HEC Paris

A New Home For Mentorship Research At HEC Paris

Mentors play a crucial role in shaping future leaders, especially in business schools.

Take Mark Zuckerberg and Warren Buffet, who were mentored by Steve Jobs and Benjamin Graham respectively. However, mentorship extends far beyond the famous and is often important in helping many entrepreneurs and professionals navigate challenges and make informed decisions.

This week, HEC Paris invested heavily in mentorship. The school announced a major gift from the ION Foundation to fund their ION Management Science Lab – a research lab which will focus on mentorship’s role in businesses, especially startups. The school received a generous €10 million gift from founder and CEO of ION Group and ION Foundation, Andrea Pignataro, to establish the lab.

“Mentorship is everywhere—driving learning and growth in startups, universities, and businesses of all sizes—and its relevance only intensifies in an age of rapid AI-driven transformation,” says Pignataro.

MENTORSHIP LAB BRINGING TOGETHER INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIA

The new lab will have a major focus on data. It will be a designated space to study the true impact of mentorship on performance and innovation, bringing together academia, industry, and nonprofits to provide valuable, actionable insights. Leading the lab will be HEC professors Thomas Astebro and Carlos Serrano, who will serve as the Executive and Scientific Directors.

Eloic Peyrache, Dean of HEC Paris, says, “We are proud to partner with Andrea Pignataro and the ION Foundation in launching the ION Management Science Lab to advance research on the economics of mentorship. This initiative aligns with our commitment to empower individuals through cutting-edge insights that drive impactful change.”

In support of gathering a diverse array of data, the Lab will collaborate with ION Management Science Labs at Bocconi University in Milan and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

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