« The Global Top 1% Want to Set Up in Singapore », Arnaud Rubeck, President of the Singapore Chapter

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An interview with Arnaud Rubeck (MBA 20), President of the Singapore Chapter.

How many alumni does the Singapore Chapter have? Which sectors are the most attractive? 

We have around a thousand alumni in Singapore, 600 of whom are active within the Chapter. In detail, the alumni network is mostly made up of international members, with only 40% French. There are notably many executives in Singapore, working in the luxury, industrial and finance sectors. I am also seeing more and more profiles joining SMEs. Finally, we have many solopreneurs, consultants and people working in tech, as well as venture-capital professionals and investors. I would say the network today includes 10% entrepreneurs.

What makes Singapore attractive? 

Singapore is one of the few places in the world to offer stability. The global top 1% want to set up here. That said, Singapore is not an easy place to access: the salary level required to obtain a visa is around 7,000 dollars a month. This is why we have very few young graduates in Singapore. Alumni generally settle here after ten years of professional experience, often within large international groups.

What advice would you give to young graduates wishing to settle in Singapore? 

Students who studied at the ESSEC campus in Singapore want to stay. This is particularly the case for students from China or India who would like to follow up their studies with experience in Singapore. My advice is to start with an initial experience in Jakarta or Kuala Lumpur. There are many opportunities and the visa requirements are less restrictive. In a second stage, it is possible to move on to other opportunities in Singapore.

What is the latest news from the Singapore Chapter? 

The main news is the launch of APAC Spark ESSEC Alumni. ESSEC Spark APAC is a new AI-powered programme, launched by the Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation APAC and ESSEC Alumni, designed to help graduates in the APAC region validate, build and launch their project. Applications are open until 2 July 2026. Three profiles will be selected and will receive twelve weeks of support, co-funded by ESSEC Alumni. The aim of this programme is to support employees and test their start-up idea.

Beyond this specific programme, we have several themed clubs: luxury, finance, sport, tech and entrepreneurs. Each club offers themed events. For example, with the entrepreneurs' club, we recently held a breakfast on the use of AI in prototyping. We also organise six to seven global networking events a year.

To join the Singapore Chapter, click here.