During the session, Eric spoke to the MBA students about the importance of finding personal purpose within their work life, and invited the young people to reflect on building their own long-term plans.
For Eric Ponçon, a passion for environmental sustainability and social impact have been two key aspects of his life that have led him to become a transformational leader. For this reason, and in order to share his experience, Eric starred in a special "live case" around his life goals, his projects in the family business and as Regional Director at ECOM Agroindustrial, as well as his family relationships.
The case, set in the year 2022, also presented a series of personal and work-related factors that led the protagonist to face what he himself called a "perfect storm".
The challenge of the case centered on a key decision for Eric, as he had to decide whether to step away from his projects in the region to continue growing in the corporate world at ECOM in Switzerland, or to remain in his current position driving sustainability strategies and generating social and environmental impact in various communities in Nicaragua.
The students listened to Eric's presentation and analyzed various professional and personal perspectives to give their recommendation on what decision he should make. Afterwards, they shared their criteria with the protagonist in a plenary session led by teacher Andrea Prado. Finally, Eric revealed the decision he made, providing real-time feedback to the students on his comments.
In his closing remarks, Eric left a powerful message to the students:
One piece of advice I have always given my children is to recognize the importance of knowing how to multiply and add, rather than divide and subtract. Just as it is important to develop win-win schemes, it is also important to find a balance with their professional life, whether it is sports, exercise, or music. It's important to focus on that...it's multiplying and adding, not dividing and subtracting.
The Strachan Chair was founded by entrepreneur, philanthropist and former Chancellor of INCAE, Harry W. Strachan. It is funded by the Strachan Foundation and friends of Bain Capital, with the objective of promoting social investment strategies. Periodically, the Chair organizes live cases with entrepreneurs from the region who are generating social and environmental impact, so that they can share their experiences and lessons learned with the students of INCAE .
