Failing Forward feat. Ben Clemenceau ‘21

Owl Have You Know

In another installment of our live Owl Have You Know recording series, we invited Ben Clemenceau ‘21 back to McNair Hall to discuss his career in market research, and how earning his MBA at Rice catapulted his pivot into consulting.

In December of 2022, Ben received an accelerated promotion from senior strategy consultant to business strategy manager at Accenture.

When he reflects on his time at Rice, the standout classes for him were Professor Haiyang Li’s strategy courses. Those courses inspired him to join Accenture post-MBA and prepared him to make an impact. Since joining Accenture, he has worked on several projects, including digital transformation, growth strategy, commercial strategy, and mergers and acquisitions projects. He also mentors Rice MBAs and students from his high school and alma mater, Millsaps College.

Ben joins host Maya Pomroy to discuss their shared love of racing cars, what makes Rice different from other MBA programs, his family connection to France (he's a dual citizen), why giving back to Houston is so important to him and the work of finding and being a mentor.

Owl Have You Know is a production of Rice Business and is produced by University FM.

Episode Quotes:

On the importance of mentorship

26:18 - I find mentors everywhere. I look for mentors everywhere, and I think that, in the pursuit of a well-rounded life, you have to find mentors to help you in each of those different areas. And sometimes you find mentors that are so impressive and incredible that they will impact multiple areas of your life. And in other cases, they really do specialize, and they show you the path to walk for some specific thing.

The value of community

16:33 - Community is everything, and the community is only as strong as the effort that its members put into it. And so it's very valuable to get involved in those organizations in whatever capacity you can.

On pivoting career path and going to Rice for MBA

18:39 - It was great to be able to join the program and think to myself. I'm free to make mistakes. This is a space in which I can experiment with new career paths and new curricula.

When is the right time to go to Rice?

39:53 - Are you seeking meaningful, disruptive change to where you are? Whether that's a measurable jump in, the subject area knowledge that you've got to be better at what you're doing, or whether you're looking at recruiting into something completely new, whatever that is, it's a very positive shock to whatever you've got going on. The status quo does not survive the MBA. And if that resonates with you, then you're at that spot. You're at that right moment where it's right.

Show Links:

• Transcript

Guest Profile:

• Ben’s LinkedIn
• Accenture

Other Links:

• Professor Haiyang Li
• The Menil Collection
• Houston Museum of Natural Science
• Professor Vikas Mittal

Check out this episode featuring Professor Anastasia Zavyalova here: https://business.rice.edu/owlhaveyouknow/season-3-episode-10