2026 EFMD Sharing Best Practice Workshop – June

The “Next Curve” refers to a great friend of EFMD who recently passed away, Charles Handy[1].

In organisations whose employment frameworks were often designed in the 1990s or earlier, and which over the past decade have focused primarily on younger generations, the question of the final phase of professional life – the conditions for a graceful exit and the reinvention required for a third quadrant – has now taken on unprecedented urgency.

This session will be led by Laurent Choain, former Chief Leadership, Education and Culture Officer at Forvis Mazars and currently Global Chief People and Culture Officer at Accor, bringing valuable perspectives from both organisations.

For Forvis Mazars, this issue is particularly critical, both economically and culturally. Our partnership model depends on continuous renewal. Yet this raises a fundamental question: what should the final years within the partnership look like – knowing that it must be left no later than age 65 – and how can we organise a successful transition towards life after Forvis Mazars?

This is the purpose of the Next Curve project. But today it extends beyond the reality of our firm alone: it has become one of the major professional, educational and societal challenges facing most advanced economies worldwide. Besides the Forvis Mazars case, we will also address how Novotel has made its new positioning.

Longevity requires a fresh look at how we organise learning, work and retirement. Organisations should help their workforce in preparing for an extended retirement phase whilst acknowledging their experience and client relationships in multiple ways.

Participants in this workshop can learn about the implications of demographic change and share their challenges along the way.

[1] Charles Handy, The Second Curve, https://youtu.be/bK8a_9JpIgs?si=Qs6tERhl17NPCti1