HEC Paris

HEC Paris

HEC Paris entrance
Motto	Oser l’impossible
Motto in English	Dare the Impossible
Type	Private
Endowment	€213 million (2024)
President	Jean-Paul Agon
Students	5,453 (2023)
Location	Jouy-en-Josas , Île-de-France , France
Colors	Blue and White
Website	hec.edu

The École des hautes études commerciales de Paris (often shortened to HEC Paris) is a non-profit business school and a grande école. It is located in Jouy-en-Josas, a suburb southwest of Paris, France. The school also has campuses in Doha, Qatar, and Abidjan, Ivory Coast. It was created in 1881 by Gustave Emmanuel Roy. The head of the School is Éloïc Peyrache since January 2021.

HEC Paris offers many programs, including Bachelor of Arts, Master in Management (MiM), Master of Science in International Finance, MBAs, Executive MBAs, executive education, professional development courses, certificates, and PhDs.

The school has a strong reputation in business education in France and in other countries. It is often ranked among the top business schools in Europe.

History

HEC Paris was founded in 1881 by Gustave Emmanuel Roy, who was the president of the Paris Chamber of Commerce (CCIP). The first class had 57 students. The school wanted to become for business and management what the École Centrale Paris was for engineering.

In 1921, the school started using the case study method from the Harvard Business School. However, many classes were still mainly theoretical. In 1938, the program was extended to three years.

At the end of the 1950s, French companies wanted a style of management education similar to North America. Because of this, the case study method was used in most classes. A one-year preparatory class was also created to help students prepare for a more difficult entrance exam. In 1959, only 9% of HEC students had studied at a university before, compared to 47% in 1929.

In 1964, French President Charles de Gaulle opened a new large campus in Jouy-en-Josas. The campus covered about 100 hectares and was surrounded by forest. In 1967, HEC started executive education programs.

Women have been allowed to study at HEC since 1973. That year, only 27 women were admitted. At the same time, HEC jeunes filles (HECJF), a school only for women, was closed. Its former students are now officially considered HEC graduates. One of them is Édith Cresson, who later became the first female Prime Minister of France.

The doctoral program was created in 1975. Until 1985, students had to complete their PhD thesis at a university. In 1985, HEC gained the right to award its own doctoral degree, before ESSEC and ESCP.

The school created special teaching positions funded by companies such as Deloitte, EDF, and Toshiba. This helped build stronger links between HEC and businesses. The HEC Foundation was created in 1972 to support these connections and help fund the school.

In the 1990s, HEC increased its links with companies. This led to more specialized courses, including finance and entrepreneurship, which had started in 1986. After major changes in the financial world, more graduates began working in England and other countries. In 2006, about one third of graduates found their first job abroad. In 2015, the school changed its legal status to allow private investors to take part in its board of directors.

In 1988, HEC helped create the CEMS network with ESADE, Bocconi University, and the University of Cologne.

On 1 July 2008, HEC Paris joined ParisTech and later became a founding member of Paris-Saclay University. Its campus in Jouy-en-Josas is located in the Yvelines area, in the northern part of the Paris-Saclay technology cluster. This area brings together about one quarter of France’s public research. HEC Paris is also part of a group of business schools in the Paris region, together with ESSEC and ESCP Business School.

In 2016, the school changed its legal status and became a public-private partnership. It is still mainly funded by the Paris Chamber of Commerce.

In 2017, HEC launched new double degree programs called M2M. These programs were created with the University of St. Gallen, the Yale School of Management, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Fundação Getulio Vargas.

In March 2017, the school also started an Executive Master in innovation and entrepreneurship with the online platform Coursera.

On 15 September 2020, HEC co-founded the artificial intelligence research center Hi! PARIS with the Polytechnic Institute of Paris.

In October 2023, the school announced a new Bachelor of Arts in data, society and organisations. This program was created with Bocconi University in Milan.

In December 2024, the HEC Foundation announced the results of its “Impact Tomorrow” campaign (2019–2024). It raised 213 million euros, which is a record for a French grande école.

At the end of 2025, the school presented its strategy for 2026–2031, called “New Responsibilities”. This plan includes major changes to the Jouy-en-Josas campus, the creation of the HEC Institute to take part in public debate, and a goal that 25% of students will receive scholarships by 2030. This comes after tuition fees for the Master in Management program rose to more than 70,000 euros in 2025. To support this plan, the foundation aims to raise 300 million euros in five years.

In 2026, HEC welcomes students from 135 different nationalities on its main campus. It also teaches new subjects such as geopolitics, public speaking, and social sciences.

Organization

The school offers courses from Bachelor of Arts to Doctor of Philosophy, including an Executive Master in Innovation and Entrepreneurship in partnership with Coursera. 100% online, it aims to train senior managers specializing in these two areas within 18 months. It was opened in March 2017.

Globally in the School, about 5400 students are taught and about 700 finish their studies each year.

Reputation

Since 2019, HEC Paris has been ranked as the best business school in Europe by the Financial Times every year. Its Master in Strategic Management is ranked first in the QS rankings. Its Master in Finance is usually ranked among the top two programs. Its Master in Marketing is also ranked first in the world.

Research activities

On September 15, 2020, the school co-founded with the Polytechnic Institute of Paris the artificial intelligence research center Hi! PARIS.

The school has three other research centers:

• The Society & Organizations Institute, dedicated to societal and environmental issues ;
• The Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute, dedicated to innovation and entrepreneurship ;
• The GREGHEC (Groupement de Recherche et d’Etudes en Gestion à HEC Paris), dedicated to economy and management.

Entrepreneurship

The school has offered education in entrepreneurship for more than 40 years. It created a program called HEC Entrepreneurs in 1977, which is now the MSc X-HEC Entrepreneurs, in partnership with École polytechnique.

Between 2004 and 2013, the share of students becoming entrepreneurs increased from 10% to 25%.

In 2007, HEC Paris created the Incubateur HEC Paris, a startup incubator that supports companies founded by alumni. It is currently led by Antoine Leprêtre. Since 2017, the incubator has been located at the Station F campus in Paris.

In 2013, HEC Paris started the "HEC Stand Up" program to help women become entrepreneurs. The program is open to women of all ages and backgrounds who want to develop a business idea or start a company. It is free to join and lasts about ten weeks. Participants learn through online courses, practical activities, and face-to-face sessions. The program has three modules. These modules help participants develop entrepreneurial skills, understand the market, and prepare a business plan. At the end of the program, participants receive a certificate from HEC Paris. The program has been offered in several regions of France, including overseas territories.

Since 2017, the school also offers an online master’s degree in entrepreneurship.

The HEC Paris Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute is ranked eighth in the Financial Times "Europe's leading start-up hubs" ranking 2026.

Notable Alumni

HEC Paris alumni association, HEC Alumni, is one of the oldest social networks in the world. Notable alumni include :

• Jean-Paul Agon, CEO of L'Oréal
• Christophe Cuvillier, CEO of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield
• Emmanuel Faber, CEO of Danone
• François Hollande, 24th President of the French Republic
• Marc Houalla, CEO of ENAC
• Andreas Kaplan, Dean of ESCP Business School
• Bruno Lafont, CEO of Lafarge
• François-Henri Pinault, CEO of Kering
• Stéphane Richard, CEO of Orange
• Gilles Schnepp, CEO of Legrand
• Jean-Dominique Senard, CEO of Michelin

References

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to École des hautes études commerciales de Paris.

• Official website