Press Release

HEC Paris launches a new premier program

Creating Value through Strategic Financial Management

“Finance is too important to be left only to finance specialists”

Jouy-en-Josas, 7th July 2008

Value creation is at the heart of corporate strategy and gaining a well-grounded understanding of financial management is essential in today’s competitive environment. HEC Paris is to launch a new Creating Value through Strategic Financial Management program which will run at the Chateau Les Fontaines in Chantilly, just north of Paris from 15-17 December 2008. Professor Dr. Marc Bertonèche will be the Academic Director.

It is the responsibility of every general manager to develop an understanding of the way a company’s strategic decisions and operating activities affect its financial performance and its ultimate value. Linking strategy and financial performance has therefore become more crucial than ever.

Creating Value through Strategic Financial Management will bring together mid- to upper-level executives and managers from all over the world with a non-financial background, e.g. marketing, operations, corporate planning and strategy, human resources, etc. Participants should have about 10 years of work experience and at least 5 years in management.

This program draws on the experience of top-ranked faculty to offer a broad perspective on how finance can be a strategic asset in creating value by assessing companies’ financial reports and using them to identify key areas for growth in line with investors’ expectations. The participants’ diverse profile and extensive opportunities for exchange will allow them to step back, re-examine current practices, and discover the means to unlock value for their companies and assess the financial implications of their decisions.

“In any company, the most successful managers are often those who have acquired a strong appreciation and mastering of financial concepts. That is exactly what this program is about” says Professor Bertoneche, Program Director.

“This program,” says Dean Bernard Ramanantsoa, “will bring together high potential mid- to senior-level executives and give them the financial understanding they need to take their businesses even further in a globally competitive environment”.

Notes for editors:

HEC Paris

A leading academic institution in Europe, and ranked No 1 Business School in Europe two years running by the Financial Times, HEC specializes in management education and research. HEC offers a complete and unique range of academic programs for the decision makers of the future: the Masters Degrees (MSc programs and Specialised Masters), the MBA program (full-time and part-time), the Executive MBA (Paris, Beijing and St Petersburg), the TRIUM Global Executive MBA (New York, Paris and London) and the PhD.

Founded in 1881, HEC has a permanent faculty of 104 professors, 3000 students on its campus and over 8500 managers and executives trained in the executive education programs every year. All together, over 80 different nationalities are represented at HEC Paris.

For more information: www.hec.edu

Professor Marc Bertonèche

Affiliate Professor at HEC Paris, Professor at University of Bordeaux, Associate Fellow at Oxford Saïd Business School and Templeton College, Visiting Professor at Harvard Business School

Professor Bertonèche's areas of interest include corporate and financial strategy, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, financial markets, corporate ownership and governance, risk management and international finance. He is the author or co-author of six books and more than fifty published articles on various financial topics. Professor Bertonèche received Harvard Business School's Faculty Award on three occasions. He is Director of the Board of several organizations in Europe, the US and Asia.

For more information

Elisabeth de Réals

Tel +33 (0)1 39 67 94 23 Fax +33 (0)1 39 67 94 46

www.hec.edu