To become the first biopharma company truly powered by data and AI, Sanofi knew it needed more than a strategy. It needed people — 2,000 leaders across the organization — equipped with the mindset, skills, and language to drive this transformation.

In 2023, they turned to HEC Paris Executive Education to co-design a bold, custom learning journey. The result: two flagship programs that are reshaping how Sanofi works, learns, and leads. From this ambition emerged a powerful approach to executive learning — one built not on lectures, but on immersion, collaboration, and real business impact. Crafting an impactful customized program at HEC Paris is all about balancing the perfect format and topics while keeping people engaged. The HEC Paris Executive Education team capitalized on the flipped classroom methodology to allow participants to acquire core concepts through digital learning before jumping into the driving seat of Sanofi’s transformation to explore opportunities with peers.

The program design is about breaking silos, putting different functions and groups together, and getting them working on real business problems. This is precisely what happened in Paris. There, participants of the DriveDigital@Scale program were thrust into Station F’s vibrant, innovative ecosystem — where HEC Paris has become the biggest incubator under the HEC Paris Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute leadership — for two days of face-to-face sessions. This is where the magic happened, to quote both Ryan Eagar and Joanne Beardsley who witnessed participants engage with biotech startups, as well as participate in thought-provoking keynote speeches with HEC Paris Professors David Restrepo and Olivier Sibony.

The ‘wow’ effect of the program always comes from high-impact workshops. Participants get the opportunity to engage with top-tier speakers, including Emmanuel Kemel, CNRS Research Associate Professor of Economics and Decision Sciences, and Caroline Lair, Founder of the Good AI to name a couple, as well as Sanofi’s own executives. For the participants, the presence of the group’s top leaders is eye-opening and truly inspiring as they are offered exclusive glimpses into the company’s forward-thinking initiatives on data and AI.

“These face-to-face sessions created a rare opportunity for open, transparent dialogue with Sanofi executives in an intimate setting, breaking down traditional communication barriers and revealing the true power of direct conversations and strategic alignment,” says Joanne Beardsley, Global Executive Development Program Director at Sanofi

By bringing the entire cohort together in Paris and organizing cross-functional team projects, the program created a unique collaborative environment that enables participants to forge new connections and gain insights across different business areas they would not typically interact with. To quote Ryan, it is all about conversation, dialogue, and having a space for executives and leaders to stretch and learn together. That’s where the game changes.

Breaking silos to spark healthcare innovation

A considerable benefit of the program lies in its design, which encourages people to work in groups, learn together, and explore real business challenges and opportunities. “Through use case development, small groups of five people from different parts of the business are developing a disruptive use case to deliver the key pillars of Sanofi’s strategy, leveraging the power of data and AI. It’s not theoretical, it’s actually advancing the business strategy”- Ryan Eager, Global Head of Executive & Leader Development.
“The HEC Paris team excelled at identifying challenges and breaking down barriers. They were proactive, transformative, and innovative throughout the program, effectively shifting mindsets and empowering participants to do the same,” says Joanne Beardsley, Global Executive Development Program Director at Sanofi.

A Top-Notch Academic Team

From Ryan Eagar’s perspective: “René and Julian did a very good job at coaching the teams during the use case development, using the business strategy canvas and other things. It wasn’t about teaching; it was about facilitating the conversation, which is powerful”.
From Joanne Beardsley’s perspective: “The great chemistry between the two academic co-directors, Julian Schirmer and René Eber, and the way they teach is really phenomenal”, who was impressed by their strategic business insights and technical expertise.

Nurturing an ongoing ourney

“It’s not like we’ve done it at all”. Unlike traditional development programs, DriveDigital is not a one-off, as it keeps changing, stretching, and evolving. This program is part of a whole curriculum, including many other digital upskilling initiatives across the organization. With HEC Paris, Sanofi specifically deployed a program to the Top 150, which is now cascading to other senior leaders, but this is just the beginning. The learning journey continues with masterclasses, follow-ups, and continued support and involvement in scaling and deployment at the next level. “We have to keep on going, learning, adjusting, and driving this common language”.

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