When human resources director Carole Bereby enrolled in the executive MBA at HEC Paris two years ago, the geopolitics of coronavirus were straining the global supply chain of her company: the French lingerie brand Aubade. Border closures caused delays for materials coming from Europe to the company’s production site in Tunisia.

Bereby and her executive committee were forced to react swiftly by finding alternative suppliers that were less affected by Covid, and by protecting the welfare of workers on the factory floor. Even as pandemic restrictions have eased, Bereby remains conscious that her company operates in an era of heightened geopolitical volatility.

But she now feels more confident in navigating this environment following her EMBA, which included sessions on geopolitics. In these, Bereby learnt how to assess and anticipate political risks and plan for contingencies.