Outspoken French Minister Joins Program at INSEAD: MBA News

By Tim Dhoul Updated Nov 04, 2014

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Introduction
Advanced management program benefits from class experience
Arnaud Montebourg’s stance should make for interesting 100th AMP

Arnaud Monebourg is attending INSEAD's AMP

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What do you do when, as a politician, you find your ministerial services are no longer wanted? In the case of Arnaud Montebourg, formerly France’s minister of industrial renewal, you go back to school for the chance to reinvent yourself.

INSEAD has expressed its pleasure in welcoming a man of Arnaud Montebourg’s governmental experience onto the latest session of its advanced management program (AMP) that began on November 2.

Montebourg, too, seemed full of anticipation for the journey ahead. He is believed to want to establish his own business, regardless of whether or not he will return to politics, and told Le Monde that he’s taking the program because the last two years had taught him that running a business effectively was a “real craft”. He has reportedly received a scholarship for the €34,000 (c. US$42,000) course costs.

Advanced management program benefits from class experience

A four-week intensive executive education course, INSEAD’s advanced management program is comparable in length to that offered at MIT Sloan. It aims to work with senior leaders on matters of decision-making and judgment and, in so doing, the program’s strength leans heavily on the collective experience of its intakes. Arnaud Montebourg would have much to offer the rest of the class, INSEAD has said.

A lawyer by trade, Arnaud Montebourg’s ministerial reign came to end after August’s cabinet reshuffle, when he allegedly paid the price for his outspoken views on the government’s economic policies as President François Hollande sought to purge elements of a left-wing revolt from his administration.

As industry minister, Montebourg repeatedly poured scorn over the benefits of a globalized economy for France, leading him to vehemently question the merits of proposals from international business leaders, such as India’s Lakshmi Mittal and US energy giant, General Electric.

Arnaud Montebourg’s stance should make for interesting 100th AMP

Although this resonated with the public to a certain extent – lending Arnaud Montebourg a reputation for defending French business interests, within the country’s business community he was decidedly unpopular for his stance towards foreign investment.

His attendance at INSEAD’s advanced management program should therefore give Montebourg plenty to ponder. The class attracts a highly international clientele - with 23 nationalities represented in this session alone - many of whom are likely to come from backgrounds with some of the world’s largest multinational firms and advocates of an increasingly global outlook on business.

The advanced management program at INSEAD, established in 1968, is currently celebrating its 100th session. Over 8,000 students from 105 different countries have graduated from the course during this time, which is most commonly taken in a senior executive’s 40s.

Written by

Tim Dhoul

Tim is a writer with a background in consumer journalism and charity communications. He trained as a journalist in the UK and holds degrees in history (BA) and Latin American studies (MA).