Renaud

My name is Renaud and I am a Partner at Brinon Investissement. I am a graduate of the Universite Paris Dauphine and began my career as an Auditor for Deloitte. I’ve always been a part of the Investment industry. I also completed my Executive MBA from INSEAD.

I have a Masters from the University of Paris Dauphine and spent ten years in the auditing and finance industry. Having acquired all the network, the skills and the knowledge needed to move forward in my professional career I saw no need for further degrees and education. However, when my best friend did a full-time MBA at INSEAD I could see how much it changed him and allowed him to make an impressive career leap. After discussing with him and understanding this breakthrough I thought that it would be worthwhile to invest time and money in an MBA. When I applied to INSEAD my original intent was different from the others, most of whom are usually looking for knowledge and career improvement. I did an MBA for myself: to give me the attitude and the approach to move forward in my personal and professional life.

I am a busy professional with a family and finding the time to devote to MBA preparations overwork and family was a challenge. The GMAT preparations were no cakewalk either. When I decided to do the GMAT it had been years since I had left school and it was not easy to go back to school and learn from books, take computer-based tests, etc. In fact, I would recommend anyone who wants to go for an MBA to follow the GMAT program with Dr. Hubert Silly. He taught me how to split my time between my family, work and studies and it was a great learning experience. It also helped reveal my motivation for the MBA

Finally, the application. I had never completed an application in my life and was not at ease with it.  At that time I was not looking for short term or midterm career change as I was already a managing partner in an equity firm and it made no sense for me to leave the firm within the next five years. It was not easy to explain to INSEAD that my main objective was personal development and not any other motive for the next decade. 

I used to visit INSEAD a lot even before I started my MBA classes. I attended many parties and mixers with my best friend who was studying at INSEAD at the time. I found the campus and its students very warm and welcoming. It is ranked as one of the best business schools in Europe. As such the standard of classes is very high. I met many great business minds at INSEAD who became a part of my network. 

I believe a lot in sharing and communicating and I would recommend that you contact people who have done an MBA and find out whether that is something that you really think is necessary for you or something you are looking for. After I completed my MBA I noticed that all my friends went for an MBA too. Once they found out what I had experienced and achieved, they realized that it was something that they wanted. But I also noticed that some of my wife’s friends have still not completed the MBAs they began a few years ago. So it is important that you figure out whether you really need that MBA as it is a very elite and niche degree.

Second, visit the campuses. Since my best friend was at INSEAD, I attended many events and parties there and felt very much at ease with the people there. Check whether the people and values of the specific school you want to go to fit what you are looking for. I visited IMD, Chicago, and TRIUM and can attest to the fact that each program has its own values. Some people may prefer Chicago while others may prefer INSEAD or IMD. So it is just a matter of finding the right fit.

Finally, around ten of my friends studied under the direction of Dr. Hubert Silly and the MBA Center and have been accepted to great schools. To meet with Dr. Hubert Silly and try to join the classes at the MBA Center which will be really helpful for you.