Marieke Huysentruyt Takes the Helm as Academic Director of the S&O Institute

A new chapter begins for the S&O Institute as it celebrates its 15th anniversary with a significant shift: the “S” in its name is evolving from Society to Sustainability (the “O” for Organizations remains unchanged), and Rodolphe Durand is handing over the academic directorship to Marieke Huysentruyt. The two reflect on this transition in a joint interview.

After 15 years of leading the S&O Institute, Rodolphe Durand, holder of the Joly Family Purposeful Leadership Chair, is stepping down as director. His role will be taken over by Marieke Huysentruyt, who has been teaching strategy, ethics, behavioral economics, and inclusive economy at HEC since 2018. In a joint interview with his successor, Rodolphe highlighted the qualities that make her a perfect fit for the role: “It was clear to us from the start that we wanted her on our team, initially as a postdoc, then as a colleague and head of the Inclusive Economy Center and then the Impact Company Lab. Now, it is a natural step for her to take over and redefine the institute’s next horizon.”

Marieke expressed her intention to begin by “listening to the different stakeholders (…) to co-create the institute’s future and understand what they envision for the years to come. Altogether, we need to reflect on questions such as, ‘What do businesses value? What kind of value should the economy be creating to better address the societal challenges of the future and to create opportunities for everyone?’”  She also sees the potential to rally around major flagship projects, uniting diverse energies to make significant progress, particularly with the support of countries from the Global South.”

The interdisciplinary institute is rebranding the first part of its name from Society to Sustainability – a term that may seem commonplace today, but when S&O was founded in 2009, topics like purpose, inclusion, and sustainability were still niche, as Marieke Huysentruyt points out.

Over the past 15 years, the S&O Institute has grown and evolved around the themes of sustainability, and social and environmental responsibility in business. It is now structured into three specialized centers: the Purpose Center, the Inclusive Economy Center, and the Climate & Earth Center. S&O also includes the Impact Company Lab, which focuses on experimentation, evaluation, and foresight across a broad range of ESG topics.

Within HEC, the S&O Institute serves as a resource hub for research and teaching. Last year alone, the institute funded over 20 projects related to the topics of purpose and sustainability.

One of the greatest success is the "Engagement Track" that the S&O Institute has academically designed and piloted with the Grande Ecole for the second consecutive year. This program involves 400 third-year undergraduate students participating in a four-day learning expedition in Chamonix, in the Alps, focused on climate change and questions of life purpose. Following this expedition, students complete a civic engagement component, contributing 30 hours of volunteering for social or environmental causes. They also gain practical experience through a hands-on internship, working for three weeks on operational tasks within companies. This initiative has been a resounding success, as evidenced by the highly positive feedback from students on this transformative experience.

Now managed by a team of 15 persons, the S&O Institute brings together 60 researchers, PhDs, and professors dedicated to reinventing business practices and integrating sustainability into HEC's curriculum, whether through short modules, electives, certificates or year-long programs.

The S&O Institute also hosts three major annual events: Purpose Day, Inclusive Economy Day, and Climate Day. These days showcase our academic research and bridge the gap between researchers, decision-makers, practitioners, investors, entrepreneurs, alumni, and students.

"One thing I am grateful for and plan to lean on is the enormous network of close colleagues here at S&O. However, our community extends far beyond this. We have corporate partners, alumni, and private donors who support us in expanding our thinking and increasing our impact. How can we ensure that we develop solutions that scale and create true, meaningful change?" highlighted Marieke.

None of this journey would have been possible without the support and contributions of private donors like Hubert Joly, as well as corporate sponsors such as Schneider Electric, Mazars, Nexans, and many others.