Press release
HEC Paris announces “Our Decision Today, Our Impact Tomorrow”
6th Annual Social Business Conference to be held May 5-6, 2009
Jouy-en-Josas, May 5th 2009
HEC Paris is organizing its 6th annual Social Business Conference, entitled “Our Decision Today, Our
Impact Tomorrow” on May 5-6, 2009.
This two-day event, hosted in partnership with Net Impact, will focus attention on the positive power
of business and the lasting effects that responsible decisions and sustainable actions can create for
society, the environment and the economy.
Issues to be addressed at this year’s conference are highlighted within three overarching topics:
Resource Cultivation, Poverty Reduction and the Power of Consumers. Over 300 attendees will have
the opportunity to engage with internationally diverse panelists and speakers from a multitude of
backgrounds and perspectives, who will share their ideas and draw upon their experience as
trailblazers and specialists in the area of sustainable business development.
Featured speakers include Fawzia Koofi, Afghan Parliament Deputy; she has been named: Young
Global Leader of 2009 at the World Economic Forum 2009. Ms. Fawzia Koofi is an outstanding
human rights activist and the First Woman Deputy Speaker of the Lower House of the National
Assembly of Afghanistan; Luc Rigouzzo, Chief Executive Officer of Proparco; or Hans Reitz who is
Creative Director of the GENESIS Institute and personal consultant of Prof. Yunus.
“Over the past few years, HEC Paris has already positioned itself as a leader in the field of
sustainable business education by introducing dedicated program offerings and pioneering
sustainable development initiatives” says Bernard Ramanantsoa, Dean of HEC Paris.
Despite the recent financial crisis and fears of a prolonged global recession, the international business
community continues to drive the growth of sustainability practices across all industry sectors and
business levels. Within the past decade, corporate social responsibility has begun to play an
increasingly important role in determining a company’s success, demonstrating the push from
consumers to recognize the positive influence that can result from these initiatives of individual
businesses. The next generation of business leaders must inevitably strive to understand and leverage
this aspect of corporate development to successfully reap the rewards and overcome the new
challenges it will bring.
“This conference is one of those initiatives, creating an open dialogue to address issues surrounding
sustainable business practices, and how we as business leaders can cultivate such practices in order
to generate a stronger impact in the community” says Valérie Gauthier, Associate Dean of HEC
MBA Program.
“Our Decision Today, Our Impact Tomorrow” conference is organized in collaboration with the HEC
Chair on Social Business, co-chaired by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus and by the
High Commissioner for Active Solidarities against Poverty in France, Martin Hirsch.
For more information and to register for this event, please visit www.socialbusinessconference.org.
About the Social Business Conferences at HEC Paris
The annual Social Business Conference from HEC Paris began in 2003 with the aspiration to
incorporate sustainability alongside social responsibility and business ethics into the business
practices of the future business leaders at HEC Paris. Although this initiative started as a seminar for
HEC Paris students, it quickly became an annual event, bringing together students from the leading
business schools in Europe along with a distinguished list of guest speakers. By working with Net
Impact, the conference has extended its outreach to a network of thousands of students and
professionals around the globe.
About HEC Paris – School of Management
Founded in 1881, HEC Paris specializes in education and research in management sciences. As
leading academic institution in Europe and worldwide, HEC offers a complete and unique range of
education programs for students and leaders. HEC has a permanent faculty of 105 professors, 3200
students -30% of whom are international - and over 8500 managers in executive education programs
every year.
www.hec.edu
Contact Presse HEC : Elisabeth de Réals
00 33 1 39 67 94 21
dereals@hec.fr