10 years ago another group of MBAs prepared for their exams. How did it compare? Here’s what Mathieu Pointeau, one of the 2018 MBA bloggers, wrote:
26th March 2008
His name is Stefano Masino, Global Partner Director of Adecco Human Capital Solutions Continue reading “POM POM Class (revisited)”
Anna is an executive leadership coach for women. Originally from New Zealand, she holds an MSc in Occupational Psychology and started her career in HR at Shell in both European and Global roles. She graduated from IMD in 2007 and was recipient of the Award for the best all-round female. Following her MBA she joined Mars Chocolate in the UK and worked in a range of senior sales & marketing roles, most recently as their Commercial Strategy Director. She now combines her psychological insight with her commerciality as an executive coach, inspiring women at all career stages to achieve their potential at work. She lives in London with her husband and is a Mum to three very energetic boys.
Continue reading “Anna’s intake on women in leadership”
3rd January 2017. Freshly ironed shirt, neat shoes, gel in my hair for the first time since years, I enter the IMD terrain. Even though I am 31 years old, it feels like the first day of high school all over again. Continue reading “Take a Selfless Selfie”
Catherine Kulley, MBA 2008 graduate and blog writer, is today’s guest writer, celebrating a 10 year blog anniversary!
It’s been 10 years since I wrote this and thinking about what’s happened since is tremendous… the world is a very different place with the best and worst of humanity on display regularly; my family happily grew and sadly shrank; my “home” country changed 3 times and my career took several unexpected twists and turns. The one common thing, however, is what I learned in my year at IMD. Continue reading “Reflections”
As we prepare to welcome in the next MBA Program Dean, Seán Meehan, here are some final words from Professor Ralf Boscheck, who has been running the ship for the past four years.
IMD’s year is ending and so is my fourth and last term as MBA Program Director. Time to thank you for your support and to sum up what we tried to do.
For the last four years, we aimed to put the program into the centre of the school. The idea was to combine its small size and the benefit of attention with the scale of one of the largest executive development operations in the world. In the process, we broke up silos and dismantled hierarchies. We changed our recruiting procedures, adjusted our marketing efforts and strengthened key elements of the program. We improved some rankings and even managed to change some rating methodologies. We also publicly challenged those appraisals where – even when results improved – we questioned the integrity of the statistics that had been applied. Some praised us for it – others clearly did not. And boy – did they not praise us.
Over the years, the MBA office transformed into a successful and truly collaborative team that generated a range of new and valuable initiatives. At the end, we hope to have made some improvements to what has always been a solid and unique program. For the last four years, our tag line has been – “the skills to know, the confidence to act and the humility to lead.” Even if these words were to change in the future – I think we would be well advised to recall them as the spirit of what we stand for.
Personally, I am very thankful for the opportunity that the MBA assignment has given me – I learned things about others and myself that I would have not realized otherwise. I learned to trust, gained confidence and a bit of humility.
Let me end with a question that a former colleague of ours, the late Professor Stewart Hamilton, asked me a long time back – and I know I have asked this question to some of you before: “How many years are between 30 & 40?”
The answer is “Less than you think … may be three … So as you pursue your career don’t forget to live!
On that note, all the best to you and your families.
Ralf
As one class approaches their graduation, another celebrates their first reunion. We welcome back Kunal Chandra, 2016 blogger, who kindly shares some insights in this guest post.
It hasn’t even been a year since we left IMD and we are already planning reunions just to be able to meet our friends again. The first official IMD MBA 2016 reunion was held in Barcelona at the end of September. The beautiful city, full of energy and warmth, was a perfect location to mirror our own emotions as we joined up with our batch mates and their partners. Continue reading “MBA 2016 – 1st Reunion”
Co-founders of Fifth Breath, Daniela McKenzie (Romanian/American) and Irina Marchenkova-Arya (Russian), alumni from the MBA 2008 class, write today’s guest entry about their upcoming launch.
Hard to believe that next year it will be 10 years since we left the amphitheatres benches and study rooms at IMD. Maybe because IMD has been, and continues to be, such a constant in our lives through our MBA year KIT (Keep in Touch) list that brings regular updates from across the world, or the whatsapp group or the visits and mini reunions that are going on all the time between members of our class.
Hard to believe that pressures of corporate roles, growing families and living across the world, distance and time difference have not stopped a budding idea that reunited us in more than friendship ways. Throughout the years post MBA, Irina and I kept sharing our thoughts on entrepreneurship and what would be a worthwhile mission to take on one day. We both aligned on building something that has integrity, that betters the world and delivers sustainable solutions to an otherwise burgeoning problem.
The Venn diagram confluence of all these criteria became apparent to us through our personal interests and love for yoga and wool and we set to make the first natural fibre practice mat. The yoga industry lacks truly natural and mindful product choices, and instead of fulfilling its original purpose of bettering people and keeping the planet unharmed, it is now part of the problem of overflowing waste landfills with PVC mats that will take 200 years to decompose.
Wool is the complete natural fibre, whose qualities are perfectly suited for the yoga practice: cushioning, yet light, temperature regulator, non-allergenic, sweat and odour resistant, fire resistant, biodegradable and ethically grown.
The initial prototyping, market tests and supply chain validation were so encouraging, we decided to have a proper launch for this business built during crazy hours between New Zealand and Switzerland, with four kids at times (for each of us) tugging away for our attention.
We teamed up with another mate from our class, Jesper Hornberg (Swedish), who has built a successful and impactful business in Kenya, inspired by our class expedition there back in June 2008 and we’re also launching a limited edition for the mat, with proceeds going to one of Givewatts projects of delivering solar lamps to school children.
While you might think this a carefully curated storyline, we agree that we are only giving you the clean version of this past year, since Fifth Breath was born. With all the enthusiasm, there have also been long hours, disagreements, expensive mistakes and sacrifices to deal with. Our families’ support have been outstanding and overall, our strong belief in what we are building and the complementarity of our skills in getting there carried us through the downs.
A bunch of the skills learned during our MBA applied, for others we had to dig deep in this entrepreneurial journey. But how exciting, we are about to embark on the official launch for Fifth Breath at OMYogaShow in London, Oct 20-22.
Wish us good tides. This is not only our story, it is an IMD story to add to the richness of what this institution has inspired countless people over the years with.
Daniela and Irina
