Bruno Le Maire, French Minister of Economy and Finance from 2017 to 2024, will join the Enterprise for Society (E4S) Center as a visiting professor on 23 September 2024.
With his first-hand experience of implementing public policy around decarbonization and clean energy issues, Le Maire will teach courses on public policy and geopolitics, including the master’s program in Sustainable Management and Technology coordinated by E4S and offered to students at IMD, EPFL, and UNIL. He will contribute to the program’s Technology, Sustainability and Public Policy course, complementing the teaching of Associate Professor of Economics Michaël Aklin.
By sharing lessons learned directly in the field, Le Maire will give students a better understanding of the concrete challenges and opportunities that governments face in tackling the energy transition. He will also teach geopolitics on IMD’s MBA program and participate in the Center’s research and awareness-raising efforts.
“I am looking forward to participating in the program established by EPFL, the University of Lausanne, and IMD on the new global economic governance,” said Le Maire. “It is essential to deepen multidisciplinary reflection on the financing of the energy transition and the fight against economic inequalities. The program will bring side by side the vision of students with researchers in the social sciences, economists and entrepreneurs. I will participate with enthusiasm in this unique experiment in Europe.”
“We are delighted to welcome Bruno Le Maire to E4S as a visiting professor and distinguished visiting fellow at IMD. His vast experience and forward-thinking approach to economic policy will be invaluable assets to our institutions,” said IMD President David Bach. “The intersection of business, politics, and societal progress is crucial in today’s world, and Le Maire’s contribution will help E4S and our academic community advance our mission to shape a more prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive future.”
“I am delighted to welcome Bruno Le Maire to E4S,” said Jean-Philippe Bonardi, Co-Director of E4S and Professor of Strategic Management at HEC Lausanne (UNIL). “His experience as a former minister will provide students with practical insights into how policies can be designed to meet societal needs. His political expertise and first-hand experience of the key issues of our time will be an enriching complement to the theoretical teaching offered by our academic community.”
“It’s a great opportunity for our students to benefit from Le Maire’s vision in the field of geopolitics,” comments Marianne Schmid Mast, Dean of HEC Lausanne. “He can connect economic, environmental, social, and security aspects, which is essential for understanding current global dynamics. This is an asset in teaching management to students who must navigate a complex environment.”
The E4S Center is a research and action hub created by three institutions of academic excellence: the University of Lausanne through its Faculty of Business and Economics (UNIL-HEC), the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), and L’École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), under the stewardship of its College of Management of Technology.
E4S’s mission is to spearhead the transition towards a more resilient and inclusive economy, within planetary boundaries, seizing the opportunities and addressing the challenges raised by scientific and technological change.
