Ambition November 2024 cover story: In conversation with… Vincenzo Vinzi

Tell us a little bit about your background and how you came to be in your current role

“I was born and raised on the Italian island of Capri in the Tyrrhenian Sea. I earned my PhD in statistics at the University of Federico II in Naples, where I also taught as a professor in the same field. For many years I was a visiting professor and lecturer at universities and research centres across Europe, the US and Asia.

“In 2007, I moved to France to become a professor of statistics at ESSEC Business School in Cergy-Pontoise, near Paris. In 2011, I was elected dean of faculty and then appointed interim dean in 2017; I took up the position as dean and president of the school in 2018. I am the first non-French president of ESSEC, as well as the first-ever faculty member to serve in this role.”

How have things changed in business education since you started out at ESSEC in 2007?

“I believe that the business world has changed more quickly and deeply over the past 20 years than management education has. For example, according to the OECD, the lifespan of technical skills has dropped from 30 years in the mid-1980s to just two years. For fields such as deep tech, the lifespan has shrunk further and is only six months. Undoubtedly, it has never been more important to upskill and pursue lifelong learning.

“Business schools have an extremely important role to play in preparing students for the challenges and complexities they will encounter as leaders. In order to do so, they must remain relevant. Close proximity to the business sector will allow schools not only to respond to the needs of companies, but to anticipate them.

“This requires breaking down the silos between disciplines, not only within business schools, but between other areas of study, such as engineering, design, law and geopolitics, as well as between academia and the corporate world.

“At ESSEC, we offer many double degrees, with CentraleSupélec, Berkeley Engineering, UCLA School of Law, Columbia University and Parsons the New School, to name just a few. These types of partnerships have the virtue of creating T-shaped leaders, ie people who possess both broad and deep skills, as these are the individuals best poised to navigate complex problems.”

What have been the highlights of your career to date?

“I expected academia to provide me with the opportunity to undertake significant and meaningful projects – and I certainly have not been disappointed in that regard. Indeed, I’ve been lucky to have a career that is extremely fulfilling. For the first half of my career, I did extensive research in the area of statistics, publishing more than 80 scientific papers in international journals.

“I have always loved teaching, so when I began to lecture at university I asked myself how I could captivate 300 students in an amphitheatre on a subject matter often seen as dull. I learned to capitalise on my links with business an industry; statistics becomes a fascinating topic when you understand its potential and the way it can concretely be used to inform the decision-making processes in both the public and private sectors. I then moved to a new stage in my career when I was appointed as dean and president of ESSEC, because even though I am still in academia, my daily life and duties have completely changed compared to when I was a professor.

"I'm very proud of having signed agreements and double degrees with top US academic institutions (for instance, Tepper at Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University, The University of California at Berkeley and Parsons School of Design in New York) during my tenure. I’m also proud of having turned ESSEC into a profitable institution, while remaining a not-for‑profit organisation. This is a status to which I am deeply attached because it allows us to reinvest any surplus revenue into our own excellence, into services provided to our programmes’ participants and into cutting‑edge and distinctive research that provides informed solutions to contemporary issues.”

To read and/or download the full article, please see the ⁠⁠November 2024 issue of Ambition magazine