diateino in 2013).
- Former de vrais leaders – c’est encore possible (Dunod, 2015).
- Génération Business ou les clés pour agir (sold out).
- Création d’entreprise – Trouver les bonnes idées (Dunod, 2017).
- Création d’entreprise – De l’idée au business plan (Dunod, 2017).

Robert Papin is Honorary President of the International Foundation of Entrepreneurs.

He has been a legal expert at the Paris Court of Appeals, a board member for the National Body of Experts in Diagnostics and member of the supervisory committee for the company Radiall.

He is a Knight of the Legion of Honour, a Knight of the Order of Merit, an Officer of the Order of the Academic Palms and holder of a Servicemen cross.