Do you really know Marcos Lima, Head of the SKEMA Transformation Academy? Let’s check it out!
The historical figure or researcher you would like to have dinner with: I think John Maynard Keynes was one of the most original thinkers of the 20th century. His prescience of the consequences of the Versailles Treaty and his understanding in the counter-intuitive concept of public spending to create growth were testimonials to his visionary skills.
The book you (would like to) read twice: I try to re-read O Tempo e o Vento by Erico Verissimo every decade. It is a trilogy about the fates of multiple generations of Brazilians in the country’s deep south, and the formation of modern Brazil through its Portuguese, Indian and African heritages. It is probably the most epic saga ever written in Portuguese. Sadly, I believe only the first two volumes have been translated into French.
The quirkiest item on your office desk: Mother boards of ancient computers. I collect personal computers from the late 1970’s and early 1980s. Those were very innovative times for the creation of the information era, and the electronics are simple enough that even amateurs like me can begin to grasp how a computer works.
Your favourite Social Media: Used to be Twitter. I listen to lots of Podcasts like “Hardcore History” and I like the community that surrounds it.
The subject you can talk and read about for hours: Innovation. The human thirst for novel ways of solving old problems never seizes to amaze me.
The “Friends” character you would be: Don’t know, never watched “Friends”.
The country where you dream to work: France! I think it is the best concentration of the best our planet has to offer in a very small and diverse country with an amazing history, not to mention the great wines and cheeses.
Your favourite spot on campus for inspiration: The Rooftop at the Grand Paris Campus. A great place to smoke a pipe and reflect on life while listening to a podcast.
The other job you would have liked to do: Computer programmer. I would be terrible at it, but I’m fascinated by how we can order electrons around to increase human potential through 0s and 1s.
The best piece of advice you have received regarding academia: In social sciences, you must be prepared to develop some “tolerance for ambiguity”. If you come to this exercise with the expectation of easy (or definitive) answers you will be quite frustrated. In the end, the questions remain pretty much the same, but the answers keep changing, that is the beauty of it.
One word to describe the Academy you represent: Transformation!