Intrapreneurship: Clermont SB Supporting Organizational Transformation

An engineer by training, Marc Evangelista devoted more than thirty years of his career to the Michelin Group, where he held various roles in diverse environments: design office, industry, procurement, and international trade. This multifaceted career path led him to create the Michelin Innovation Lab (MIL), a space where intrapreneurship comes to life within the Clermont-based company.

A trainer and speaker, he frequently addresses corporate innovation topics, with a particular interest in intrapreneurial approaches. In his latest book, Effectuons l’intrapreneuriat, he explores how the principles of effectuation can be applied within large organizations.

In 2025, Marc joined Clermont School of Business as part of a skills-based sponsorship initiative. In this interview, he reflects on how intrapreneurship has emerged as a strategic lever for organizations, as well as the motivations that led him to join the School to support companies and their employees in this dynamic.

What motivated you to join Clermont SB to develop intrapreneurship within executive education?

Joining Clermont School of Business felt like a natural step. We have been working together for several years to train intrapreneurs, and the story began quite simply: two committed players, Clermont SB and Michelin. Over time, other companies joined this dynamic, each bringing its own vision of intrapreneurship.

Very different organizations such as ROYAL CANIN, AESIO Mutuelle, and SOMFY—which has built a genuine internal program and trains its employees with real intent—have enriched our cohorts. We also work with Village by CA Centre France and Savoie, Crédit Agricole des Savoie, and Pfeiffer Vacuum, all contributing to a particularly vibrant learning ecosystem.

After more than ten years at the Michelin Innovation Lab, I wanted to make my expertise available to other organizations within an institution that values innovation, experimentation, and human-centred support. Clermont School of Business embodies a very contemporary vision of executive education: developing skills that genuinely transform organizations.

Intrapreneurship naturally fits into this ambition.

Why has intrapreneurship become a strategic priority for companies today?

We operate in a context where companies must innovate quickly while undergoing deep transformation. Intrapreneurship addresses this dual challenge: it accelerates innovation while enabling sustainable organizational change.

One of the major strengths of intrapreneurship lies in the exploratory projects carried out by employees. These projects allow them to explore an idea from A to Z: identifying a pain point or opportunity, formulating a hypothesis, testing it on a small scale, meeting users, prototyping, confronting the concept with real-world feedback… These projects may involve improving an internal process, creating a new service or product, opening the company to a new market, or addressing an emerging issue within the organization.

By taking ownership of these projects, employees experiment with new ways of working—more agile, more collaborative, and more focused on real value creation. This breaks down silos, transforms managerial practices, and gradually establishes a culture of experimentation.

Intrapreneurship thus becomes a powerful tool for revisiting internal processes, developing innovative offerings, and exploring emerging opportunities. It encourages initiative-taking, strengthens adaptability, and develops collective agility.

What benefits do participants gain from these intrapreneurship programs?

Professionals who join our programs gain confidence, leadership, and greater capacity for action. They learn how to structure an idea, persuade stakeholders, prototype, manage a project, and bring people together around a clear vision. Beyond technical skills, they develop a genuine intrapreneurial mindset: the ability to challenge the status quo, detect opportunities, and be a driving force within their organization.

For companies, this is a considerable asset. Participants become true catalysts for internal transformation and innovation, capable of carrying out concrete projects with real impact.

The training developed with the School is built on years of experimentation and feedback from employees across diverse companies. This diversity has enabled us to construct a resolutely pragmatic approach centered on action. Each learner arrives with their own project, and the program guides them step by step in its development, always with immediate real-world application in mind.

Delivering the programme across multiple companies, bringing together participants from varied organizations, adds a widely recognized benefit. The cross-fertilization of experiences, corporate cultures, and professional perspectives enriches discussions, stimulates creativity, and offers participants a genuine space for openness.

Do the Clermont-Ferrand and Annecy cohorts have specific characteristics?

Indeed, we offer this training in both Clermont-Ferrand and Annecy. While each region has its own identity and ecosystem, both programs are built on the same solid core. The challenges linked to intrapreneurship are, in reality, very similar across organizations: engaging employees, structuring exploration, testing solutions, and fostering a culture of innovation. This is why the core content remains the same across both locations.

In both settings, the cohorts share a common mindset: a strong desire to learn, test, experiment, and bring impactful projects to life. This collective dynamic is a real driving force for participants.

At the same time, we make sure to respond to the specific needs of each company and each learner. This is why additional modules are offered in one location and then adapted or deployed in the other, depending on identified needs. We ensure each cohort benefits from a coherent learning experience, finely adjusted to its context.

And of course, if other needs emerge or if other regions express interest, we are entirely open to offering the program elsewhere. Intrapreneurship has a place anywhere there is a desire to drive transformation.

What message would you like to share with professionals considering training in intrapreneurship?

If you want to strengthen your ability to innovate, to take initiative, and to drive change within your organization, intrapreneurship is an excellent entry point.

It offers a unique opportunity to learn how to turn ideas into concrete projects, to take a step back from your own practices, and to better understand how to create value in an environment that is constantly evolving.

You do not need to already be an “intrapreneur” to join our programs—this is precisely why they exist. We start from your experiences, your intuitions, and your real-world challenges, and we support you step by step in structuring and experimenting with your projects.

Intrapreneurship is not reserved for a particular profile or role. It is a mindset that is accessible to all: to those who want to make things move forward, who see opportunities where others see constraints, and who wish to contribute actively to the transformation of their organization.

If you have that desire, even if you don’t yet know how to express it, then you are already in the right place!