Laurent

My name is Laurent and I graduated as a telecom engineer from the University of Toulon. I have always been highly interested in coaching and entrepreneurship and hold certifications from Habilitation as Coaching de Dirigeants and Administrateur Qualified Independent ADAE. I started my career with Technicolor / Grass Valley and worked there for over seven years before finally deciding to go for an MBA at the age of 42

I started my career as a telecom engineer but moved on rapidly into business development and I worked as a B2B developer for Technicolor/GrassValley. Since I was managing huge contracts for my company, they were not very keen on letting me go into other companies or into more international sectors as a result of which my career began to move upward at a very slow pace. So I decided to go for an Executive MBA at INSEAD in order to fast track my career evolution and have a more international career. The MBA would give me more credibility even as it helped enhance my knowledge base to move forward to a more strategic level in my career at an international level.

The whole process of applying for an MBA was a tough ride for me. I started my application process when I was already 41 years old and had stopped my studies over fifteen years prior. So the GMAT was a type of exercise I was no longer used to. It took me over nine months of work to get to the 700 scores required for admission into INSEAD.  But I really enjoyed working with Dr. Hubert Silly and MBA Center who gave me all the support that I needed for the preparations. 

As an engineer, I am not very comfortable talking about myself. So writing about myself for the application process was also very difficult for me. Again, Dr. Hubert Silly and his team came to my rescue. They were careful listeners and were able to identify the problems and suggest solutions for them. They helped me communicate well all my career ambitions and personal plans to the admission committees. 

As I applied to the Executive MBA program I was working and doing the course simultaneously. As such, I spent a considerable amount of time shuttling between my job and the INSEAD campus. But over the course of the classes, I found the INSEAD campus very welcoming. The school with its state of the art facilities and world-renowned academia was a great choice for me. As INSEAD ranks among the top two in global rankings, the students who were admitted to INSEAD were some of the best minds in the business in the world. There was a lot of learning, give and take activities amongst the students itself. Overall a great experience for a professional like me.

Start an MBA much earlier. The average age of students when I was at INSEAD was the late 30s making me one of the oldest students in the class.

Get in touch with your employer and involve them in the MBA especially if you are going for an Executive program. As I wasn’t happy with the place I was working in, I did not inform my company about my MBA plans. Thinking about it now, I realize that it was a mistake as they could have been of great help to me, both financially and otherwise had I involved them in the process. Make it a joint project between the employer and you.

Finally, be surrounded by professional people who can help you build your application further. At INSEAD I was surrounded by numerous others who had taken the help of professionals to reach there. So, do not feel ashamed or guilty of taking professional help. In this aspect, I’d recommend the services of the MBA Center who have been instrumental in helping me get through to INSEAD.