The power of partnership: how iVentiv and HEC Paris drive Executive Development together

In the ever-evolving world of executive education and corporate learning, partnerships are key to success. iVentiv has nurtured a long-standing relationship with HEC Paris, a prestigious European business school that was founded in 1888, since 2010 and has become a leading institution in Executive Development. Through this collaboration, HEC Paris has not only elevated its presence within the corporate learning community but has also provided valuable insights and support to iVentiv’s events worldwide.

Join us as we dive into the partnership between iVentiv and HEC Paris, how it's bloomed over the years, and where it will go next.

HEC and iVeniv

 

HEC Paris and iVentiv in collaboration 


The relationship between iVentiv and HEC Paris began in June 2010 when the school sponsored its first iVentiv event: the Training and Development Executive Knowledge Exchange in London. HEC Paris’s participation was the start of a long partnership, cultivating a host of valuable relationships with Heads of Learning and Executive Development, and the partnership has since flourished.

Over the past decade and a half, HEC Paris has sponsored 88 iVentiv events, making it one of the most dedicated sponsors in iVentiv's history. Not only have experts from the school, such as Jeremy Ghez and Shaheena Janjuha-Jivraj, shared their knowledge at these events, HEC Paris also hosted iVentiv events at their UK House in both 2023 and 2024.

What sets iVentiv apart according to HEC Paris?


For HEC Paris, one of the key reasons for the success of this partnership is the unique approach that iVentiv takes to Executive Development and L&D events. Unlike traditional conferences, iVentiv events focus on creating an interactive, conversational environment – something that the HEC Paris team consider a game-changer in corporate events.

In their words, “if you go to a big conference, there’s a lot of people in the room, but you have to grab them and it’s not the best way to meet people.” In contrast, iVentiv’s events are designed to foster meaningful connections through psychological safety, and “transparent” conversations. The opportunity to participate in intimate 1-2-1 meetings with senior learning professionals provides a much deeper level of engagement.

This structure, according to HEC Paris, creates a positive environment for sponsors, where hard sales pitches are replaced by organic relationship-building. Over time, sponsors have the opportunity to meet the same people at different events, fostering long-term relationships with key decision-makers. As the HEC Paris team notes, these meetings are “extremely well organised,” with iVentiv’s proactive team ensuring that every detail is tailored to the sponsor’s needs.

The value of a great partnership


From the HEC Paris’s perspective, the partnership with iVentiv has been nothing short of invaluable, with Ann Gilmore classing these events as “my absolute, complete and utter benchmark.” HEC Paris has won significant contracts through connections made at iVentiv events which are, they said, a direct result of the quality of attendees that iVentiv attracts—senior Learning and Development professionals from large global organisations who are actively looking for innovative solutions to their learning challenges.

The HEC Paris team is quick to praise iVentiv for its dedication to bringing the right people into the room, with one member stating that “there’s a huge amount of work involved in contacting and finding out who these individuals are.” As a result, HEC Paris has been able to gain valuable insights from potential clients and the market at large, which have directly impacted the programmes they offer.

Why HEC Paris chooses iVentiv


HEC Paris’s experiences underscore why iVentiv is the partner of choice for so many organisations. From the perspective of the team, iVentiv events offer a host of benefits that set them apart from other event providers; events are not just a venue for delivering content—they are an opportunity for real dialogue and collaboration.

As one of the team members put it, “we greatly appreciate that we could be considered just a supplier, but instead, we have the feeling that we are not just a supplier. We feel like we are partners.” This spirit of partnership permeates the entire experience, from the quality of the Event Chairs to the seamless follow-up after the event has ended, allowing sponsors to continue building lasting client relationships.

Looking to the future


As the partnership between iVentiv and HEC Paris continues to grow, the benefits for both sides are clear. In July 2024, they signed a two-year extension to their annual sponsorship agreement, ensuring that they will continue to play a pivotal role in iVentiv’s events through 2026 – a commitment that reflects HEC Paris’s confidence in iVentiv’s ability to connect them with the right decision-makers.

For iVentiv, this partnership continues to enhance the richness and diversity of its events, bringing world-class expertise and insights to its community of L&D professionals. Together, iVentiv and HEC Paris are shaping the future of executive education and driving innovation in L&D and Executive Development.

Read the Case Study in full now.

 

 

Thumbnail: 
News category: 
Leadership and Executive Development

More Insights

Employees should be more than satisfied, they should thrive. Increasingly, CxOs see their success with Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) as key to achieving that.

In 2022, 21% of the Global Heads of L&D, Talent Management, and Executive Development who attended iVentiv events selected DEIB as one of their priorities. This is one part of HR's wide range of priorities, but more and more leaders in learning and talent are looking to make DEIB a key part of what makes them successful going forward. Read more about why and how leaders are incorporating DEIB into their HR strategies here.

Phil Rhodes is the Head of Learning and Leadership Development at WM, the largest environmental services company in North America, and is a frequent conference keynote speaker on topics ranging from organizational effectiveness, leadership development, change management, and learning trends. He has specific expertise in crafting dynamic Learning and Development (L&D) solutions that enable data-driven decision-making and help employees reach their full potential. Ahead of his breakout session at Learning Futures New York, Phil blogged for iVentiv sharing his perspectives on the trends shaping L&D. Phil writes about skills, partnering with business functions, making the most of AI, and measuring the impact of L&D on business outcomes. .Read the full blog here.

What are the priorities driving global Heads of Learning, Talent, and Leadership? Before every iVentiv event, we ask you to tell us what areas you're focusing on, and what questions you want to ask your fellow participants. We've pulled together those responses into a report summarising the big themes and key questions driving HR as we head into 2023. This blog summarises the key takeaways, and the full report includes commentary from experts in learning, talent, and leadership.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, corporations have taken a range of steps to support Ukrainian employees and customers. Speaking to iVentiv ahead of her session at Talent Management Zurich in October 2022, Nataliia Gorbenko, Global Head of Talent, Performance and Rewards Management at Luxoft, spoke about how businesses have the opportunity to support Ukrainian talent with real benefits to both parties. Read more and watch the full interview here.

Ahead of his session on hybrid working and exclusivity at iVentiv's Learning Futures California in 2022, Uli Heitzlhofer, Director of People Learning & Development at Lyft, gives a preview of the topics he plans to cover in this short interview.

Uli discussed the pivot to a hybrid model of work and the opportunities and challenges that presents for leadership, for new employees, and for the business. Read more and watch the full interview with Uli to hear about how Lyft made the transition to a fully hybrid model.

Matt Smith is an Executive Coach, Leadership Advisory, and former Chief Learning Officer at McKinsey & Company. Speaking to iVentiv's Temi B, Matt discussed the habits that make a successful learner, techniques for developing intentional learning, plus ideas to help CLOs work with business leaders. For Chief Learning Officers, these are perennial questions, but Matt says they are tractable ones as well. To find out more about Matt's tips for creating a culture of intentional learning, read and watch the full interview.

iVentiv events are all about community and collaboration. By bringing together senior executives from global companies to share knowledge, iVentiv provides the platform for you to connect with peers in the same roles and take away new ideas that make a real business impact. Over the years, we have been very fortunate to bring that conversation to some of the world's most iconic corporate venues.

Corporate hosts enhance the iVentiv experience by providing inspiring spaces to connect and develop. A fresh environment and a different business culture helps participants think about their challenges in new ways. In short, hosts inspire the iVentiv community to experiment, innovate, and do more. Find out more about hosting iVentiv here.

Events, conferences, expos, seminars. Whatever you want to call them. Attending is one of the best ways to meet decision-makers in big companies and do some networking, whether that's Chief Learning Officers, Heads of Talent, or Executive Development leaders.

But there are a lot of events out there, and making the most of them is tough. To get started, read iVentiv's top ten tips for networking with decision-makers at events and conferences.

Leadership is about so much more than KPIs and performance.

Derek Bruce has recently joined DSM as Global Lead, Performance Management and Learning Strategy. In this interview with iVentiv, he talks about the skills that leaders need in 2022 to make sure they can support individuals in the way they bring themselves to work. He talks about mindfulness, succession development, and especially purpose. These are the skills that Derek says are going to be especially important going forward, and in the full interview he gives his advice on how to go about it.

On 1 December 2021, Theresa Cook, EMEA Talent Development Head for TikTok and ByteDance, and her team attended a Town Hall where they were told that the talent development global function was being made redundant. "Now, in any organisation that is quite a shock," Theresa recalls, "however, in a startup organisation, which I did sign up for, I also knew that these are the kind of things that might potentially happen." Find out more about how Theresa lept into action.

Pages