Ferdinand Petra, you created the “Impact Finance Investment Banking” Academy program with Rothschild & Co in 2023. How do you collaborate with Rothschild & Co’s investment bankers and asset managers?
Several Rothschild & Co bankers and asset managers, including Géraldine Gouges, Mathieu Claro, Noémie Villeroy, Arnaud Joubert, Thibaut Pollet, and Emmanuelle Aubertel, shared their best practices during the various classes of this 3-week program. The content of the Academy is designed so that Master students get to learn from both practice and theory. They discover the concrete application of ESG issues in finance through hands-on workshops, role-playing, and discussions with industry experts. They gain a nuanced understanding of investment banking and the challenges of ESG integration in business and finance. This development responds to strong expectations!
Jessica Jeffers, what does your research bring to sustainable finance?
Research plays a long-term role. Researchers explore a question in depth and develop a global vision. This allows us to identify dysfunctions as well as good practices. I study the potential impact of sustainable investment and private financing.
Géraldine Gouges, what are you bringing to and gaining from this collaboration?
First of all, it is an opportunity to share our knowledge and business vision on how environmental, social, and governance issues are becoming more important for the strategic decisions of companies and our own investment choices. We aim to present practical and concrete approaches for the use of ESG criteria in finance and help students develop a critical view of these topics.
We want to contribute to training future generations of leaders and encourage them to take these issues into account in their roles.
We want to contribute to training future generations of leaders and encourage them to take these issues into account in their roles. Finally, we can create connections and opportunities for collaboration with researchers and students from HEC, benefiting from their theoretical and empirical insights on the topics of sustainable finance. Research work and interactions with students offer a fresh perspective, and discussing empirical research is an opportunity to enhance our frameworks of analysis.
