Franck

My name is Franck and I hold an MSc from the Ecole de Management de Lyon Business School. I’ve had a very interesting career beginning with Internships at HSBC Global Banking and Marketing, Roland Berger, EY and Accenture. I also worked as Head of Controlling and Strategic Planning at Essilor in their Australian offices in Sydney for almost 5 years. I joined CSC in January 2009 where I am based.

When I applied for an MBA I was a project leader at Computer Sciences Corporation(CSC). Even though the experience was very enriching and challenging I wanted to go into a more strategic position and I wanted to quit consulting and work for the company at a more strategic level. I already have a Masters in Management from Ecole de Management de Lyon and an exchange program with London Business School. So I already had the education but my career in consulting would not open any doors of the jobs that I was dreaming about at that time.

My wife and I wanted to have a more international career scope and therefore decided to go for a program that would help me further my career in the UK or the US.

The GMAT was not really difficult and I got all the support that I needed from Dr. Hubert Silly and the MBA Center team and got 700 after three months of class. However, the application itself was another story. I was a consultant with big dreams. I needed to find the right time and approach to express who I am and also where I wanted to go without boasting and staying humble and true to myself, which I managed to do thanks to the support of Dr. Hubert Silly who helped me find the right time to express my career goals. 

I was a part of the Executive MBA program hence I had 14 weeks of class over a year. As the campus was situated at Fontainebleau, I could easily travel over the weekends and required class days while also being able to work and be with my family on other days. This fluid setup was also one of the reasons I chose INSEAD. 

Apart from that, the classes are one of a kind. You are surrounded by other entrepreneurs and consultants, men and women who have already achieved certain goals in life and sharing their experiences with the whole class. I was also able to provide my experiences. In a way, we managed to understand the different thinking processes of various companies and individuals through the classes.

I know that I understand the program from inside as my wife completed her Global Executive MBA with London Business School and Columbia. I can also tell that even between two top schools like INSEAD and Columbia there is plenty of differences. Therefore I would advise every student to do their research well as not all MBAs are the same even if they are renamed at the top. Identify clearly the values, the approach, the teaching methods of each school and clearly assess whether they correspond to what you need and what you want. For instance, I wanted an international global management program with a strong network in Europe and chose INSEAD. My wife wanted to have a program with a greater focus on finance and more American and she chose LBS- Columbia. We are both very happy with our experiences with our respective programs. Visit schools to see if it is what you are really looking for. There were two students in my course who stopped their MBA midway. I find that a big waste of time and money and something that could easily have been avoided had they made more careful consideration.

Finally, I did not involve CSC in my program. I thought that my professional development would not continue with them. Looking back, I find that perhaps I could have involved them more. So I advise other candidates to involve their employers in the project as they can get the financing from them and can expect a promotion right after the MBA. This was something that my wife did. She involved her company which is Ernst & Young and got promoted partner after her MBA.

The final piece of advice: Both my wife and I went to work with Dr. Hubert Silly and MBA Center and we also sent them many other friends from Ernst & Young who wanted to make a career change. All of them have been pleased with the services provided by the MBA Center as all of them managed to get into their dream schools thanks to their support.