HEC Paris EMBA’s Sharing Experience, Establishing Links as Expert Advisers to MBA Clubs

The average EMBA participant is a seasoned, consummate professional, with roughly a decade of career success. That potent blend of life experience and professional nous is of incredible networking value. MBA Clubs, in particular, are capitalizing— and vice versa— as EMBA participants join in advisory roles. 

Student Clubs are an integral part of any business school experience, and HEC Paris MBA Programs is no different. Created and led by students, they offer opportunities for students to be proactive about pursuing their professional interests.

With collaboration across HEC Paris programs ramping up across the board, EMBA students are lending their years of professional wisdom and experience, reaching across programs and joining MBA clubs, offering their wisdom and guidance as seasoned advisers.

Alexandre Visage, EMBA ’22, is among a handful of participants who have taken the plunge into a club in an advisory role.

“When I started my EMBA, I looked at the HEC clubs to see which ones could interest me,” he says.

“I noticed that MBA clubs are open to EMBA’s, but very few of us were aware of that— even fewer were active members. I decided to join the Retail and Luxury HEC MBA club to bridge this gap as adviser.”

Encompassing everything from casual meetups to cutting-edge business discussions, Clubs are at the heart of the vibrant HEC Paris on-campus experience. Getting involved offers opportunities to augment leadership skills and forge stronger bonds with classmates and colleagues, as well as network with alumni and business leaders at conferences and events.

Executive MBA and full-time MBA: similarities through the differences

EMBA participants are not full-time students, unlike their MBA counterparts. Still, their overlapping interests and experiences offer collaborative opportunities with understandable appeal.

“I became an adviser to the club when I saw the announcement of the new HEC Blockchain club being created,” said Sonia Edouardoury, EMBA ’22. “I was already involved in the Blockchain sphere, writing articles on the intersection of fashion NFTs and blockchain.”

For students like Sonia, reaching out across programs to their MBA counterparts holds real practical appeal. HEC Paris MBA’s 25 student clubs orchestrate an immense number of extracurricular activities throughout the school year. From panel discussions, speaker events, dance classes and races for charity, club events are an engaging way to learn the ins and outs of a new industry.

For Tommaso Spinelli, EMBA ’22, adviser to the MBA Tech club, the chance to expand his HEC network of contacts beyond the EMBA right away plays into his own program’s rich added value.

“The EMBA provides countless opportunities to expand your scope of concern and explore different industries, functions, and ventures,” he says.

“I've chosen to take advantage of these opportunities actively, as there's nothing more enriching than exchanging, discussing, and constructively challenging each other's perspectives.”

Alexandre Visage, EMBA ‘22: Adviser, MBA Retail & Luxury Club

"My background is in luxury hospitality and travel, and I have been working for 12 years for a US company creating active travel experiences around the world.

There is so much to leverage within the school thanks the HEC professors and the accumulated experience between the different programs. Most of my EMBA colleagues have positions, connections, and advice which can be very useful for MBA students. It goes without saying that I also feel I have so much to learn with people younger than me.

What I love the most is the creativity and the diversity of profiles. We meet every week, try to build meaningful events and to contribute in our own way to the HEC community.

My advice to EMBAs is to join they can these clubs. You can give and learn a lot."

Sonia Edouardoury, EMBA ’22: Adviser, MBA Blockchain Club

"Blockchain is an exciting world, web 3.0 is here to stay, and we will see more uses of it, like in interactive NFTs and cryptos, considered the native currency of this new space.

I spoke to Ankit Singh and Laury Jacot, the co-founders of the club, and we discussed the club and their ambitions. They have been active from day 1 with the tech community, start-ups and corporates alike. I liked the energy the founders brought to the table.

While I am finishing my Executive MBA, I wanted to contribute and share my start-up experience with them. At the moment, I help with articles and publications from Geneva where I am based— Switzerland is an active Blockchain promoter and a wide crypto community is present.

I look forward to exchanging and learning new things from the club and vice versa. It is an exciting time in the blockchain space and its multiple uses."

Tommaso SPINELLI, EMBA ’22: Adviser, MBA Tech Club

"I joined a fast-growing European tech company in the middle of my EMBA. It was not an obvious change: I'm not an engineer, and my background is in communication, drama, and people and culture. Still, I found a space in which I could thrive and drive impact.

Maxime Arnulf from the EPV Circle first approached me to mentor a startup operating in the travel industry, a sector I had been working in for a while.

Then, last November, Pablo Rosas Jureidini approached me to discuss his desire to form and run for the MBA Tech Club. The club's mission to demystify tech and make it accessible to people with non-tech backgrounds resonated with me, and I gladly joined them as External Adviser.

I plan to share my know-how and experience in a talk we're planning in the Spring about working for a fast-growing European scale-up and some advantages as well as trade-offs in working for a smaller company."

Mouhamed Lamine, EMBA ’22: Adviser, Black in Business Club

"As a black professional, this club’s ethos hits close to home. I think it is very important for a Club like the HEC Black in Business club to exist. Given the push for diversity and inclusiveness, the Club promotes the amazing Black professionals we have on Campus, and helps the school attract more Black talents.

What I like the most is that the club is very inclusive and welcomes students and professionals from all backgrounds and walks of life. We have upcoming initiatives that can be of interest to everyone on campus.

We want to create a diverse space where black students along with their fellow colleagues can come together, build strong networks, and help students from minority backgrounds have the same opportunities. We look forward to helping to make HEC and future workplaces more inclusive and diverse environments."