Before joining IÉSEG to do the Executive MBA, I was an engineer in information systems, graduate of the University of Technology of Troyes. I worked for 18 years at PSA Peugeot Citroën. I was then halfway through my career and decided to take time to reflect by taking a sabbatical year. During this year, I wanted to go back to school and I was interested in the different MBAs, so I chose the Executive MBA of IÉSEG.

I wanted to go back to the academic side, to understand our societies and our companies, and that’s what I liked about the IÉSEG Executive MBA, which is based on the development of future executives capable of changing things, innovating, and, why not, building companies. I found that this aspect of inclusion in a society which is in the midst of disruption, change and digitization matched my expectations, and that was the case; I really liked the program.

What I particularly appreciated about the program was my ability to relearn, I was very much based on what I had learned and I was late in picking up new knowledge, so it put me back in a learning position. I realized that lifelong learning is really something that I had put aside. Then, the ability to gain perspective, to have a complete, systemic view of different technical, environmental and societal issues. And thanks to all this, the ability to redefine my career plan, since at that time I was too focused on technologies.

The classes were a little difficult at first, but they taught me to rely on academic knowledge. I specifically remember an elective on philosophy. I was a little frustrated with it at the time and this helped me come to terms with it.

The Executive MBA allowed me to discover completely different people. At that time, I was very much confined to the world of IT, cars and engineering, and here I found myself working and collaborating with people who really came from different backgrounds. What also marked me were the two trips, one to South Africa and another to San Francisco, which allowed us to really discover the creative ecosystem of Silicon Valley between academia, start-ups and companies. It was extremely interesting to discover this context and this environment.

When you start the program, they tell you that in order to take up the challenge of completing the two years, you have to get organized and I was lucky enough to be able to do the first semester completely free of paid work. Then, I quickly found a new challenge and I went to Capgemini at the beginning of the second semester where I negotiated with my new employer to have time to complete my Executive MBA. Nevertheless, I still had to work weekends at a certain pace. You have to be methodical, structured, and sometimes even industrial in your note-taking and course preparation. I was a little bit methodical at the beginning and there I greatly reinforced my skills in this area. Once the rhythm was set, it went well.

I was able to reap the benefits of my Executive MBA during the program as it helped me negotiate my new position at Capgemini, even though I had not yet completed the program.

Today, I am continuing on the career path I set for myself and what I am doing at Capgemini is directly related to what I decided in my first semester of the Executive MBA. From the first semester, you learn to question yourself, to think about what you really want.

My advice for a future student would be to go into this program frankly, without asking yourself too many questions because at the end of the day, it’s really a great experience. Thanks to this degree, you create a great opportunity for the future, but that doesn’t do everything, you really need to have a project and the desire to go all the way.

Published on: May 24, 2022