Audencia Alumnus, Stéphanie Gateau, honored as one of the 24 AACSB’s Influential Leaders

Stéphanie Gateau has been honored by AACSB International - the world's largest business education association - in its 2025 Class of Influential Leaders, a group of 24 outstanding entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs from AACSB-accredited business schools.

Stéphanie Gateau graduated Audencia in 1991. She is currently Founder and CEO of International Strategyand Handiroad.

She has overcome significant challenges, including a rare neurodegenerative disease, living with Asperger’s syndrome, and personal hardships. Despite these obstacles, she founded International Strategy SC, a successful consulting firm dedicated to helping French companies expand into global markets. Later, Gateau launched the Handiroad app, a startup designed to combat exclusion by improving accessibility for people with reduced mobility, and Exportunity, an incubator focused on supporting international startups, which have both earned her international recognition. She is also a campaigner on disability legislation, and regularly advises the French government on such issues. In addition to those achievements, Gateau is also addressing digital inclusion and cognitive bias in artificial intelligence through her role as an ambassador for Impact France, the first coalition of French business leaders who put ecological and social impact at the heart of their companies.

Gateau’s entrepreneurial spirit and dedication have earned her numerous accolades, including La Poste Group’s 2024 Women in Digital Technology Award, recognition on Maddyness and Ayming’s list of the Top 30 Handitech/Sportech Personalities, and second place in the 2020 Women Tech Global Disability Inclusion Award, which featured 114,000 female founders from 180 countries. Handiroad has also been selected for the current 9th edition of the Résidence d’Accélération Startup Programme, a prestigious French accelerator programme for startups.

Stéphanie Gateau’s work demonstrates how business schools can fuel solution-minded leaders to create new business ventures and solve complex challenges,” says Lily Bi, AACSB president and CEO. “Through entrepreneurial approaches and visionary thinking, Gateau is creating meaningful change in the world.

Now in its 10th year, AACSB’s Influential Leaders member spotlight program highlights the value that business schools bring to business and society. Leaders in the 2025 class have used their entrepreneurial skills to not only realize their business dreams but foster economic growth in their communities, generate new value for existing organizations, and leverage innovative thinking to solve societal challenges.

All honorees from this year’s class have a degree from one of AACSB’s more than 1,000 accredited business schools worldwide. Each Influential Leader was nominated by their school. Support for the 2025 Influential Leaders initiative is provided by Risepoint.

Founded in 1900, Audencia is among the best European business schools. Audencia is accredited by EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA. First French management school to adhere to the UN’s  Global Compact, and also a signatory of its Principles of Responsible Management Education, Audencia has long been committed to training and coaching innovative and responsible managers with interdisciplinary skills so they can make a positive contribution to the major challenges facing our organizations, societies and planet. Audencia also created Gaïa, the first school of ecological and social transition launched by a business school. In co-creation with our stakeholders, Audencia produces and disseminates knowledge that impacts scientific literature, the content of our educational programs, company practices and society as a whole. In doing so, the school aims to contribute to three major challenges: the creation and use of responsible information and technology, the development and adoption of managerial approaches that promote inclusive organizations and societies, and the design and implementation of sustainable business models and growth. Audencia offers programs in management and communication from bachelor to doctoral level. The school has signed partnerships with more than 220 international academic institutions and more than 900 national and international firms. Audencia is home to more than 7800 students, 172 faculty and has a network of over 37 000 alumni.