Can you tell us more about yourself?
My name is John and I am British. I have a Bachelor and a Masters degree in Business Engineering from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. This is a degree unique to Belgium as it mixes business studies and engineering studies. I first began my career in finance starting as an investment officer and moving up to investment manager at Copa. I also worked as the Non-Executive Director for SOCOTEC which is a testing, inspection and compliance service in the Infrastructure and Energy and Environment and Safety sectors. In 2017, I moved to the Republic of Congo in and worked as the Head of Rural Business Development at Virunga National Park. I understand that my career is not the type of career than an MBA candidate has.
What prompted you to apply for an MBA?
I wanted to work in social and corporate investments, for example, working with NGOs to develop projects in developing countries, I felt that my education and experience would not be enough to allow me to reach my dream. After having worked as Head of Rural Business Development that I needed much more to succeed than what I had learned at KU Leuven. I needed to develop an expertise in project finance and finance and ethics, corporate and sustainable development, fields that I had never studied and that were important for the work I intended to pursue after the MBA.
Fortunately, INSEAD is very strong in this field and very attractive for me to help me reach my goals.
What did you find the most difficult part of the application process?
I thought that being British and having a degree in engineering I would easily pass the GMAT. Therefore I started the preparations on my own. Strangely enough, I got a relatively low score and then decided to work with a professional to reach the score that was more in line with my intellectual standards. I felt I was too slow on the maths part and that there were too many rules in English that I had ignored as a native speaker. And I was also a slow reader. At that time I also had a lot of workloads and I could not attend the MBA Center, group classes. I was fortunate that Dr. Hubert Silly and his team gave me private tutoring even at times that were not very convenient for them. After several months of collaboration, hard work, dedication, and patience they helped me develop my self-confidence, knowledge, and interest in the test and I finally managed to get the 700 plus score required. This experience was very frustrating for me as I had never felt such difficulty before an exam has been a very good student all my life.
Another part that was also quite challenging was the application. It must have been the first time in his life that Dr. Hubert Silly had to work with someone who was from Europe but had worked in Rural Business Development in Africa. It was extremely difficult to explain my career path, how someone who had worked as an investment manager in asset management could decide to leave a well-paid job for what I did. Even after that, I took some time to convince myself that I could still do an MBA. But Dr. Hubert Silly told me that everything can be explained if there is a reason. He helped me build my profile, explain my interest, communicate my desires and ambition and we managed to be successful with that.
What is life like at INSEAD?
I joined INSEAD as I believed it would help me retrace the steps of my career and help me move into finances. INSEAD has been really helpful to me in this regard and I have been very pleased with the quality of the classes and the teaching at the school. Apart from that, I have also met a great many people from all over the globe and managed to create a huge network of people who would be a great source of help in the future.
What would be your advice to someone applying for an MBA program?
The MBA was a long term dream of mine. I set up this goal for myself when I started university at 18. At that time I knew more about US MBAs than European MBAs. Whatever happened in my life I kept this objective and I believe that I am a lesson for many people that you need to dream big and keep your objective. Don’t deviate or forget the dream and do not give up on it, no matter what.
Another advice id give is be realistic about your dreams. There are a lot of MBAs that have a lot to offer but they can be quite expensive. Find the one that best corresponds to what you need. Consider the MBA as an investment and find the best investment for yourself.
Finally, I am very grateful for the help I received at MBA Center, whether it be for the GMAT or the application, spending long hours, sometimes at times that were not convenient for Dr. Hubert Silly and his team. I cannot recommend their services highly enough for future MBA applicants.