About us

Our history

TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE

Training business leaders for more than a century

The Grande Ecole concept was first introduced into France with the aim of providing the French industrial, administrative and military elite with postgraduate education. Today HEC Paris (Hautes Etudes Commerciales) ranks among the cream of the Grandes Ecoles and trains students and business leaders from all walks of life, coming from more than 30 different countries.

HEC Paris was founded in 1881 by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIP), with the purpose of training students in management practice to cope with the growth in industry and booming financial markets.

In 1964 the school came to Jouy-en-Josas near Versailles and settled on a site of some 320 acres to create and promote a “campus” spirit.

In 2001 the CPA (advanced business studies center) and the CRC (research and study center for company managers), both dedicated to training executives, merged with HEC Management to give birth to HEC Executive Education, HEC Paris’ life-long learning center.

2001 saw the launch of the Trium Global EMBA, the first global Executive MBA devised in a partnership between HEC, LSE (London School of Economics) and NYU Stern (New York University, Stern School of Business).

The renowned CPA school became the HEC Executive MBA in 2003, winning accreditation from the AMBA.

In 2006, the Chinese version of the Executive MBA, HEC Executive MBA, China, was inaugurated in Beijing under the aegis of the SASAC (State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council). Trium is ranked Europe’s best Executive MBA by the Financial Times.

The AMP in Fashion & Luxury program consolidates the HEC Executive Education presence in China in 2007. For the first time, the Paris Executive MBA is offered in its English-language format, the “English Track”. Trium is ranked number two Executive MBA in the world by the Financial Times.

In 2009, HEC Paris Executive Education is ranked #2 Worldwide for custom-designed programs for within a pool of 45 Top graduate Business Schools.

HEC Executive Education is #5 Worldwide for all executive education programs as well: it has moved up six spots in the worldwide ranking in the last year.