Describe yourself in three words or phrases.
Purposeful but unconventional! I like to operate without borders.
What do you like most about your job?
Bringing people together to learn from each other is undoubtedly what I enjoy most about my job. I strongly believe that the deepest learning and the most creative ideas come from speaking with as many people with different perspectives, experience and backgrounds as possible.
In my role as dean, I have the privilege to create conditions for those conversations to happen every day. It is less about providing answers and more about helping people ask better questions, learn from each other and co-create solutions.
Describe a project or initiative you’re currently working on that excites you.
I’m working on transforming our campus to place students at the centre of everything we do. I’ve been encouraging my team to think like a student, feel like a student, (walk like a student?), and imagine everything that needs to be done to allow our students to fulfil their personal and professional goals while they are with us.
For me, it’s about creating a genuinely joined-up student experience because students don’t experience university in separate departments. A great lecture, an inspiring guest speaker, a conversation with staff or an unexpected project opportunity. These all change the direction of a student’s journey, with each experience building on the last.
What’s a piece of work you’re proud of – and what did it teach you?
My proudest piece of professional work is developing our flagship MSc in Marketing and Creativity. It taught me to dream big and start small, to accept imperfection at first and improve along the way, and more importantly, that it’s all about building a community.
When we started the program, we were trying to do something different. There was a lot of pressure to replicate what already existed elsewhere at ESCP, but I strongly believed that with our international student audience in mind, we could use this as an opportunity to innovate. So we started with a clear ambition, but also accepted a certain degree of ambiguity and let the programme evolve and find its own footing over time.
One of the things I’m happiest about is that throughout the years, the program never stood still. We listened to our corporate partners and our students, and kept asking ourselves whether what we’re teaching is still what the world needs. In many ways, we have practised the same test-and-learn approach that we teach our students: don’t wait until something is perfect – start with a strong idea, listen carefully and keep improving as you go.
What’s a small daily habit that helps you in your work?
Drinking lots of tea! I am a tea addict and can’t function without several cups of strong black tea every day.
But beyond the welcome caffeine boost, I see a cup of tea as an invitation to slow down and have a conversation. Over the years, I have heard a lot of priceless feedback and impromptu brilliant ideas from my colleagues while making tea in the kitchen or walking back to the office together.
In my research, I spend a lot of time thinking about the power of conversations and what I call heeding, where you are not just listening to people, but actively deciding what to do with what you hear. A cup of tea often creates the space for that to happen. It signals that you are approachable and that even the most informal conversations can change the way you think.
What’s one change you’d like to see in your sector over the next few years?
I’d like our sector to play a more active role in shaping job markets. We shouldn’t just be reactive to economic, technological and geopolitical changes, we need to stay ahead of them and to help inform our students’ choices in ways that make them more future-ready.
This starts by listening. We should be in constant conversation with employers, entrepreneurs, alumni, and our students. Exploring what the jobs of tomorrow might look like and the required skills is so important. If we are willing to listen, adapt, and experiment while learning alongside one another, we can prepare students for a lifetime of change, not just their first job.
What idea, book, podcast or conversation has stayed with you recently?
I really enjoyed a recent conversation with a panel of deans on the topic of what our sector can do to make our students more employable and better able to fulfil their ambitions. There’s a lot of work that can be done, starting with our teaching, the people we invite to speak on our campuses, our careers services, and how we work with our corporate and institutional partners. Again, think “joined-up”! The student experience is a combination of inspiring moments.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone starting out in this field?
Don’t come into higher education or business education unless you are deeply driven by real purpose. This is an exhilarating field, but it is demanding and complex because it is all about the pursuit of excellence rather than economic success.
If your motivation is to help people grow, challenge ideas, and create opportunities for others, you’ll find it incredibly rewarding. But, at the same time, you have to be comfortable with constant change. The world is changing at an extraordinary pace, and education has to change with it. Stay curious and close to your students, and never stop asking how what you’re doing today can better prepare them for tomorrow.
