Schneider Electric becomes a supporting partner of the Social Business/Enterprise and Poverty Chair at HEC Paris

Paris (France) - Bernard Ramanantsoa, Dean of HEC Paris, announced today that Schneider Electric has become a supporting partner of the prestigious business school’s Social Business/Enterprise and Poverty Chair.

This morning, Jean-Pascal Tricoire, President & CEO of Schneider Electric, signed a letter of intent in which he committed the Group to supporting the Chair’s activities. On hand to witness the signing ceremony were Chair co-Presidents Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel peace prize winner and founder of the Grameen Bank, and Martin Hirsch, President of France’s civilian service agency; Emmanuel Faber, Deputy General Manager of Danone; Bernard Ramanantsoa, Dean of HEC Paris; Daniel Bernard, Chairman of the HEC Foundation; and Frédéric Dalsace, Associate Professor and current Chair holder.

“Schneider Electric is pleased to support forward-looking thinking about social business, alongside Danone and HEC,” said Jean-Pascal Tricoire. “Through its focus on research and teaching, the Social Business/Enterprise and Poverty Chair will foster the emergence of a virtuous circle in which business, innovation and responsibility converge to help those who need it the most. This partnership builds on Schneider Electric’s commitment to the Base Of the Pyramid, which is reflected on a daily basis in our access to energy programme BipBop¹.”

Danone and HEC Paris founded the Social Business/Enterprise and Poverty Chair in 2008 to:

* Help train a new generation of managers who are aware of societal challenges and aspire to be part of the solution, regardless of their professional activity.
* Develop quality research into strategic innovations with a societal impact (theoretical, applied and hands-on research).

At the end of their course work, HEC students have the opportunity to pursue an additional two-month Social Business/Enterprise and Poverty track entirely devoted to social business topics and the involvement of businesses in the fight against poverty.

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¹Acronym for Business, Innovation & People at the Base Of the Pyramid.


About HEC Paris
A leader in Europe, HEC Paris specializes in management education and research. HEC Paris offers a full, unique range of courses to the leaders of tomorrow: Masters Degrees, MBA, PhD, Executive MBA and Trium Global Executive MBA.
Founded in 1881, HEC Paris has a permanent faculty of 150 professors, nearly 4,000 students on its campus (37% of whom are foreign) and over 8,700 managers and executives trained in executive education programs each year. In December 2009, HEC was ranked the #1 Business School in Europe by the Financial Times for the fourth year in a row.
www.hec.edu


About the HEC Foundation
The HEC Foundation is sponsored by a group of 50 prestigious multinational companies to support HEC’s ambitions, participate in its strategic orientation, and provide a direct link between the academic and business worlds. For Companies, being a member of the Foundation is a unique way to benefit from contact with students and Faculty, and to contribute to the development perspectives of HEC School of Management. Partnerships with the HEC Foundation can focus more fully on teaching and research or on developing poles of research.
www.hec.edu/Corporate-relations


About Schneider Electric
As a global specialist in energy management with operations in more than 100 countries, Schneider Electric offers integrated solutions across multiple market segments, including leadership positions in energy and infrastructure, industrial processes, building automation, and data centres/networks, as well as a broad presence in residential applications. Focused on making energy safe, reliable, and efficient, the company’s 100,000+ employees achieved sales of more than 15.8 billion euros in 2009, through an active commitment to help individuals and organisations “Make the most of their energy”.
www.schneider-electric.com/bipbop/