On 8th March 2019, during the General Assembly, Stéphane Cohat was elected President of Excelia. He succeeds Robert Butel who presided over all 5 Schools in La Rochelle for 30 years.
Stéphane Cohat, a La Rochelle entrepreneur strongly involved in the life of the city
After a career in the retail sector, Stéphane Cohat, now 55, together with his wife, took over GAILLARD SAS, a La Rochelle-based family-owned company operating in the textile sector. There, he developed a real estate division specialising in the rental of commercial, industrial and residential property. He was an Industrial Tribunal Advisor from 2002 to 2008 and, as someone fully implicated in the city’s various organisations and institutions, he joined the Board of the CCI in 2008 and became First Vice-President of the Chamber in 2016. In addition, for several years, he was the main contact for La Rochelle’s Fishing Port and since 2015, he has been a judge for the Commercial Court (insolvency proceedings).
A key 5-point development strategy for Excelia
In his new role, Stéphane Cohat will work alongside Bruno Neil, Director and Dean, who heads up the development of Excelia. In this context, five strategic areas have been identified as priorities:
- Differentiation: invest and innovate to support the pedagogical commitment (personal development and professional development of its audience), strengthen the entrepreneurial, societal and social dimensions, focus research efforts on creating value to assist the competitiveness of companies and the region
- Diversification: develop new training offers and expand target audiences
- Territorialisation: develop the Group's regional implantations, its involvement in university networks and a new offer of services for companies
- Internationalisation: continue to recruit international students and consolidate Excelia's presence abroad
- Digitalisation: implement a transverse digital transformation project
« Although still in its youth, Excelia has already asserted itself in the world of business schools, and this youth is an undeniable asset when facing the future. Today’s digital and cultural revolutions are forcing us to put our preconceived ideas to one side, and what was once written in stone will no longer be indelible. E-learning platforms, artificial intelligence and the multitude of networks are shaking our world and Excelia must always anticipate events in order to have a better understanding of them.
In a constantly changing world, our increasingly connected learners may have their heads in the clouds but they also need to keep their feet firmly on the ground, and the impressive Humacité© programme will always act as an enriching experience for them.
Our school needs to grow in strength and assert its position between Nantes and Bordeaux, as well as developing its international dimension by creating new offices and welcoming more foreign students. In addition, strengthening our partnerships with local and regional businesses will enable us to better identify their needs and thereby develop new and relevant programmes.
This will be our challenge»
Stéphane Cohat, President Excelia
« Our Group is entrusted to undertake a profound transformation. It must respond to the rapid obsolescence of skills, the changing training needs and the necessary renewal of the mission of management schools. It is also part of the Group's fundamental role to boost the region's economic development, support companies in their innovation process and promote the sharing of knowledge. I am delighted with the appointment of Stéphane Cohat to meet these challenges. »
Bruno Neil, Director, Excelia*
