Impact Around the World by EDHEC Alumni

In our final episode for season two, Impact Around the World by EDHEC Alumni welcomes one of EDHEC's newest alumna, Ananya Rajpoot, to talk about sustainability in fashion, promoting diversity, and how reusing fabrics can help create essential low-cost menstrual health products for women in underprivileged communities. Ananya is a marketing & brand management enthusiast who’s worked across a portfolio of some of the most glamorous brands out there, including Guerlain, Burberry, Gucci, Lacoste, Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Tiffany, and Davidoff, just to name a few.

Passionate about sustainable textiles, green fabrics, and zero waste apparel, Ananya was chosen as a participant on the highly competitive Women@Dior global mentorship scheme organised by LVMH to encourage young women to dare for the career of their dreams under the guidance of a promising Dior Talent. Meanwhile, her TEDx talk on the art of being your own cheerleader at the prestigious TEDxEDHEC conference was received to much acclaim. Did we mention she’s only 25 years old?

Follow us on Twitter at: @EdhecAlumni, and find out more at: www.alumni.edhec.edu

Joining us on this week's Impact Around the World by EDHEC Alumni is a US-based alumnus, and self-proclaimed 'Mexican enthusiast' Nilo Quiroz. A former professional swimmer, representing Mexico internationally, Nilo went on to have a successful career as an electrical engineer with the world's then-largest oilfield services company Schlumberger, before fate had a different idea for him.

When the global oil crisis hit and finding himself out of a job like so many others, Nilo took a leap of faith and found his way to becoming a globetrotting hospitality entrepreneur via EDHEC. Nilo graduated with an MBA in 2018, taking the leadership track and studying first in Lille, and then Singapore, before launching two businesses in Houston and Asia. Nilo’s career is the definition of resilience and perseverance in the face of setbacks, industry crises, and personal tragedy, and he shares his story in this episode.

Follow us on Twitter at: @EdhecAlumni, and find out more at: www.alumni.edhec.edu

Singapore-based alumnus Damien Dhellemmes joins us for this week's Impact Around the World by EDHEC Alumni. Damien talks all about building green-powered city ecosystems, reducing the energy impact of cryptocurrency, EDHEC's focus on sustainable finance, managing Gen Z and how creating purpose-driven employment opportunities attracts the best, and brightest graduates.

After spending over 20 years in various leadership roles in supply chain management across the Asia-Pacific region, Damien now serves as Senior Vice President of Commercial and Digital Services at the Fortune Global 500 company Schneider Electric where he helps their customers make the most of their energy; driving sustainability, efficiency and resilience to the next levels through innovative products, sensors, software, and analytics. Damien holds an MBA from EDHEC, having graduated in 1995.

Follow us on Twitter at: @EdhecAlumni, and find out more at: www.alumni.edhec.edu

An environmental and natural resources executive with more than ten years of management experience, this week's Impact Around the World by EDHEC Alumni focuses on the 2021 IPSW Awards 'Innovator of the Year', Linian Li, and how uses her passion for tackling climate change to make the treatment and recycling of water more efficient. Linian opens up about the commodification of freshwater, the impact of climate change on developing regions, and how she broke into a career in sustainability without being an engineer.

Leading their entry into the country, Linian currently serves as Vice President and Greater China Country Manager for the AIM-listed Deepverge, and its subsidiary Modern Water, a pioneering and innovative technology company that sits at the intersection of artificial intelligence, public health, and the environment. She also serves on the Executive Committee of the British Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and continues to be an alumni Ambassador for us here at EDHEC.

Follow us on Twitter at: @EdhecAlumni, and find out more at: www.alumni.edhec.edu

On this week’s Impact Around the World by EDHEC Alumni, UK-based alumnus Olivier Floc'h opens up about his career in sustainable transformation at the heart of the world's fourth-largest consumer goods company. Olivier delves into career pivots, what drives Unilever's commitment to social impact, infusing sustainability with profitability, and how consumers are wising up to the controversial topic of Greenwashing.

A 2007 MiM graduate, Olivier is a consumer marketing professional with over 10 years of experience across Food, Skin, and Hair-care brands at Unilever. As a Senior Sustainability Manager, he supports their marketing teams to define, embed, and activate a sustainable living purpose that is true to Unilever's roots and relevant to the people it serves. Alongside that, he works with their R&D team to take practical steps, including addressing water scarcity, moving to sustainable packaging, and reducing the carbon footprint of Unilever as a whole.

Follow us on Twitter at: @EdhecAlumni, and find out more at: www.alumni.edhec.edu

Joining Impact Around the World by EDHEC Alumni this week is another one of EDHEC’s star entrepreneurial alums, Shubham Lakra, Co-Founder of "the Alibaba of recyclables" BREDLAK. In the episode he talks about growing up in India, providing innovative solutions for hard to recycle materials and the role of EDHEC's Talent Identification & Career Development Programme in inspiring sustainable entrepreneurship. 

Shubham graduated in 2017 with a Masters in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management just as China enacted its ban on foreign waste materials, and waste managers were scratching their heads seeking solutions. Shubham and his fellow EDHEC alumnus Pierre saw the opportunity to fix this, and with the help of the EDHEC incubator, they launched BREDLAK, which now works with clients across the US, Europe, and Asia, and continues to solve our toughest plastics, metals, and paper recycling challenges.

Follow us on Twitter at: @EdhecAlumni, and find out more at:www.alumni.edhec.edu

Kicking off season two of Impact Around by EDHEC Alumni is Richard Perrin, EDHEC's Associate Dean International Relations, and all-around lovely human. Richard discusses the importance of combating populism through intercultural exchange, redefining what studying abroad can, and should look like, and the role of COVID-19 in driving global mobility innovation.

For the past 11 years, Richard has been responsible for building on EDHEC’s culture of excellence around the world and developing top-tier academic partnerships that uniquely respond to the needs of tomorrow’s students. Under his leadership, EDHEC has forged relationships with over 245 academic partnerships worldwide, with many more exciting opportunities to stimulate entrepreneurship, sustainability, and creativity around the corner.

Follow us on Twitter at: @EdhecAlumni, and find out more at: www.alumni.edhec.edu

Hello, Bonjour, Nǐ hǎo, and Salut! Impact Around the World by EDHEC Alumni is back on Thursday 9 September for another thrilling run of seven episodes, showcasing how EDHEC alumni are living, working, adapting, and thriving all around the world.

This season of the podcast will highlight how our alumni community is driving sustainability for future generations. From smart cities to green energy, sustainable fashion to safer drinking water, the EDHEC community is driving the way forward one story at a time, using what they learned to inspire others.

Follow us on Twitter at: @EdhecAlumni, and find out more at: www.alumni.edhec.edu

In our final episode for season one, we’re joined by a special guest, Executive Director of EDHEC Alumni, Martin Barbier, himself an EDHEC alumnus (1988). He joins our UK and Ireland Country Manager Cassandra Pittman to open up about job hunting at senior levels, France's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, what resources EDHEC is providing alumni during this and his time leading EDHEC's world famous sailing cup, the Course Croisière EDHEC.

Before graduating Martin served as the President of the 20th Course Croisière. He then went on to have a 20-year career in Consumer Goods, including senior management roles with Kraft Foods (now Mondelēz International) and e-health pioneer Medissimo. We’re now fortunate enough to have him back in a leading role at EDHEC, helping to direct our global 46,000+ alumni community.

Follow us on Twitter at: @EdhecAlumni, and find out more at: www.alumni.edhec.edu

One of India’s rising stars, EDHEC alumnus (2016) Manu Menon joins the Impact Around the World podcast by EDHEDC Alumni this week. Manu currently leads business development initiatives for the largest software division of Bosch in Bangalore. In the episode he talks about how India is braving lockdown against rising COVID-19 cases, productivity while working from home, hybrid working models, adapting to new countries, and his lifelong friendships with fellow EDHEC alumni.

Driven by a keen intellectual curiosity and steadfast vision to make a meaningful impact - sound familiar fellow EDHECers? - Manu is one of the youngest candidates to have ever held his position at Bosch, or indeed at any similar multinational company. Indian by birth, he has lived and worked across nearly a dozen global markets, including Germany, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Singapore, China and Mexico.

Follow us on Twitter at: @EdhecAlumni, and find out more at: www.alumni.edhec.edu