FACC Philadelphia Welcomed the EMBA Students from

The ICN Business School, a Grande Ecole in Nancy, France for the Third Year!

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The FACC Philadelphia was pleased to organize a four-day Business Learning Expedition for 30 Executive MBA Students from the ICN Business School, headquartered in Nancy, France. The students were led by Dr. Zineb Aouni, Ph.D., EMBA Program Director and Professor of Entrepreneurship. 

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The group was warmly welcomed with a continental breakfast on Monday morning by FACC Board Member Pierre-Olivier Lugez at the Innovation Lab in the Municipal Services Building. Presentations were given in French and English on the tri-state region's business ecosystem by Dr. Alan Mortha, Ph.D., Senior Manager, International Business Attraction and Retention, Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development (PA-DCED); Pierre-Olivier Lugez, Senior Director, International Business & Global Strategy, City of Philadelphia - Commerce Department; and Tony Ceballos, Director, U.S. Commercial Service - Philadelphia, U.S. Trade Administration. ​Jonathan A. Grode, Esq., U.S. Practice Director & Managing Partner, Green and Spiegel US LLC, provided an update on U.S. work visas and immigration.  In the afternoon, we visit Tyler Wry, Associate Professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, for a fascinating presentation on Social Entrepreneurship. He hosted the group at the Venture Lab at Tangen Hall and his colleague Sebastian Jarmillo, Director of Operations, led us on a engaging tour of that facility.

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On Tuesday, September 24th, the students embarked on a 2-hour tour of historic Philadelphia with French native Magali Girerd, Histoire(s) de voir. Afterwards, the group met at the Innovation Nest (iNest) on Temple University's Health Sciences Campus. Blandine Chantepie-Kari, Manager of ENRICH in the USA Programs & Global Advisor at (iNest), presented a Workshop on Cultural Mapping & Pitch Training, providing the students with opportunities to practice their business and project pitches. J. Todd Abrams, Ph.D., iNest Executive Director, spoke about the mission of the the incubator which supports research and innovation in medtech, medical devices, and the healthcare industry. Jennifer Jenkins, MA, iNest Program Coordinator, gave the students a tour of the impressive facility. Some of the iNest residents presented the projects they are working on and the companies they represent.

 

On Wednesday, September 25th, the group visited Inolex, a U.S. manufacturer of natural beauty products, which has a subsidiary in Provence, France, for a highly engaging and interactive session with their company leadership. Then, we boarded a bus to visit the Air Liquide Innovation Center in Newark, Delaware, to meet FACC Alternate Board Member Anne-Sophie Lucier, VP R&D. The students enjoyed lunch, a presentation, and a tour of the campus. Next, we headed to Saint-Gobain Corporation, parent company of CertainTeed, in Malvern, PA, where we were received by FACC Alternate Board Member Eric Placidet, SVP and Chief Financial Officer, who presented Saint-Gobain's North American operations with a focus on innovation and ESG. 

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On Thursday, we Ubered to the Philadelphia Navy Yard Business Center for a presentation by the Philadelphia subsidiary of the French Logistics, Customs Broker & Freight Forwarder Geodis with Ed Fitzgerald, VP Trade Services. The retail fashion and home furnishings global group, URBN, which includes Urban Outfitters, Free People, Anthropologie, among others, took us on a tour of main buildings housing their principal business lines. They also very kindly hosted us for lunch at their cafeteria Shop 543. Our last stop at the Philadelphia Navy Yard was to the new Life Sciences Building where the French subsidiary of bioMérieux occupies the entire 2nd floor. bioMerieux acquired local Philadelphia Science Center startup Invisible Sentinel and we were delighted to have Ben Pascal, one of the founders, share his story. After that, we were off to University City, where we were welcomed by Chuck Sacco, Director of the Baiada Institute for Entrepreneurship in the Charles D. Close Business School at Drexel University, and Kristen Creed Hayes, Director of Strategic Partnerships. Chuck gave a wonderfully comprehensive overview of the Philadelphia innovation ecosystem and Kristen led us on a tour of the incubator where some of the entrepreneurs shared their projects.

 

The week was capped off with a visit to the dynamic Venture Café, powered by the University City Science Center at Philadelphia's CIC-Cambridge Innovation Center. Venture Cafe is a twice-monthly gathering that connects innovators, makers, and thought leaders from across the region.  Jen Rajchel, Senior Director of Experience and Digital Transformation, and her team, offer high-impact programming and networking opportunities, fostering collaboration and community.  This venue provided the perfect opportunity for the Executive MBA Students from the ICN Business School to participate in networking with other entrepreneurial-minded business leaders driven by innovation.

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