Jérôme Barthélemy Keynote Speaker

Executive VP & Dean at ESSEC Business School (2021–2024)
Author of “Myths of Strategy” (Kogan Page, 2022)
Visiting Professor at École Polytechnique (2024–2025)

Jérôme Barthélemy's Biography

Jérôme Barthélemy is a distinguished authority on organizational strategy and management, recognized for his innovative research and practical approaches to corporate performance. He is a Professor of Strategy and Management at ESSEC Business School in France, where he has served since 2002. From 2021 to 2024, he held the position of Executive Vice-President, Dean for Post-Experience Programs, Corporate Programs, and Relations at ESSEC, leading initiatives that bridged academic insights with real-world business challenges.

In 2024, Barthélemy commenced a visiting professorship at École Polytechnique, further extending his academic influence. His research has been featured in leading academic journals and practitioner outlets, including Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, and California Management Review. He is the author of Myths of Strategy: Dispel the Misconceptions and Deliver a Winning Strategy (Kogan Page, 2022), a thought-provoking book that challenges conventional wisdom in business strategy.

Barthélemy has been a keynote speaker at prominent conferences, such as the AMBA & BGA Global Conference 2024, where he shared his expertise on contemporary business strategies. His speaking engagements offer a distinctive blend of academic rigor and practical application, inspiring audiences to embrace fresh perspectives, adapt to evolving markets, and achieve sustainable growth.

Where do great business strategies come from?

The challenge with strategy frameworks—such as SWOT analysis, Porter’s Five Forces, or Blue Ocean Strategy—is that while they help evaluate the attractiveness of an opportunity or the viability of a strategy, they offer little guidance in identifying opportunities or formulating strategies in the first place. As renowned strategy expert Gary Hamel aptly stated, 'The dirty little secret of the strategy industry is that it doesn’t have any theory of strategy creation.'

Dispelling the myths of strategy

Strategy is messy, requires hard graft and is difficult to get right. And yet the world of strategy is dominated by management consultants and business gurus making sweeping generalizations, oversimplifying business thinking and peddling their own unfounded ideas. But do these methods actually work? The reality is that there are no magic recipes for business success. If there were, every organization would use them, and no single company would be better than the rest.

Achieving success in an unpredictable world

In today’s world, success is increasingly unpredictable. Counterintuitively, relying on logic to determine the path to success can actually reduce the chances of achieving it. If a strategy follows a purely logical path, it becomes easily discoverable—and any advantage it creates quickly disappears. True success comes from pursuing a strategy that is both unique and unexpected.

Doing well by doing good

A long-standing debate is whether making a positive impact on the world enhances or diminishes profitability. This debate will never be settled because it is framed incorrectly. Instead of asking, 'Does sustainability pay?' we should be asking, 'When does sustainability pay?'

Anticipating disasters: lessons from the fire at Notre Dame

When disasters strike, we often blame frontline workers. However, their root causes typically run much deeper. We also tend to view disasters as entirely unforeseen events. This is rarely the case.

He brings deep, research-led authority as Professor of Strategy and Management at ESSEC Business School, helping leaders ground strategic decisions in evidence rather than fashionable assumptions.
He bridges academic insight with real-world execution through senior leadership at ESSEC, equipping executives with practical frameworks to translate strategy into performance across complex organisations.
He challenges conventional thinking through his book Myths of Strategy, giving boards and leadership teams clear ways to spot strategic misconceptions and build plans that withstand uncertainty.
He draws on work published in Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, and California Management Review to deliver actionable guidance on winning strategy, competitive advantage and sustainable growth.
He delivers high-impact keynotes that combine intellectual clarity with practical application, helping audiences adapt faster, align teams and make better strategic choices in shifting markets.