Sad news – Helen Etchanchu, Associate Professor at MBS, Director of the IMPACTS Centre, Co-Holder of the COAST Chair
Dear members of our community,
It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we pay tribute to Helen Etchanchu, an emblematic figure at our school and a pioneer in the field of sustainability. Helen, associate professor at Montpellier Business School, director of the IMPACTS (Inclusive Management, Prosperity And Collective Transformation for Sustainability) research centre, and co-holder of the chair in Communication and Organisation for Sustainable Transformation (COAST), tragically passed away on 14 February after a courageous battle with a long illness.
Helen devoted her career to researching how we can organise ourselves and make sense of the major challenges of our time, such as climate change, inequality and health, in order to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. She also co-founded OS4future, to encourage other academics to lead by example on the climate crisis and transform the way we behave and operate. Her profile was featured in the French newspaper La Croix on the first ever French national debates on the Sustainable Development Goals organised by Open Diplomacy in September 2020.
Her thesis on “The Roles of Speech, Legitimacy and Power in Activating and Impeding Institutional Change towards Sustainability” earned her the Innovation, Science, Technology and Society (IS²IT) scholarship, awarded to outstanding PhD candidates by the Paris Regional Government’s Institute for Research on Innovation and Society (IFRIS). She received the Founding Young Researcher Award from the Society for Business Ethics in 2015.
Helen received her PhD in Business Administration from ESSEC Business School, Cergy, France, after studying in Germany, Spain, the United States and Canada.
Prior to her academic career, she worked in media and advertising, strategic marketing, sustainable product innovation and consulting. These experiences fuel her research expertise in strategic communication and sustainability.
Our deepest condolences go out to her husband Julien, her two children, and to all those affected by this terrible loss. Our community shares your grief at this difficult time.
Helen, your legacy will live on through the projects you inspired and the people you impacted. You will remain forever in our hearts as a model of passion, determination and humanity.
With all our love and respect,
