Business Strategy in a Fragmenting World: Firms, States, and Civil Society
Lundi 02 juin 2025
Business Strategy in a Fragmenting World: Firms, States, and Civil Society
IRSEM – HEC Paris
École Militaire, Paris – Amphithéâtre de Bourcet
Monday, June 2nd, 2025 | 8:30 – 18:30
Place and date: 2 June 2025, École Militaire, Paris 7th arrondissement
Access (Pre-registration is mandatory)
- 8:00-9:30: 17, place Joffre
- After 9:30: 1, place Joffre
Room: Amphitheater de Bourcet
Organizers:
- IRSEM: Paul Charon
- HEC Paris: Olivier Chatain (chatain@hec.fr) and Jeremy Ghez (ghez@hec.fr)
Motivation
Businesses and the private sector are increasingly embroiled in national security issues in a world that is transitioning away from the heyday of happy globalization. While the economy remains globalized, all actors are now aware that the interdependence it creates can be leveraged to exert power. Firms are key actors as the networks and supply chain they established are a terrain on which states are waging their rivalries through, for example, the imposition of economic sanctions. The capabilities firms develop (e.g., New Space, AI, semi-conductor fabrication) have become the stakes of acute inter-state rivalries, motivating clashes between states as well as a renewal of industrial policies.
This conference will help establish a dialogue among (1) academics from business schools, (2) think tank researchers, (3) businesses, and (4) policymakers to address these issues in a multidisciplinary way. The presenters will be drawn from these four communities. Thanks to the conference’s location in central Paris, we plan to reach an audience comprised of policymakers, businesses, and academics (from business schools and from policy school).
Tentative Program (All session in Amphitheater de Bourcet)
8:30 – Welcome Coffee, Pavillon Joffre
9:00-9:30 Introduction and Opening
- Contre-Amiral Bertrand Dumoulin, Académie de Défense de l’École Militaire
- Kristine de Valck, Dean of Degree Programs, HEC Paris
9:30-10:45 Panel 1: A Fragmenting World: Are Firms Actors or Bystanders?
- Moderator: Eric Mengus, HEC Paris
- Célia Belin, European Council on Foreign Relations
- Jacob Parakilas, RAND Europe
- Brad Setser, Council on Foreign Relations
- Ludovic Subran, Chief Investment Officer, Allianz
10:45-11:00 Coffee Break, Pavillon Joffre
11:00-11:15 Panel 2: Civil Society and the Crisis of “Doux commerce”
- Moderator: Maud Quessard, IRSEM
- Nicolas Dross, EU Commission Representation in France
- Fabienne Hara, Paris Peace Forum
- Maaike Okano-Heijmans, Clingendael Institute
12:15-13:00 Lunch break, Pavillon Joffre
13:00-14:15 Panel 3: Industrial Policies and Supply Chains: Can Resilience be Engineered?
- Moderator: Julien Malizard, Chaire Économie de Défense, IHEDN
- Susan Helper, Case Western Reserve University
- Isabelle Méjean, Sciences Po Paris
- Benjamin Nefussi, DG Entreprise, Ministry of the Economy and Finance
14:15-14:45 Keynote
Olivier Blum, CEO
Schneider Electric
Interviewer: Jeremy Ghez
14:45-15:00 Coffee Break, Pavillon Joffre
15:00-16:15 Panel 4: Developments in AI: Convergence or Divergence?
- Moderator: Henri van Soest, RAND Europe
- Clotilde Bômont, EUISS
- Ronnie Chatterji, Duke University and OpenAI
- Vincent Rapp, Hi! Paris (IPP and HEC Paris)
16:15-17:30 Panel 5: New Dilemmas for Firms
- Moderator: Olivier Chatain, HEC Paris
- Guillaume Girard, JOLT capital
- Patrice Kefalas, Michelin
- Emlyn Korengold, Edelman
- Georg Wernicke, HEC Paris
17:30-18:00 Conclusion
- Olivier Chatain and Jeremy Ghez, HEC Paris