I’m currently head of KEPRA, a group of 3 firms that makes mechanical components for various industries, with “small” clients like FRAMATOME, VINCI, VEOLIA, VALLOUREC, etc.

 EDHEC is party to thank for this, as I work in areas that we covered at the School: marketing, sales, HR, finance, etc.

I thoroughly enjoyed my 3 years at EDHEC: the classes of course (!) but more than anything the experience I acquired through associations (La Course, launching VLV, EDHEC Christians in my case).

Working on projects is incredibly important so you can later succeed in companies, and I believe that gave me a head start.

And so I have received a great deal, and I like giving something back! I have done this via 3 main commitments:

I have been a jury panel member several times since leaving to ensure business is represented and not only members of faculty. This makes for fantastic complementarity and fruitful discussions on each occasion.

As for the students, I have been blown away by their level of maturity and especially the appetite for entrepreneurship displayed by some of them, something I don’t remember being that strong for me at the time. I even see their enthusiasm as a kick up the backside!!

EDHEC Resource is like the My Job Glasses initiative in which I also volunteer: it’s about giving information to students considering a particular profession, career path or type of company, etc.

I simply serve as a mirror, offering up counterpoints to help them see the important aspects they need to consider and in particular whether their personality matches the job they’re after.

 One small frustration is rarely being able to see what the student chooses in the end. But that’s okay!

And finally I’m a Donor, with a bonus this year: I added a string to my bow with the repayment of the professional taxes for my companies.

I have seen the School evolve and am proud of its 4^th place in the rankings, and even more so of its desire to push students to step up and change the world, to have an even greater environmental and societal impact.

 This links up with the aspirations I had when I was at EDHEC, for example when the association Vive les Vacances (VLV) was created in ’93 (holidays for underprivileged children, and how proud it makes me to see all that has been done since with academic support and other activities – Olympic Games for example – throughout the summer). Congratulations to the generations that followed!

When I left EDHEC in ’93, I didn’t feel I had the ability to sell (even though it’s what I wanted to do!!)… And so, to build on the theory I studied at EDHEC, I worked hard on it! And now I’m sure I have things I can hand on …

 That’s perhaps the next phase: take part in seminars on negotiating like the ones I attended, run by former DANONE staff 30 years ago!

I’ll leave it there, I have to get back to my factories! Don’t hesitate to reach out: @Gillou!

Gilles CONESA
EDHEC Master 1993