Neurosurgery Equipment Sales Representative
EMBA – Class of 2018
What issues motivated you to undertake an Executive MBA?
I was not learning anymore in my current position.
How did you know you were “ready” to begin an Executive MBA?
Having enough years of experience, in just one meeting with Sébastien Thébault I was sure that I needed to make changes.
In what ways did the Kedge Global MBA respond to your particular needs?
Kedge responded by the flexibility of the programme and the possibility to have a major part of my courses in Bordeaux.
How has the MBA experience transformed you as a leader?
It gives me the possibility to have a more global approach, to consider the decisions of my company in different ways and sometimes to negotiate in a better way with my hierarchy.
How has your new MBA network benefitted you so far?
For the moment it is from a more personal point of view. I’ve met a lot of different people with different backgrounds and levels of responsibilities but with the same need to learn as me. Though from a pure business point of view, I have found people who gave me very strong inspriation for business creation ideas as well as met complementary people to connect with if the business project is a sustainable one.
What challenges did you encounter while doing the MBA and how did you address them?
The MBA is sometimes really hard because it takes a lot of time and it takes time away from my family life. I am lucky because I have a husband who has really supported me ( a decision made as a “couple”) In my case, it was particularly difficult.. I was exhausted managing work, baby and MBA! I think that, even though people thought the MBA was not a good idea because my son was a baby when I started, it ended up being the right timing as for two-thirds of the MBA, my son was too young to feel the lack of my presence.
The other challenge I encountered was with my company which did not support me. So, I decided to pay all the MBA (with the help of Kedge) and all my holidays were used to go to the courses and seminars. It was very complicated from a financial point of view. I was lucky to have saved money beforehand… but it was a real financial investment for the entire family.
What advice might you offer other women considering undertaking an Executive MBA?
I offer no specific advice to women. But the first advice I would give to a person who is "married" is to really explain to his/her partner what the EMBA consists of! It is really better if it is a “couple-made decision”. Otherwise, I don’t think the MBA is a question of gender… but a question of each individual situation ( married, single, with or without children etc...)