Interview of Jacques Thébault, director of the MBA Wine & Spirits Business

Jacques Thébault is director of the MBA Wine & Spirits Business. 

"The Wine & Spirits Business MBA welcomes between 20 and 25 students, mainly female, with an average of ten years' professional experience. Half come from the world of wines and spirits, and half are newly attracted to this environment, with students coming from all over the world.

The course runs from September to May, with 650 hours of classes and a 5-6 week Learning Expedition, taking students to Champagne, New York, Germany and Greece.

The content of our courses is adjusted every year to take account of the changing world and the needs of companies. For example, CSR issues, the promise of digitalization and the challenge of strategic planning in an unstable environment are becoming increasingly important in our approach. We are also looking to deepen our relationship with alumni. 

We take great pride in the fact that our students are transformed by the end of their MBA year. Having come to change their dimension, or even their lives, they leave with the ability to decide on the course of their future career. The AMBA accreditation¹ , which came very quickly, is obviously also a source of legitimate satisfaction. " 

¹The AMBA (Association of Masters of Business Administration) accreditation recognizes the best MBAs in the world. Together with the AACSB and EQUIS labels, it forms the triple accreditation system for business schools. 

Bio : 

Before creating the MBA Wine & Spirits Business, Jacques Thébault spent 27 years with the international communications agency Sopexa. Director of the New York agency, President of Sopexa Americas, then of the Southern Europe zone, head of France, director of the 25-agency network and finally head of Asia, Jacques Thébault has an incredibly rich experience in international team management for wines & spirits.  He created the MBA in 2017, with the simple ambition ''to help students find their happiness''.