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NEWS & FEATURES |
Interview of the Month - December 2004: Emmanuel Gagneux (ESSEC 95) Q: What is your background? After graduating from ESSEC, I spent 6 years in an audit firm. During the first four years, I was mainly involved in statutory audit jobs. During thelast two years, I joined the technical group. My work there consisted ingiving technical advice and training on accounting standards, in particular IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards). I was hired by FSA (Financial Security Assurance) which activity consistsin selling credit protection on municipal bonds and asset-backedsecurities. As a subsidiary of the Dexia Group, FSA has to report in IFRS. My job basically consists in helping FSA to implement their IFRS reporting. Q: Why did you decide to come and stay here? Chance. I was offered a job in New York without looking for one and this proposal made me realize that I wanted to travel for a while. My main motivation was to enjoy a different lifestyle for a couple of years. Also, I think this experience could be a good boost for my career. Q: What advice would you give to ESSEC graduates who would liketo come to work here? I personally think that it is easier to move internally than to find directly a job here. I would advise to start working in France either for a French company that has big subsidiaries here, or for the French branch of an American company, and ask to move after a couple of years. Q: How do you think your ESSEC background helped you to bewhere you are? ESSEC provided me with a good general culture of business firms, which is always useful to understand working environments. However, I cannot say that I have learnt the main part of my technical knowledge there because I could never get my accounting exams ("unite de valeur")! For me, ESSEC has been essentially a very helpful sticker to find my first job. ESSEC gave me a good start, but after a few years, the type of studies does not really matter. Q: What do you consider as your role in the ESSEC family? I would like to broaden the ESSEC family. ESSEC seems very small from here. To my mind, the main French business schools should merge instead of competing. Thank you Emmanuel… |
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