Marc

My name is Mark and I am an engineer. I graduated with a Master’s degree in Computational and Applied Mathematics from the Ecole Centrale Paris. I also attended a one-year exchange program at the National University of Singapore where I attended a Master’s degree in Financial Mathematics.

I have worked as a trader, asset manager before working as the Vice-President of Credit Suisse in Hong Kong.

I graduated from Ecole Centrale Paris, which is one of the most selective business schools in Europe, with a Masters Degree in Computational and Applied Mathematics and an exchange program from the National University of Singapore with a Master in Financial Mathematics. I had a great career in finance, first as a portfolio manager and then as a trader with a career that was quite international developing in Europe and Asia. However, I wanted to move into more general management and strategic position either at the strategy or in the business development department in a Fortune 500 company. I wanted to reorient my career into business in order to reach a top management position by the age of 45. The job that I had, though very lucrative, would not lead me to a management position. And hence I decided to go for an MBA to further my skills to be considered eligible for the positions of my dreams.

As a quant and someone quite proficient in the English language, and with the help of Dr. Hubert Silly and his team at the MBA Center, I managed to get a score of 740 in the GMAT after only four months of class. The most difficult part of the application was most definitely the writing the application itself: the essays, the letters, etc. it was very difficult to explain to my recommenders, who saw me as someone with very high potential in the field I was at, and who knew my strengths, and ask them to explain to the admissions committee why I wanted to leave something that I was really good at for a more general and lower profile management career at a Fortune 500 company. It was very difficult for me also to explain the rationale behind my choices, be positive about my experiences, market myself to the admission committee as a potential students while giving value to my experiences as a quant while also explaining why I wanted to quit the fast track career I had going for me and move into a management position. It was also quite difficult to identify leadership characteristics in my profile through my work experiences as my job had been basically crunching data for portfolios to justify the investment. The support of Dr. Hubert Silly was key for me as he helped me identify in my extracurricular activities and volunteering activities, the leadership initiatives that I had at shown to bring them in front of the admissions committee.

Having attended a one-year exchange program in Singapore during my bachelors I was very interested in going back to the city. Being accepted at INSEAD I found myself interested in attending classes at both the campuses: Fontainebleau and Singapore and that is what I did. I really enjoyed my time at both campuses. The quality of the classes by world-renowned faculty and the facilities provided to INSEAD candidates ensure that INSEAD remains the top of the rankings. Moreover, the network that INSEAD allows its students to cultivate is really one of the reasons that it is considered the best of the European MBAs. 

I had a pretty lucrative career before my MBA. I was probably one of the few people who agreed to have my salary divided into three when I decided to go for an MBA program. It was not easy to explain that to the admissions committee that I was doing well in life and still looking for a career change. What I want to convey is that every project is valuable, and even seemingly irrational projects, just as the one I had, can be defended and sold to the committee. So do not be afraid to take the plunge. I had many people standing with me, many of whom were working in investment banking and were okay with the idea of having their salaries divided into a fourth of what they were earning by getting into strategic consulting. If it is a project you believe in, run with it. It is not uncommon to do so.

Do not hesitate to take a deep introspection of yourself. MBA programs are not looking for seemingly successful people but rather they are on the lookout for individuality in the profiles, motivation, a good project and who can justify the need for the MBA and can also contribute to the learning environment.

Finally, I believe that had I continued to apply for the MBA on my own I would have focused more on my quantitative skills, academic and personal success and that would most probably have led to my disqualification. Dr. Hubert Silly’s advice was important to help me prepare an application that was focused all around. So I can only advise potential candidates to work with Dr. Hubert Silly and his team and let them help you in your application process. Their strong understanding of what MBA programs are looking for, how to present your application without standardizing it can be of great help to prospective MBA applicants.