New Meet the Leaders @ ESCPeurope London Launches with alumnus Pierre-Henri Denain, CEO EMEA Corporate & Investment Banking, Natixis.
ESCP Europe Business School was delighted to welcome Pierre-Henri Denain (Master in Management 1988) to its campus in London to launch 'Meet the Leaders'. This new series of interviews is designed to give students, alumni and external guests the opportunity to hear first-hand from people in a range of leadership roles about their career paths to the top, experiences, challenges, and insights on themes such as mentoring, support structures, diversity and what it is like to be a leader.
As one of ESCP Europe's alumni in a top job in one of the UK's leading business sectors, it was natural to invite Pierre-Henri to be the first guest. Interviewing him was Affiliate Professor Jeremy Baker.The interview covered a range of subject areas from steps and decisions in Pierre-Henri's career, to views on banking, energy markets, economic growth, geopolitics, gender diversity, working across cultures and the need to remain 'grounded'.
From Academia to the City
After his Master in Management at ESCP Europe in Paris (where he "majored in sailing and minored in skiing"), Pierre-Henri gained an MSc from Lancaster University which inspired him to spend more time in academia at the University of North Wales (Bangor). There, his work in financial econometrics and options pricing led to live-testing of a trading model whose success allowed him to make a large donation to charity!
But the attractions of the quiet life in Wales were limited for the young Parisian and, after two years, he took the plunge into life in the City of London at Manufacturers Hanover and then Credit Suisse Financial Products.
At various stages in his career he experienced what he described as "Eureka moments" that led him to change tack. He moved to a French bank in Paris briefly, believing it would be an interesting experience with different clients, but after a year realised he preferred an Anglo-Saxon working environment and switched to Citigroup, commuting frequently to London. Instinct led him to leave Citigroup in 2006, comfortably ahead of the financial crisis that would hit soon afterwards.
He joined Natixis, as Head of Fixed Income Sales and was back in London to run the capital markets business three years later, in 2009. He became Head of the Corporate Investment Bank (CIB) in 2011 and added responsibility for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) in 2013. In 2015 he added a position on Natixis's Executive Committee. He leads 350 staff in the UK and some 700 in the EMEA region.
Managing Across Multiple Cultures
When asked about the challenges of managing across an enormous geographical zone from Europe to the Middle East and Africa, he talked about finding the right people to bridge the cultural divides. Locals or long-term expats can smooth the way to doing business in a region he is personally less familiar with. For example, a British person who has lived in the Middle East for many years is the right person to act between the local culture, and Pierre-Henri and his regional head office team. "If you don't 'get' another culture, it is best to be humble, admit it and hire people who can help bridge the gaps," he said.
Cultural Differences in Perception
Pierre-Henri described how different cultures can view the same situation in different ways, drawing opposing conclusions, often from the same raw data. For example, for the UK referendum on the EU, his personal assessment, based on reading and talking to people, is that the UK will vote pragmatically to remain in the EU. His colleagues in France, however, sense a more anti-EU sentiment from the British and cannot see how it would be possible for a 'remain' vote to succeed.
Diversity and Quotas
On the subject of gender diversity, Pierre-Henri acknowledged that women were poorly represented in senior levels of Natixis overall, but the UK was somewhat better. He said there was no debate in his mind about using a quota system for increasing the numbers: not ideal, but the only efficient and effective way in the short to medium term: a woman will be promoted over a man if she is good enough to perform a role in his organisation.
Reverse Mentoring
As well as believing that mentors can play a part in helping people develop their careers, Pierre-Henri subscribes to the concept of 'reverse mentoring'. He has set up a shadow executive committee made up of under-35s who are given access to the same information as the main board. The members benefit from this system, but so do Pierre-Henri and fellow executive committee members - mentoring both ways.
External Concerns
When it came to external challenges, he said he was less concerned with the oil price than geopolitical crises, particularly the multitude of factors that could destabilise the Middle East. He was also unable to comprehend what would happen next in the very upsetting refugee crisis. In terms of opportunity, he saw India as a potential engine for economic growth – and the reason why coal would retain much of its share in world energy markets for some time to come.
Hands on
As well as concerning himself with the strategic side of his role, Pierre-Henri said it was important to take the time to be with colleagues and to be involved in meeting clients and making deals – "it helps to remain grounded."
No Fixed Profiles for Candidates
A pressing issue for ESCP Europe students is finding an internship. When asked if there was a particular type of profile he would look for in recruiting an intern, Pierre-Henri said there was no fixed model and stressed that, while technical skills might matter, in the end he is running a service business and marketing, for example, is part of almost every aspect of it. A range of profiles are needed. This was welcome news to the students from ESCP Europe's MSc in Marketing & Creativity in the room!
Great Feedback
Pierre-Henri came across as thoughtful, confident and very open to new ideas. Members of the audience appreciated his openness, honesty and humour.
"The content was extremely rich."
"Just the right, intimate atmosphere."
"Even though I'm not studying finance, I found it really interesting."
As well as alumni and external guests, students from across the London campus' programme portfolio attended: Master in Management, Advanced Master in Finance, Master in European Business, MSc in Marketing and Creativity, and the Bachelor in Management (BSc).
Contact:
Shireen Fraser, Head of Public Relations – UK
sfraser@escpeurope.eu / +44 20 7443 8833