Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Teams

The operational team

Jan Lepoutre
Academic Director, Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Professor in the Management Department, Armand Peugeot Chair on the Economics of Electromobility.
With an MSc in Bioscience Engineering (KULeuven) and a Master and PhD in Applied Economic Sciences (Ghent University), Jan Lepoutre is passionate about innovative and entrepreneurial projects, especially in the world of Cleantech. He is involved in programs at all levels at ESSEC and is Academic Director for Entrepreneurship. He has among others, created the Going Pro experience, for which he received the Daniel Tixier prize for pedagogical innovation in 2016.

Nicolas Landrin
Executive Director, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center
Nicolas Landrin is a Telecom Engineer, and holds an MBA from Harvard. He worked in the telecom industry before managing a venture capital firm in digital and deeptech. He is a member of the investment committee of INRIA's Startup Studio and is active in many areas of entrepreneurship and investment.

Delphine Beau
Startup Support Manager
Delphine has about fifteen years of experience in supporting companies in the creation or development phase of their business. Since 2004, within Paris Région Entreprises, she has been responsible for attractiveness and set up of foreign companies in the Ile-de-France Region. She provices services ranging from market analysis to legal information, as well as commercial and technical contacts. In 2010, she joined ESSEC Business School to support students wishing to start a business during their studies. Each year, over 50 business creation projects are supported by the ESSEC Ventures incubator.

Naïma Jebbouri Esskali
Administrative and Support Manager
Joined ESSEC in 2001 in the Finance Department and then the Entrepreneurship Center in 2007. Naïma is a graduate of the Emlyon Exécutif Master Management Genéral. She has supported more than 400 entrepreneurial projects. Within the incubator, she saw the birth of projects such as Tiller Systems, Contentsquare, Percko, Bankin, Mobibam, Partoo, My Brazil Factory, Proximikeys, Ealico... For Naïma, ESSEC entrepreneurs are constantly coming up with concepts that are as incredible as they are relevant and value-creating: inspiring entrepreneurs with a strong desire to pass on their ideas while being attentive to their environment.

Sarah Nokry
Responsable Business Development
Trained at Paris Dauphine University and at ESCP-Europe, Sarah experienced the world of finance before joining the consulting firm FABERNOVEL where she supported many CAC40 companies in defining their digital strategies. Before joining ESSEC, she founded and developed a consumer goods startup.

The pedagogical team

Dany Allaoui, Partner Luminances and MBDSYS
Judith Andres, Head of ESSEC Media & Digital Chair & The Media House incubator
Sridhar Arcot, Associate Professor, Department of Finance
Eric Asmar, CEO at happy smala
Viviane de Beaufort, Professor, Public & Private Policy Department - Director of the CEDE and Law Partnerships (M2 AND EFB) - Founder of the ESSEC Women Executive Programs
Alice Bouis, Digital Innovation Product Manager
José-Luis Bustamante, founder Executive Sherpa
Marco Claudio Caorradi, Assistant Professor, Public & Private Policy Department
Fabrice Cavarretta, Associate Professor, Management Department
Sen Chai, Associate Professor, Management Department
Benjamin Chouraqui, co-founder Pitchy
Lionel Chouraqui, co-founder Pitchy
Antoine Colboc, CEO at Novaltis Consulting
Cédric Curtil, Directeur de la Stratégie et de l'Innovation, Retail France
Philippe Dailly, founder Un Autre Regard
Frédéric Dulles, Lecturer in International Trade and Negotiation, Public & Private Policy Department
Olivier Fourcadet, Professor, Management Department
Thomas Fraudet, Chief Executive Officer at Seven
Anne-Sophie de Gabriac, Adjunct lecturer, Management Department
Jean-François Galloüin, Professor at CentraleSupélec, Management Department
Vivianna He, Associate Professor, Management Department
Geneviève Helleringer, Professor, Public & Private Policy, Department Co-Director of the Law curriculum, Co-Head of the Public & Private Policy Department
Ha Hoang, Professor, Director of the Management Department
Ghislaine Laval, CEO Management Mindset
Gilles Lecointre, Associate Professor at the University of Paris Ouest Nanterre, Management Department
Emmanuelle Le Nagard, Professor, Marketing Department
Jan Lepoutre, Professor, Department of Management, Academic Director, Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Salaheddine Moutacharif, Head of the center for innovation and entrepreneurship In-Lab ESSEC Africa campus Morocco and Prof./Lecturer in entrepreneurship
Philippe Nataf, President of N-TRUST Corporate Finance
Patrice Noisette, Associate Professor, Public & Private Policy Department
Anne-Claire Pache, Professor, Public & Private Policy Department
Xavier Pavie, Teaching Professor, Operations Management Department Associate Academic Director, Director of iMagination week
Claire Péron, Lecturer, Marketing Department
Thomas Picamoles, Consultant at Keolis Santé
Elise Prigent, co-founder of Les Fabuleuses
Stéphane Roder, CEO at AI Builders
Théo Rohfritsch, founder Dreams Hunter Program
Pierre-Emmanuel Saint-Esprit, co-founder of Zack, president of ESSEC Alumni's Entrepreneur Club
Grégory Sassier, founder and managing Partner of Halpert & Dwight
Steven Seggie, Associate Professor, Marketing Department
Franck Sekri, Lawyer - Sekri Valentin Zerrouk
Thierry Sibieude, Professor, Public & Private Policy Department, Chaired Professor of the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Chair
Daniel Sisso, President at Marana conseil
Isabelle Solal, Assistant Professor, Department of Management
Alain Le Tutour, Chairman Alliage Conseil

Schoolab team:
- Jean-Claude Charlet, co-founder of Schoolab
- Olivier Cotinat, co-founder of Schoolab and Moho
- Julien Fayet, co-founder of Schoolab

Entrepreneurship unit managers

During their schooling, students in the various programs benefit from entrepreneurship training and are encouraged to imagine, create and undertake.

Judith Andres
Head of ESSEC Media & Digital Chair and The Media House incubator

Viviane de Beaufort
Director of Club Génération Startuppeuse - Professor ESSEC

Jean-François Galloüin
Director Mastère Spécialisé Centrale ESSEC Entrepreneur

Emmanuelle Le Nagard
Pedagogical Manager of the Innovative Product Design Program - Professor ESSEC

Salaheddine Moutacharif
Head of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship In-Lab ESSEC Africa Morocco campus and Prof./Lecturer in entrepreneurship

Xavier Pavie
Director Imagination Week - Professor ESSEC

Jérôme Schatzman
Executive Director Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Chair and ESSEC Antropia

Thierry Sibieude
Director Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Chair - Professor ESSEC

Our experts and ESSEC Alumni in residence

Entrepreneurs in residence

Marine Coré-Baillais
Marine is the founder of the Digital Patisserie. After graduating from ESSEC in 1995, Marine was Marketing and Operations Manager in start-ups, an international press magazine group and a cartoon movie studio. She joined the 3d printing industry in 2011, as Deputy CEO of the French leader Sculpteo (11 m€ raised, acquired by BASF). With this new tech expertise, she questioned herself and took the Pastry-chef degree with the objective of setting up her new entrepreneurial adventure at the crossroads of gastronomy and additive manufacturing.

Jonathan Ferrebeuf
Jonathan began his entrepreneurial adventure in his first year at ESSEC where he created an audiovisual production company with his brother. They have produced several short films and television films, notably with Lambert Wilson, MC Solaar and Thierry Frémont. After graduating in 2008, he decided to leave the world of cinema for the digital world. After four years working for an online video games studiio, he co-founded AdinCube, a company specializing in optimizing advertising revenues for mobile applications. After 6 years, the company was acquired Ogury, a scale-up specializing in mobile data. When leaving a year and a half later, Adincube had reached €25Mn revenues.

Arnaud Flecchia
After graduating from ESSEC in 1990, Arnaud spent 12 years in banking and then in major service groups (Vivendi, DHL) in England (where he moved back in 2013) AND then in France. In 2003, he created in Paris, with two partners Locken, a company which in a few years became the European leader in electronic access control solutions by electronic key. In 2007, he took over Elo Mobile (merged with Vehco in 2011). then successively sold these activities in 2018 and 2020. Arnaud is now a full-time professional investor in Real Estate and in SMEs alongside Private Equity firms. He also supports numerous start-ups as an active Business Angel in Europe. He also serves as Non-Executive Director in various SMEs, particularly family businesses.

Sébastien Mejean
Sébastien Mejean graduated from ESSEC in 2010 and launched Sojeans, the first jeans online store. In 2013 Sojeans raised the largest fundraising round in France for e-commerce with 7m€. In 2015, Sojeans reached 40 employees and 250 brands and was sold to a retail distribution company in Marseille. In 2016, Sébastien founded Groupe WS which is a hotel operator in Paris. Four years later, the company operates 25 hotels representing 175 rooms and 4,000 sqm in Paris.

Daniel Sisso
Graduated from ESSEC, Daniel Sisso began his professional life in marketing at L'Oréal. He then founded the leather goods company Séquoia, which he managed for more than 20 years. After this entrepreneurial experience, he took over the managing direction of the premium home linen company Le Jacquard Français, a company in crisis that he returned. For 3 years he has been advising entrepreneurs in different sectors (health, FoodTech, FinTech, communication, e-commerce).

CFO in residence

Antoine Visseyrias
Antoine Visseyrias has a strong expertise in the field of Private Equity and his financial and management skills enable him to assist executives in the monitoring and management of their company, particularly when investment funds are involved in the financing rounds.

Life Sciences entrepreneur in residence

Benjamin Hadida
CEO and co-founder of Exeliom Biosciences, a biotechnology company based in France and founded in December 2016. Benjamin is an entrepreneur who has developed a wide range of skills in various sectors such as investment banking (UBS), Venture Capital (Pacific Channel), pharmaceutical regulatory affairs (Amgen), biotech operations (Theravectys) and applied research at the Institut de la Vision in Paris. Benjamin holds a master's degree in management from ESSEC Business School and a master's degree in molecular and cellular biology from La Sorbonne. At Exeliom Biosciences, Benjamin has raised more than €15 million since 2018 to develop a new class of microbiome-based drugs targeting in particular inflammatory bowel diseases.

CTO in residence

Arnaud Mignucci
With more than 15 years of CTO experience and a rich entrepreneurial background, Arnaud supports the Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation in the following areas: restructuring and M&A with piloting of the phases of Carve Out, management and organization of IT teams, CRM for private and public accounts. He is a board member of several startups: MyJobCompany and Batenborch Int. Morocco.

Catherine Denis
Graduated in Computer Engineering with 18 years experience in a software development team in the field of Business Intelligence. Catherine started by a spin off from Business Objects (Ithena) as a java/C++ developer and continued in lead / scrum / team management.

Investment Banker in residence

Philippe Nataf
More than 20 years of experience in mergers and acquisitions. He founded Ntrust Corporate Finance in 2013 after having been a Partner at Regent Associates and headed the Tech M&A team at KPMG Corporate Finance. At the beginning of his career, he worked at Booz Allen & Hamilton in strategy consulting before joining the software vendor Slp Infoware. Philippe Nataf has been teaching the "Entrepreneurial Finance and Private Equity" course at ESSEC for 10 years. He is a graduate of ESSEC (1988) and has an MBA from Harvard Business School (1993).

Talent Manager in residence

Claire Tagand-Battard
Before joining ESSEC as Director of Career Services, Claire created and managed a consulting firm after having worked as Human Resources Director and Regional Director of Training in the Services and Real Estate Management sector. ESSEC alumna (1994), her experience enables her to evaluate, identify and coach managers. Her professional involvement in an international company and in medium-sized companies allows her to operate by taking into account the strategic and managerial dimension of each entity.

Corporate Counsel in residence

Olivier Hayat
Olivier Hayat practices, in both advisory and litigation, information technology law, focusing his expertise mainly on IT project negotiations as well as on the practice of personal data (GDPR compliance and assistance with CNIL control) and intellectual property (copyright and trademark law) and communication. After having practiced in Parisian law firms Olivier founded his firm dedicated to digital and intellectual property in 2014 before joining DELCADE as a partner in October 2020. Olivier holds a Masters 2 in Internet law from Paris I (Panthéon-Sorbonne) and in communication law from Paris II (Panthéon-Assas). He is a member of professional associations and is a lecturer in digital law at the University Paris-Diderot (Paris VII). He is distinguished in his areas of expertise by "Décideurs / Leaders League" and BestLawyers rankings.

ESSEC Business Angels in residence

Patrick Legrand et Didier Boullery
ESSEC Alumni Business Angels brings together nearly 40 investors, alumni of the ESSEC Group, to participate in investment rounds (from 100 K€ to 500 K€) aimed at financing entrepreneurial projects in all sectors of the economy. The active partnership in place with Paris Business Angels also ensures that the funded companies have access to one of the largest networks of entrepreneurial business angels in France.

"La Centrifugeuse"

Dany Allaoui
Since 1999 he has been coaching and training leaders to improve their Operating Income and make their teams efficient, committed and praoctive. He has managed, created and taken over numerous companies. He has an atypical and rich experience, as a partner at WL GORE (Gore-Tex) or with a tenure at AEROSPATIALE. He is an expert lecturer at ESSEC in the leadership program and leads working groups. Among other things, he is the architect of the "La Centrifugeuse de Projets" to test the robustness of company projects.

Entrepreneur in Résidence ESSEC x CentraleSupélec

Zineb Agoumi
During her last year at ESSEC-CentraleSupélec Paris, Zineb started EzyGain (2016), a startup developing a device for rehabilitation of walking abilities adapted to both hospitals and home-use. This project needed funds (private and public) to be born as it integrates hardware, software and certification processes. She is laureate of the Cartier Womens Initiative Award, a training on social entrepreneurship at INSEAD, and she is a member of Club Landoy, a group of people reflecting on issues to deal with as the ageing of population is on!

Entrepreneur & Growth Hacker in Residence

Othmane Renhaji Rhazi
A graduate of ESSEC (E17) Grande Ecole & UC Berkeley with majors in Finance & Entrepreneurship, Othmane is an enthusiastic entrepreneur with a passion for "Growth & Tech". He began his career in fashion by launching his first year at ESSEC Bobrunel (Retail), before moving on to a brief stint as a consultant in NYC at A.T. Kearney. Later, he invested in fintech by launching CrowdGo in San Francisco, which he headed for a year, before moving into energy with ROSEnergy, in Morocco, which he managed for nearly 3 years. In July 2018, he co-founded ZeClef in Paris, which aims to reinvent the cleaning business based on a collaborative economy.