David BUISSON

Lyon, a city of character which fascinates me

The spirit of piracy does not care about the age – this expression shall be illustrated by the following odyssey. At 70, David Buisson is the passionate kind and remains this pirate who takes pleasure in ignoring routine and escaping time’s hold. Besides, the very man who flees from the idea of a typical day could not tell you exactly what his job is since "he is involved in so many activities ". If we wanted to simplify it, we could say that David has a gift for killing the torpor and disrupting set rules. A calculating mutineer who adds up to make a difference and mobilizes creative forces here and there. Between a whirlwind visit to China and a stopover in England, David manages to squeeze an aside in Lyon, despite his " impossible agenda" and his insatiable activity which does not leave any cardinal point in his monastic solitude. From North to South, from East to West, this New-Zealander takes his good nature across the world and exercises his skills as consultant in everything for everybody. 

Diving into David’s background requires the lungs of a free diver. To avoid drowning in the torrents of his passionate experiences, all you need to do is follow the Ariadne’s thread stretched out throughout the academic world. Because University is a little bit like his New World in which childhood declines to let a nature that had been sleeping until then flourish: "I really find myself at the University when I had to assert my individuality. It is probably one of the most important thing that happened to me. It strongly shaped my life", he insists. With an insatiable curiosity, he is a go-between between earths and materials, combining Auckland at the MIT and the rigidity of Marketing with the creativity of Human Sciences: "When I joined the MIT, I discovered that it was the place where we did Business and Social Sciences. I suddenly realized that subjects were compartmentalized. From there, I decided to bring down all these walls". A habit he kept during his years as the Dean of the University of Otago. Where specialists of rival disciplines simply cross swords, he became a master in the art of crossing skills: "I had a reputation for hiring slightly unusual people. For example, I hired a former catholic priest as Head of the Department of Sociology. Everybody had told me: "Don’t call him!" but when I did, he turned out to be just brilliant", he remembers, punctuating his anecdote with a thundering laughter. With enough confidence and a touch of exuberance, David managed to give the University of Otago an international profile thanks to a wealth of partnerships. This turmoil could only captivate iaelyon which, on the other side of the globe, endeavored to push boundaries in the Education System as well.

If David has been infatuated with this School since the GUYOT era, this idyll was enhanced in the recent years, much to the detriment of an agenda about to implode. Because he has the makings of a cacique and the shoulders of a high official, David was even offered the position chairman of the International Advisory Board. To follow up on this idea, he and Jérôme Rive embarked on a dangerous ascent which would help iaelyon climb to the firmament of Business Schools: "EQUIS is an international quality standard which allows a school to stand apart from the other schools. I was a member of the Committee which delivers this label. Three years ago, I told Jérôme:  What you should leave as a legacy when you step back is the EQUIS accreditation From this moment on, I started to cooperate closely with iaelyon". Never over-worked, he introduces students to the eloquence. Professor in the International MBA and the International Week, David has several functions and flies back and forth to the Capital of Gaul: "Lyon is a city of character which fascinates me. I really feel at home in France!"

In my lessons, nobody ever takes notes, everything is based on creativity

While enjoying the virtuosity of the young generations, this diligent professor questions the certainties of his students and pushes them to their limits: “I love teaching at iaelyon. In my courses, nobody ever takes notes; everything is based on creativity. I deliberately take my students out of their comfort zone, I challenge them, I defy them. You must guide them somewhere they did not know they could go”. After having been rapped, chanted, filmed, painted and written, the pertinence so dear to the impertinent enters Business Schools. Skeptical? Recoup your energy with a touch of audacity made in Buisson: "I don’t believe in market research; To me, market research is a thing that belongs in the past. Today, you must head towards the unknown. You know, the best entrepreneurs are not necessarily the most qualified, they are the most imaginative". The most scrupulous should not become fearful: David intends less to give power to dunces than foster a practical dimension clouded by excessive theorization.

Who knows what this preceptor of the unlikely is up to when he does not remake the world with his students. Is he preparing one of his protégés to enter a prestigious University? Is he unraveling the mysteries of innovation to a promising startup? He could even be venturing out on the dance floor of a gala evening organized by iaelyon, "the best one "according to him… Or maybe simply enjoying an excellent bottle of wine coming straight from the vineyard he once managed. This man’s energy could tire out many young working people because the day when this giant’s enthusiasm will wane is still far off!