#6 - JUNE 2026
Kelly Hébert: tomorrow’s expert
This is the woman who saw ChatGPT arrive without batting an eyelash. The rise of GAI has not unsettled Kelly Hébert (SKEMA 2009; M&G Investments’ Managing Director for France and BeLux), but has actually boosted her career. She feels that being an AI expert means, above all, understanding what AI cannot do and continuing to enhance this deeply human expertise.
GENERATIVE artificial intelligence (GAI) was sold to us as a revolution. And that is true. But some have suggested that yesterday’s experts would no longer be tomorrow’s experts; that AI would force them to change, compelling them to broaden their skill sets – abandoning hard skills to develop soft skills – or risk becoming obsolete. The real situation is subtler than that. Genuine experts like Kelly Hébert (SKEMA 2009) have moved forward without waiting for AI. The true leaders of the past already drew on a refined understanding of human nature. They are already tomorrow’s experts.
On the second floor of a Paris building in cut stone, Kelly Hébert is weathering the AI storm with equanimity. She walks in, places her hands on the table, looks at you with attentive blue eyes, and smiles at the experts’ talk… of the end of experts. “I’d be pretty scared to start my career in AI without 20 years’ experience under my belt. It’s thanks to those years that I can use it intelligently.” In her day-to-day work, Kelly Hébert sees herself as an “orchestral conductor”. She sets the “music” of commercial activity in time with the financial markets. As well as being Global Head of Sustainability Development at M&G Investments, one of Europe’s leading asset management firms, Kelly Hébert is also its Managing Director for France, Belgium and Luxembourg. A title as long as a prompt, which requires not only technical knowledge, but above all “energy”.
THE INTELLIGENCE OF THE ELEMENTS
Kelly Hébert spends time with people. Clients who need to be understood and won over. “What I’m good at is building connections and creating bonds. It all comes down to the energy you give off. And that’s something you’re born with. But, with experience, you learn to channel it.” Like kitesurfing? “Exactly.” In kitesurfing, “beginners all make the same mistake.” They “think you need to use a lot of strength and energy to control the sail properly”, but “far from it. It’s like a piano; the control bar is very responsive and can be handled with little effort.”
A particularly useful skill when the weather changes suddenly: “In finance, the westerly wind known as the Trump can dictate the mood of the markets with a single tweet. To adapt, I rely considerably on my empathy and awareness of my surroundings. All I can do is stay flexible and be as agile as possible. Uncertainty isn’t all bad news: some winds whip up a storm, while others help you move forward.”
AI helps her pick up the pace; she moves swiftly from one topic to the next during meetings. “I cover a lot of different topics. It used to be hard to always be up to speed when you arrive. I’ve got an interview on BFM this afternoon. I used to spend two hours compiling the latest macroeconomic figures and our funds’ latest performance data, but now it takes me five minutes to tell AI what I need and check it over. I use it as a starting point, and I’m better equipped to provide immediate added value.”
HARD SKILLS, SOFT POWER
And this added value is her ability to convince. AI isn’t her first upheaval; Kelly Hébert has already lived through the ESG revolution. “When I joined M&G Investments [in 2014 – Ed.], British companies were still lagging behind when it came to sustainable finance. So, to sell my products, I need to take these criteria more into account. I took on the role of a lobbyist and at first, I was sent packing! To change people’s attitudes, I brought portfolio managers face to face with my investors, so that they could get an idea of their needs and expectations straight from the horse’s mouth.”
For while AI is blurring the concept of expertise, the financial sector still requires experts. “When I started out 18 years ago, I had to be twice as skilled as a man to earn the same respect. Things have changed a great deal, but major achievements in this field are still all about men, often; that’s the model we identify with. We need success stories involving women.”
Being an expert today means using your hard skills to make the most of your soft skills. Especially in France, where the appearance of competence sometimes takes precedence over actual expertise. “In France, an expert is either a senior manager or someone with a finance degree who works in finance – that puts people at ease,” smiles the Franco-Dutch woman who runs a British company. “In the UK, you can become a portfolio manager straight after doing a bachelor’s degree in French art. They’ll take the risk if they believe it can work. Over there, an expert is someone who gets the job done.” With or without ChatGPT, but always with good interpersonal skills. Kelly Hébert: the art of doing it right.
Kelly Hébert
AT A GLANCE
2009
Graduates from SKEMA Business School
2010
Becomes Head of Sales Benelux at La Financière de l’Échiquier
2014
Joins M&G Investments as Sales Director for Benelux
2018
Becomes Head of Belgium & Luxembourg
2021
Global Head of ESG Development
2024
Country Head France, Belgium, Luxembourg & Global Head of ESG Development at M&G Investments