100 Million Protective Masks Gathered by MBA Alumnus

As people around the world race to stop the spread of the coronavirus, Thibaud Sarrazin-Boespflug, MBA ’96, has an answer. In fact, he has 100 million of them.

As the president of the HEC Alumni Chapter in Shenzhen and with deep connections to both the French Chamber in Hong Kong and members of the Chinese healthcare community, Thibaud was in a unique position to gather much-needed personal protective equipment. Enlisting the help of six volunteers, the HEC Paris MBA alumnus was able to collect 7 million masks in 48 hours. That number rose to 100 million masks within two weeks. Setting up a supply chain and a routing system with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the volunteers are shipping 100 million masks for use in France. The protective equipment will be outfitting medical personnel, caregivers, police and crucial others throughout the country.

Raising Funds for Doctors and for Students

Another initiative spearheaded by the HEC Community is a fundraising campaign co-organized by HEC Alumni and Sciences Po Alumni to raise donations for two international medical organizations: Médecins Sans Frontières and Médecins du Monde. As of mid-April, more than €170,000 had been pledged toward medical equipment and support for healthcare workers throughout the world.

Helping out closer to home, the HEC Foundation has launched a solidarity fund to support current students who find themselves in financial difficulty. A first round of grants was awarded to 10 students in April.

For a complete list of all the COVID relief projects underway in the HEC Community, please visit our official webpage.