There was a response on a HEC thread a few days ago that has been resonating in the mind of several of my colleagues. It says: “It turns out you can't tell the difference between HEC Paris and the worst business school of France, IPAG. What have you done with HEC Paris Peter Todd!”
The comparison with IPAG is sadly accurate. HEC Paris has been taken over by managers who only want to play hardball with rankings. The consequence has been that HEC is today full of academics ready to sell their souls for a publication and the bonus paid for it, just like IPAG.
Years ago there was an article in l'Etudiant, in French, where the ‘star professors’ of French business schools were listed. HEC Paris academics topped the list and, when you see their CVs, it’s clear what their dirty secret is: paper mills and predatory authorship.
Peter Todd is responsible for the debacle of HEC. The new dean, Eloïc Peyrache, will continue with this sad record because he’s just the typical managers with almost no academic experience. He turned to admin positions just three years after having joined HEC as an Assistant Professor in 2003.
HEC Paris will keep gaming rankings and the intellectual debacle of will continue.