Executive Education Livre Blanc
Profit, a Good Servant but a Bad Master
Profit, a Good Servant but a Bad Master
Can profit alone provide a reliable compass for businesses and their leaders? Why do some highly profitable companies see their market value tumble, while others that remain loss-making continue to attract investors?
These questions challenge a purely accounting view of corporate performance and invite a broader reflection on what truly creates value. In an era shaped by innovation, intangible assets and future growth expectations, profitability is no longer the sole measure of success.
In this interview, Fahmi Ben Abdelkader, Associate Professor of Finance at ESCP Business School, explores the relationship between profit, performance and value creation, while highlighting the risks of short-term oriented decisions and an excessive focus on profit maximisation.
Fahmi Ben Abdelkader
Fahmi Ben Abdelkader is an Associate Professor of Finance at ESCP Business School, where he leads several executive education programmes, including the Online Certificate in Finance for Managers. He holds a PhD in Economics from Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University and has more than twenty years of experience teaching and designing executive education programmes for senior leaders and managers of major corporations.
A specialist in corporate governance and financial regulation, he serves as a consultant to the World Bank and is the former Scientific Coordinator of Labex ReFi. He is also the co-author of a book on governance and development in the Arab world.
