The ESSEC Institute for Geopolitics & Business establishes its Global Foresight Council

Cergy, France, June 22nd, 2026 - ESSEC Business School has announced the launch of the Global Foresight Council, a new high-level advisory body affiliated with the ESSEC Institute for Geopolitics & Business. The council is designed to foster geopolitical reflections on the major transformations reshaping the global economy, bringing together global leaders, ambassadors, Nobel laureates, and leading executives from all over the world.

What is the role of the Global Foresight Council?

At a time marked by growing strategic rivalry, economic fragmentation and heightened uncertainty, the Council will provide a unique forum for forward-looking reflection on geopolitical risks redefining the future of capitalism and corporate strategy. It will contribute to strengthening the Institute’s ability to identify emerging trends, challenge conventional assumptions and foster informed dialogue between decision-makers across sectors and regions.

The Global Foresight Council will support the Institute in its mission to anticipate the geopolitical, economic and technological disruptions that are redefining the operating environment of companies and institutions worldwide. The Council’s four core missions are strategic foresight, thought leadership, network building, and international outreach. As such, the Council will provide strategic advisory to the ESSEC Institute for Geopolitics & Business.

The creation of the Global Foresight Council represents a major step in the development of the ESSEC Institute for Geopolitics & Business, launched by ESSEC in 2024. By associating the Institute with some of the most respected voices in global affairs, it will further reinforce ESSEC’s international standing and reinforce ESSEC’s global influence and academic leadership.

The Council will hold its inaugural plenary session in Paris on July 10th, 2026. This first session will focus on three core themes:


• The passport of the firm: Does corporate nationality shape market access, trust and competitiveness?
• Future-proofing Europe: How to trust a partner without power?
• Weaponization of capital: Is financing the global commons at risk in an era of polycrisis?


Vincenzo Vinzi, Dean & President, ESSEC Business School and Chair of the Global Foresight Council: “Bringing together minds of this calibre, diplomats, business leaders, Nobel laureates, scholars, in the service of ESSEC's mission is a historic step. The Global Foresight Council will become a compass for our Institute for Geopolitics & Business, and thus for companies navigating an era of radical uncertainty.”

Who are the members of the Global Foresight Council?

● Ambassador Dr. Assia Bensalah Alaoui (Morocco)
Ambassador-at-large of His Majesty Mohammed VI, King of Morocco

● Amine Bouabid (Morocco)
Chairman & CEO, Bank of Africa Group

● Ambassador Rahul Chhabra (India)
Former Secretary for Economic Relations, Ministry of External Affairs of India
Independent Board Member

● Prof. Aurélien Colson (France)
Vice-Chair of the Global Foresight Council
Professor at ESSEC Business School
Academic Co-director of the ESSEC Institute for Geopolitics & Business

● Isabelle Durant (Belgium)
Former Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
Former Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium
President of Friends of Europe’s Governing Board

● Thomas Friang (France)
Secretary-general of the Global Foresight Council
Executive Director of the ESSEC Institute for Geopolitics & Business

● Ziad Haider (Singapore)
Partner and Global Director of Geopolitics, McKinsey & Company
Former U.S. Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs

● Prof. Naoko Ishii (Japan)
Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Commons, The University of Tokyo
Former Deputy Vice-Minister of Finance, Japan

● Ambassador Bilahari Kausikan (Singapore)
Former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore
Chairman of the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore

● Yann Le Pallec (France)
President, S&P Global Ratings

● Oleksandra Matviichuk (Ukraine)
2022 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Director, Center for Civil Liberties

● Prof. Cédomir Nestorovic (France)
Vice-Chair of the Global Foresight Council
Professor at ESSEC Business School
Academic Co-director of the ESSEC Institute for Geopolitics & Business

● Geoffroy Roux De Bézieux (France)
Former President, MEDEF (French Business Federation)
President and Founder,Notus Technologies

● Prof. Vincenzo Vinzi (France)
Chair of the Global Foresight Council
Dean & President of ESSEC Business School

● Prof. Amb. Judi Wakhungu (Kenya)
Former Minister of Environment, Kenya
Former Ambassador of Kenya to France

● Isabelle Xoual (France)
Managing-Director, Lazard


About ESSEC Business School

ESSEC Business School has been a prestigious institution for higher learning since its foundation in 1907, set apart by its humanist approach. In light of current and future economic, environmental, social and geopolitical challenges, ESSEC is committed to transforming its teaching, research, and campuses to train inclusive, influential and multicultural leaders. With 8534 students in pre-experience programs and 5000 participants in executive education across four campuses in Cergy, La Défense, Rabat and Singapore, ESSEC offers programs recognized as some of the best in the world. ESSEC’s exceptional faculty, composed of 197 professors (including 26 emeritus professors), 240 partnerships with prestigious international universities and an alumni network of over 79 000 members, showcases ESSEC’s commitment to excellence and academic innovation. For more information, please visit www.essec.edu

About the ESSEC Institute for Geopolitics & Business

Created in 2024 by ESSEC, the ESSEC Institute for Geopolitics & Business examines how geopolitical shocks reshape companies' economic models. Based across ESSEC Business School's campuses in France, Morocco, and Singapore, it brings a tri-continental perspective to what drives corporate competitiveness in the post-globalization era: more vigilance, more resilience and less dependance. It feeds into ESSEC's degree programs, executive education, and research to foster a new generation of geopolitics-proof business leaders capable of steering and growing companies amid an increasingly brutalized world. Rooted in ESSEC's academic excellence, the Institute draws on 4 flagship centers: the IRENE Center for Negotiation & Mediation (established in 1996), the Center for Geopolitics, Defense & Leadership (established in 2021), The Center for European Law & Economics (established in 2008), and the Chair Business & Industry in Africa (established in 2024). For more information, please visit the Institute’s website.

For more information or to speak with a spokesperson from ESSEC Business School, please email Lucy at BlueSky Education at lucy@bluesky-pr.com or call +44 1582797940