Towards the end of 2022, ESCP London Campus welcomed Andre Lacroix, the CEO of Intertek Group plc and ESCP alumnus, who shared his thoughts on leadership following the recent publication of his book, 'Leadership with Soul'.
The book crystallises Andre’s leadership approach into 10 principles to help existing and future leaders to address this big opportunity.
During the evening at his alma mater, Andre engaged with students and alumni by discussing ten questions that matter for future leaders. More than 60 guests attended, including ESCP students from the Master in Management, Bachelor in Management (BSc) and Specialised Master programmes, together with Alumni and staff of the School.
Andre Lacroix said that he felt energised by the curiosity that students brought, asking the questions that matter for the leaders of tomorrow. Some of those questions were:
- What do you do when you love the company you work for but you don’t get along with your manager?
- How should leaders behave when making mistakes? Should they show they are vulnerable like everyone else?
- What are the challenges of hybrid working for a leader?
- How does remote working impact the culture of the organisation?
- What’s the best way to earn your teams’ respect when you are a young and inexperienced leader?
- Why do companies make big mistakes during talent planning at the senior level, undermining the legacy of the previous leadership?
Andre shared his own experiences from his time at ESCP and his early career, including a story and a strategy about talent retention when he enjoyed and respected the company he worked for but wanted to move to another country.
‘Leadership with Soul’ is an invitation for existing and future leaders to stop, think and reinvent their leadership approach to become ever-better leaders. It is a cutting-edge, systemic leadership model that has created sustainable growth and value in high-performance companies across several sectors of the economy. Companies will unleash their potential only if they operate with a highly engaged workforce in every part of the organisation. To do this, the corporate world needs good leadership.
Currently Chief Executive of Intertek Global plc, André Lacroix has an exceptional track record of value creation at every company he has ever led. Before his time at Intertek from 2005 to 2015, André was Chief Executive of Inchcape Group plc, a £6.5 billion revenue global automotive services group operating in 26 countries. André was also Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Euro Disney S.C.A. from 2003 to 2005. Earlier in his career, he also held leadership positions at Burger King International and worked for Ernst & Young, Colgate Palmolive and PepsiCo.
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