ESCP’s New Strategic Plan: A ‘Third Way’ Between U.S. & China In Business Education

Asked to put the new strategic plan for ESCP Business School into context, Executive President and Dean Léon Laulusa describes two distinct models of management education.

The dominant model emerged in the U.S., strong in theory and frameworks while focused on action and efficiency. A second model has more recently emerged from Chinese business schools, emphasizing harmony and pragmatism.

With its new plan, titled “Bold and United,” ESCP puts forward a new approach.

“In Europe, we prefer to offer a third way. We are inspired by the entrepreneurial drive and outcome focus of the U.S., but also by the relationship intelligence and strategic harmony found in Asia,” Laulusa says of the plan released on June 19.

“So this third way combines action and performance from North America with harmony and relationship-building from Asia. We call it “harmonious performance,” bringing together the best of both worlds into a distinctly European model.”

BUILDING A EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT

ESCP’s new plan arrives in a moment of growing disruption. In the U.S., business schools (and their parent universities) face political attacks against DEI, international students, and academic autonomy. At the same time, AI is reshaping how people work and learn, while global tensions complicate international collaboration.

The plan’s response to these challenges is the creation of a new university altogether: The European University of Management will be developed by 2030, with ESCP Business School acting as its “academic heart.” Two new schools will join it under the same banner, each closely tied to the business school’s mission. The ESCP School of Technology is set to launch by 2027, followed by the ESCP School of Governance in 2029.

Other key goals of the plan include:

• Enroll over 12,000 students representing 150+ nationalities
• Employ 300 professors from 50 countries and achieve full gender parity
• Reach €300M in revenue with sustainable operations
• Continue to rank in the Top 5 of the Financial Times European Business School ranking
• Increase access to its education by growing its €9M scholarship fund while expanding its Extension School for lifelong learning
• Increase recruitment efforts in the Global South while building new academic partnerships in innovation and entrepreneurship

The plan includes a €320 million investment to revamp its six campuses in Europe’s economic centers – Berlin, London, Madrid, Paris, Turin and Warsaw. ESCP’s multi-campus structure means all students – from bachelor’s to master’s – study in between two to five of these cities during their programs. ESCP’s new Foundation also launched its first fundraising campaign which has pledged €100 million.

Finally, ESCP will launch several new programs aligned with the plan’s global and future-focused vision. A Global Master in Management will be developed in collaboration with CEIBS (China Europe International Business School), and at least four new MSc degrees will be launched, including one focused on Business in the Space Industry.

Q&A WITH DEAN Léon Laulusa

Laulusa has been at ESCP for 26 years, starting as a professor in financial reporting and audit. He was appointed dean on June 1, 2023.

He tells P&Q that business schools and society at large are facing a DISRUPTED world – Digitalized, Inclusive, Sustainable, Rapid, Unpredictable, Polarized, Tangled, Empowered, and Dynamic. The world is shifting, he says, across technology, climate, and demographics.

“It’s not just one shift, it’s all of them happening at once,” he says.

“As business educators, we have to prepare leaders who are not only agile and competent, but also ethical, grounded, socially conscious, and globally aware. That’s the context we’re working in, and that’s what this strategic plan is designed to address.”

Poets&Quants spoke to Laulusa to explore how Bold & United responds to this increasingly complex moment. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

The new plan is built around the themes “bold and united.” Why these themes?

Bold means courageous, daring to innovate, to anticipate, and to disrupt. United refers to our diversity, our collective intelligence, and our shared human values. Together, they’re more than a slogan. They form the foundation of a disruptive new strategic plan.

We engaged more than 4,000 members of our community from officers, alumni, students, and professional staff, as well as our corporate and academic partners. The plan reflects that input.

We conducted a two-year foresight survey with a focus on social impact to understand future trends, looking ahead 10, 20, even 40 years. One key outcome is that we must be recognized as a truly European management university. We were already known for management, but now we’re expanding with two additional pillars.

The first is emerging technology, which we’re addressing through what we now call ESCP School of Technology. The second is geopolitics and governance, forming the ESCP School of Governance. The community feedback clearly indicated we need to address these in addition to the climate emergency. So, alongside environmental concerns, we’re also asking: How do we use emerging technology responsibly? And how do we integrate geopolitics into our thinking?

I know this work began well before the recent upheavals in U.S. higher education like the Trump administration’s attacks on Harvard, international students, and DEI. But what’s your assessment of what’s happening in U.S. higher ed right now, especially in business schools?

That’s a very good question. I think each school must stay true to its DNA. We’re certainly aware of the global polarization happening, but for us, it’s essential to remain anchored in our values. We have a framework we call IDEM. It’s a Latin word meaning “also,” but for us, it stands for Inclusion, Diversity, Excellence, and Merit. These are not contradictory forces, they reinforce each other.

We believe in excellence for all. Everyone has the right and the potential to grow, to succeed, and to make an impact. IDEM isn’t just a framework; it’s our ethical compass.

We don’t see diversity as a checkbox to be ticked. We see it as a powerful driver of innovation. Inclusion is not an exception, it’s a shared responsibility. For us, excellence and merit must go hand in hand with diversity and inclusion.

Do you think what’s happening in the U.S. opens the door for European schools to attract more international students, perhaps even U.S. students who are now looking to study elsewhere?

I think each country and institution has its own perspective on that. For some schools, it could be an opportunity; It really depends on the context.

For us, because we remain grounded in our values and in our understanding of the world, we welcome international students who are sensitive to those values and who want to learn and grow within that framework. That’s what matters most to us.

Describe the structure of the European University of Management as described in the plan. ESCP Business School will be one of three schools under that university umbrella, correct?

Yes. In a sense, we’re already operating as a European university through our multiple campuses. In France, we are a grande école; in Germany and in Italy, we hold university status; and in the United Kingdom and Spain, we’re recognized as a higher education institution. And now, in the UAE, we are fully accredited to grant EMBA degrees.

That’s why we want to adopt the name European University of Management. The core will remain the business school, but we are expanding it with two new schools: ESCP School of Technology and ESCP School of Governance.

Will the new schools be available at all campuses, like the business school?

Exactly. But we’ll begin with the new schools in Paris first, and then expand across our campuses. By 2029, we aim to become the first truly European management university with a multi-campus, multi-discipline structure.

What is the vision for the School of Technology, and how do you see it interacting with the business school?

The ESCP School of Technology is not a traditional engineering school. It’s focused on emerging technologies, what I call the ABCD – AI, Blockchain and big data, Coding and cybersecurity, and Digital tools. These technologies are meant to serve humans, not replace them.

What’s important is that we approach these technologies in direct relation to business. The goal is to bring them to market. We’re not focusing only on fundamental research; instead, we’re concentrating on applied research and real use cases. That’s why it’s a natural extension of the business school. It continues the work we already do by adding a layer of technological application.

In some ways, we’re inspired by MIT, but in reverse. Instead of a tech school adding management, we’re a management school adding tech.

So you want to attract engineers and scientists to the business school to help bring their science to market?

Yes, exactly. And this also creates opportunities for talented students from all backgrounds. Sometimes students hesitate: Should they apply to a business school or an engineering school? With this model, they don’t have to choose. They can do both.

The School of Technology will teach technical skills at a high level, comparable to what you’d find in an engineering school, especially in areas like math and physics. But everything is taught in the context of technology for society and for business.

For example, we’ll cover technical subjects like cybersecurity, but always in a way that’s hands-on and connected to real-world applications. It’s very concrete. And when we combine that with the business and management side, students can also pursue dual degrees within the university.

Pivoting to the School of Governance, has that been in the works for a while? Or, is this a more recent reaction to what we’ve seen globally over the past few years?

It’s a more recent development. We started about three years ago by launching a new MSc called International Business and Diplomacy. For that, we recruited an experienced and well-known diplomat to lead the program.

Last year, we created the European Geopolitics Institute. Next year, we’ll launch an Executive Master’s in Strategy and Defense Studies. We’re working with the French military, economic agencies, and companies on that. The next step is the creation of the School of Governance, which will focus on geopolitics, global affairs, and defense studies.

So you can see the evolution: we started with programs, then created related institutes, and now we are grouping these efforts into a dedicated school.

Geopolitics is coming up more and more in business conversations. Is the goal here primarily to help business leaders navigate global business, or are you also preparing students for roles in government and public service?

Both. Even in our Master in Management program, we already offer a specialization in public affairs. Through that, our students can go on to work in NGOs, international organizations, or various ministries, and become high-level civil servants.

But we want to go further. It’s not only about helping business leaders decode the world and understand the impact of geopolitics on business. It’s also about preparing future leaders for roles in international organizations, government, and the public sector. So this goes beyond just a discipline, it’s about training for real-world positions in public leadership and governance.

The plan singles out the Global South as an area of focus. Why is that important for ESCP, and what need do you see there?

There’s a major demographic shift happening. The Global South – particularly Asia – is experiencing significant growth in higher education. By 2040, Asia alone is expected to represent around 71% of the total student population in higher education. Meanwhile, the Global North is seeing a decline.

So we must turn our attention there, not just to attract students, but to rethink and adapt our curriculum so that it truly serves them when they return to their home countries. Business and management education has universal elements, yes, but it must also reflect local realities.

That’s why we’re focused on helping students develop a global mindset while learning how to act locally. It’s not just about exporting our model, it’s about understanding theirs. This shift was one of the key insights from our research, and it’s an important part of our strategic direction.

In the U.S., schools like Harvard are known for general leadership, Stanford for entrepreneurship, and Wharton for finance. What do you hope people will come to associate with ESCP graduates?

If we’re talking about the big picture, across all programs, we want students to develop five interconnected mindsets.

• ESG – environmental, social, and governance, including ethics
• Tech – fluency in emerging technologies
• Entrepreneurial – Even if they don’t launch their own business, they should have creativity, innovation, resilience, and agility within any organization
• Multicultural and intergenerational – Knowing how to navigate cultural diversity and work across age groups and backgrounds
• Hybrid – Integrating different disciplines and perspectives to develop holistic insight

These five mindsets are interconnected, and together they form the foundation of what we want every student to gain. Our students don’t study in just one country, but across multiple campuses in different nations. That shapes their worldview.

You mentioned earlier that you engaged with more than 4,000 people in your community to help shape the plan. What were the most surprising takeaways from what you heard?

What really struck me was the level of alignment. Among the 4,000 participants, 85% agreed on the mission of the school: To educate creative, accountable leaders who are capable of inspiring and serving both business and society. Among the students, that figure was even higher – close to 90%. The fact that so many people across our community were aligned on that vision was a very good surprise.

Another surprising takeaway came when we asked students what differentiates ESCP. Sixty-five percent said it was the excellence and quality of teaching. That stood out, because teaching can often be seen as a generic or expected element. But to hear that from our students, and that it came directly from our professors’ efforts, made us very proud.

Then, when we asked what should come next – beyond our existing focus on sustainability and biodiversity – they pointed to two key areas. First, emerging technologies like AI. They see how much it’s changing society and want the school to accelerate its offerings in that field. Second, geopolitics. That was consistent with our broader strategic studies, which indicate that geopolitics will remain a defining issue for the next 40 to 50 years.

So that’s how we decided not just to add new programs in these areas, but to go further and create two entirely new schools. That direction came directly from this global survey.

Certainly, nearly every school is talking about AI now. But, with the speed at which it is changing and shaping the workplace, how do you stay agile and adapt to what’s next?

As you may know, ESCP was the first school in France, and probably the second in Europe, to sign a global partnership with OpenAI. We ran a six-month proof of concept in a very structured way.

First, we invited more than 1,000 students, officers, and professional staff volunteers to participate. Together, they developed 200 AI-related projects. We divided these into four areas: pedagogy, professional development, administrative processes, and new business models through startups.

In pedagogy, the impact has been especially fascinating. Students benefit from more personalized coaching, faster feedback, and improved learning through AI tutors like ChatGPT Education. In class, we use simulations where AI agents play the role of a client, allowing students to work and interact directly with them. We also ask students to critique AI-generated outputs to develop their critical thinking.

For professors, AI has helped with preparation and grading, automating not just quizzes, but also essay evaluation. Some of our professors even developed a tool that plugs into ChatGPT Education, which can comment on dissertations and assign grades automatically.

On the operations side, we’ve seen clear gains in efficiency. For example, we process over 4,000 internship agreements a year. With AI, we’ve been able to automate much of that work. These are what we call “quick wins.”

The key lesson from this proof of concept is that AI doesn’t replace human intelligence, it augments it when used ethically and wisely. That’s why we updated our code of conduct and emphasize ethical use with our students.

Looking ahead, we’re now working with OpenAI on developing pedagogical agents, personalized AI agents for both students and professors. These agents will be co-trained: students and faculty will train their agents through prompts and use, creating a cycle of mutual learning and support.

We’re also looking at how AI can support productivity in research and technical applications. And though I can’t say much yet, we’ll announce a new global partnership with another platform this September to accelerate our efforts even further.

In the direction business education is heading, do you still see a place for the MBA? And does this new strategic plan make the MBA more or less relevant for ESCP’s goals?

Yes, absolutely. But I believe the traditional MBA model – the “T-shaped” model with broad core knowledge and deep functional expertise in areas like finance or strategy – is no longer enough for today’s world.

We need to go beyond simply managing. We must help MBA students learn how to decode complexity. That’s why we recently reformed our full-time MBA curriculum. Instead of starting with disciplines, we began with the competencies and skills the world truly needs. We then built disciplines around those.

We focus on three major areas. First, the ability to decode the world: understanding future trends, systems thinking, and innovation. Second, the capacity for discernment which includes intuition, ethical reasoning, and wise decision-making. And third, leadership. But not just any leadership – transformational leadership rooted in empathy, authenticity, and positive energy.

So yes, the MBA remains highly relevant, but only if it evolves. And this strategic plan helps us push that evolution forward.

The plan also includes a €320 million investment in campuses.

Yes, and €150 million of that is for the Paris campus alone. To give you an idea of the scale, just for the Paris campus alone, 135 architectural agencies submitted proposals to design the project. They are competing, you know, for the chance to design the future.

The new campus will feature a fantastic rooftop on the eighth floor with views of all the Paris monuments. It will also be highly ecological, built with strict environmental standards and no air conditioning, in line with our carbon footprint goals.

We’re also planning a new campus in Madrid, and renovations for our Berlin and London campuses. The reason is simple: to enhance the overall experience for students, professors, professional staff, and corporate partners. We’re designing the physical spaces to reflect the future of education.

Additional investments will be made for the future School of Technology and School of Governance. And we’re fortunate to have strong support from our shareholders, including the Paris Region Chamber of Commerce, which are contributing €110 million.

What kind of response are you getting so far to the €100 million fundraising campaign?

It’s going very well, especially considering this is our first-ever fundraising campaign through the ESCP Foundation. We launched it with the goal of raising €100 million, and we’ve already secured €43 million. That’s a strong start. In fact, €40 million was raised by May 15, and just within the next month, we raised an additional €3 million.

The campaign is designed to support ESCP’s strategic investments not just in real estate, but also in the student experience. For example, we want to develop our own AI platform for the School of Technology, which means major investment in data infrastructure and security.

It’s also about access. We’re raising funds for scholarships, especially for underprivileged students, to support excellence and merit. That’s part of what we call our Equal Opportunities Project. So the momentum is strong, and we’re confident we can raise even more than €100 million.

What about this plan is most exciting to you, or do you believe should be highlighted?

I think we have a unique opportunity to be recognized as one of the top institutions in the world not by imitating others, but by embracing our uniqueness, our singularity, and our European values. At ESCP, we’re creating a new kind of higher education institution: one rooted in our DNA and values, but looking forward to future trends.

One thing I’m especially excited about is how we think about future skills. The future isn’t just about hard skills. It’s about soft skills, and the atypical talents students are passionate about. When they come to ESCP, we aim to identify those skills and help students use them to inspire and serve both organizations and society.

Take AI, for example. We can’t compete with machines in logic or reasoning. So we need to train our students in what machines can’t do – unconventional, illogical thinking. That’s where the future lies.

We want our students to become ethical, globally minded leaders who are prepared for complexity and capable of making a real impact. That’s the mission we’re working toward.

DON’T MISS: THE P&Q INTERVIEW: ESCP’S DEAN ON THE FRENCH B-SCHOOL’S UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION AND IN THEIR WORDS: WESTERN STUDENTS ON THE REALITIES OF GETTING AN MBA IN ASIA