Professor of Strategy, Bernard Garrette, who has been teaching and researching at HEC Paris for over 20 years, has been appointed the Associate Dean of the MBA program. Bernard Garette graduated from the HEC MSc in Management program in 1985 and holds a PhD from the school as well. His research focuses on strategic alliances between companies and, more recently, on base of the pyramid strategies. Professor Garrette has co-authored numerous articles in top academic journals, as well as several books and award-winning case studies.

The appointment comes at a time when HEC has positioned itself among the best MBA programs in the world. Ranked No.1 among European business schools by Financial Times and second on Businessweek's ranking of international schools based on ROI, the School has undoubtedly created expectations of excellence and the new Associate Dean is acutely aware of that. In his words, The higher we climb the global MBA ranking ladder, the greater the expectations we create in our student group and in the companies that hire our graduates. My main objective is therefore to enhance the MBA participant experience as much as possible, by leveraging the competencies of the HEC MBA staff and the HEC faculty in order to live up to the expectations of a leading MBA program.

In his new position, Professor Garette will focus on providing the best possible curriculum, as well as excellent student services outside the academic course and first-rate career services, including a special effort to promote the HEC MBA program among companies and prospective recruiters. The entire effort will involve, among other things, evolution of new topics, courses and electives to fit current business trends, such as Corporate Social Responsibility, Digital Innovation for Business, Marketing & Society, Base of the Pyramid Strategies and Art and Management.

One could also look forward to innovation in terms of better integration between career management and academic curriculum. We aim at providing participants with individual coaching and counseling, which helps them find their way through all the facets of the program and ultimately, pave their way through their entire professional life, said Professor Garette when asked to explain the mechanism.

Pursuing and maintaining the current momentum for value-creating growth would be a key challenge facing Garette, especially in the context of a decrease in demand for traditional full-time MBA degrees. However, with the School offering an entire portfolio of programs in formats as diverse as that of part-time MBAs, Executive MBAs and various Masters in Management, living up to the obligations created by achievement may not be that difficult.

Management