For our Inspirational Women Shaping The Future Of Business Education series we speak with Vanessa Balouzet at EHL Hospitality Business School
- Name: Vanessa Balouzet
- Job title: Chief Growth Officer
- Institution: EHL Hospitality Business School
Vanessa Balouzet is part of the Executive Leadership Team at EHL Hospitality Business School (ranked #1 in Hospitality and Leisure Management by QS Rankings), where she oversees People Development, New Business Development, Marketing & Innovation.
With 20 years of professional experience, Balouzet has held P&L responsibilities and led initiatives in professional education, digital & change management for EHL, Nestlé and Swiss Education Group. Additionally, she has worked in strategy, organisational design, business growth, and turnaround management at Boston Consulting Group and A.T. Kearney.
Her expertise lies in translating board-level business vision into reality by defining strategy, identifying execution priorities, aligning people strategy with leadership capability, launching fast critical innovations, and simplifying the way businesses operate. Balouzet has successfully developed People Office practices, nurtured talents, and launched new higher education & professional programs. Her role is centered on developing people and talents, and designing unique and unforgettable learning experiences.
Balouzet has led digital transformation & e-commerce growth including pioneering top-quality, cost-efficient operating models. She has also driven business growth through the successful implementation of new business development initiatives, fostering sustainable partnerships, and launching successful innovations.
Why do you work in education?
I have a passion for empowering people to grow their own unique and successful way. I believe we can create the space (physical, emotional, inspiring, stimulating) for each person to acquire the soft and hard skills they need to succeed in their professional life, and even beyond.
“Caring for people has always been my primary value and is at the center of what I do every day for my team and for our students.”
I specifically work in a Hospitality school. It is a dream work environment for me as I love cooking, culinary arts, and creating memorable experiences. Caring for people has always been my primary value and is at the center of what I do every day for my team and for our students.
What’s the most rewarding part of your role?
Admiring how the students transform themselves during their tenure with us. It still amazes me to see how they grow in confidence, master communication, develop problem-solving skills, build lasting connections between themselves but also as they work in student committees, learning how to perform in a team and having the courage to defend their ideas.
Many students leave EHL with a dream to make a difference in the world and the confidence to pursue this dream. They have so many opportunities after graduating to work in multiple industries where the human experience is a differentiating factor.
Please tell us about a challenge you’ve overcome to get to where you are today. What did you learn?
The biggest challenge for me was to balance a demanding role while finding time for my loved ones.
I learned how to increase my efficiency at work: I take very few breaks during the day, and I always manage my workload starting with the end in mind. I delegate and trust my team fully.
“It is possible to pursue a great career without sacrificing our other passions in life.”
I learned to ask for help, share the workload with my husband and surround myself with a community of friends supporting each other, a “women community”. I know I can always count on someone and I am always here to support my friends as well. So I never feel that I have to do this alone. We always say “It takes a village to educate a child”.
I learned how to be direct with my managers on my needs for flexibility to be able to manage all priorities and to be a mastermind for the logistics. Every week is a puzzle to solve.
And I learned to forgive myself when things are not going exactly the way I wanted to. Next time will be an opportunity to do better.
Have you ever had a role model? If yes, who? And how have they impacted your career or outlook?
My role models are people who live their passion fully, transmit their dreams, and care for people with intelligence and kindness:
- My piano teacher as she transmitted so simply her passion for music while caring for my emotions.
- My philosophy professor who enlightened me and opened my mind to a different way to see the world.
- A great Partner at BCG who inspired me to give space to everyone in the team regardless of their experience level or status. He cared more for the opinions of the team than hearing himself talk or winning an argument.
Those people shaped my leadership style and who I am today.
What advice would you give to others to succeed in their careers?
Follow what you love, what makes you vibrate, what gives you energy. And naturally, you will excel without even having the impression to work.
To follow your dream requires sometimes not to care so much about traditional thinking or what could be valued by others. What matters is what is important for you.
I also think it is very important, for women especially, to believe in themselves, to have the confidence to dare, to take some risks, to be a candidate for a promotion.
And it is possible to pursue a great career without sacrificing our other passions in life. It even makes us better as we have multiple interests.
Interested in this series? Keep reading…