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Podcast: “Luke Skywalker: how to make a strong second impression?” with Alban Duron (SKEMA 1996)

Alumni
The school

Published on November 19, 2025

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The latest episode of Makes Sense? tackles a persistent idea: you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Yet another question emerges: how do you succeed at the next one? In the workplace and in our personal circles, our image settles fast. After the early phase of discovery, it becomes a frame that is hard to escape. How do you surprise again, signal that you have changed, show that you are moving forward? In this episode, Kevin Erkeletyan speaks with Alban Duron, Marketing Director at JCDecaux.

Luke Skywalker’s path, from farm boy to Jedi Knight, offers a clue. His actor, Mark Hamill, did not follow the same arc: his image remained tied to one role. Harrison Ford, on the other hand, opened new paths beyond Han Solo, becoming Indiana Jones and the “Blade Runner”.

So how do you bring back the element of surprise? How do you persuade again? Which tactics help you rebrand yourself and follow Luke Skywalker’s path rather than Mark Hamill’s?

To explore these questions, Kevin Erkeletyan talks with Alban Duron, SKEMA Business School graduate (1996) and Marketing Director at JCDecaux. Through the story of Jean-Claude Decaux, the evolution of the bus shelter or the return of Burger King in France, he outlines a set of insights to rethink your image, open a new chapter and shape a freer trajectory.

Listen to the episode (In French)