Global Executive MBA
A Microcosm of Global Business

Midway through IESE’s Global Executive MBA program, Ilona Klassen faced a provocative question from an acquaintance. He found the program attractive and was thinking of applying but had a dilemma. Would he be better off investing the time involved in learning from his current boss, who was brilliant, and saving the money for seed funding for his own new start-up? Ilona had no hesitation. “My answer was that no one person in this world could equal the potential learning from a group of about forty incredible people. What could replace this unbelievably rich experience and opportunity to learn priceless new ways of thinking?” We talked to Ilona and three of her Global Executive MBA classmates, all of whom started the program in May 2006 and graduated in October last year.

Though varying in age, nationality and motivation for doing the program they were unanimous in acknowledging how much it had already helped them. While praising faculty and staff, they also emphasized that a precious part of the program’s value lay with their outstanding peers, from whom they gained both valuable knowledge and strong friendship.

Andrzej Skubiszewski, now 34, also had a clever boss, but far from deterring him from doing the Global Executive MBA, it was a pivotal factor in his arrival at IESE.

Andrzej had worked in the tobacco business in Poland since 1999. By 2005 he was commercial director of Gallaher Polska and wanted to upgrade his management skills.

“I asked my boss, Alejandro Ouziel, if he would support me doing an MBA in Poland. He said that if I was going to do it, to choose one of the best in the world. He’s from Barcelona and graduated from the Global Executive MBA at IESE in 2003.”

Andrzej investigated a few schools, including IESE, INSEAD and London Business School. “But then I was on business in Barcelona anyway and got the chance to go to the Open Day at IESE. That made my mind up. I really liked what I saw, the place, the people, the professors, and I immediately decided it would be IESE. I saw that it was possible to have close contact with the professors, the classes were small. Access to professors was very important to me.”
Other attractions were the way the modules were distributed – he did not want to be spending most weekends in a classroom– and the opportunity to see China and Silicon Valley.

Meanwhile, over in the U.S., Greg Golebiewski, then 50, felt that his management style, which developed there during the “wild 80s and 90s,” needed a serious overhaul. A managing partner and co-owner of a small yet growing consulting firm MTM Consultants-Poland and respected by his clients as an expert in education and human resources development, he had over 22 years of practical experience and had notched up some impressive wins in big education projects.“But my business background had been rather fragmented, based on observation and practice and several economy and business courses I took in the 80s. Most of all, I needed the discipline and rigor of a full academic program to unlearn some of the old habits and replace them with a fresh and fully structured management background," he said.

Greg, a naturalized American who was born and grew up in Poland, was accepted into the Duke and Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA programs but since his firm was planning to enter the European and Asian markets, the global dimension made IESE’s program perfect. Incidentally, Greg’s own life is pretty global - he lists both San Francisco and Warsaw as his cities of residence.

Like Greg, Francesc Valverde, wanted a thorough business skills update. He was 55 and the president and founder of Sucitesa, a Spain-based manufacturer of professional cleaning products. Though an SME, the company has a lot of contact with foreign corporations. “We need to operate at the management level of a
multinational," Francesc said. He had done an executive education program at Harvard Business School in the 90s and felt it was now time for an MBA. IESE suggested he enroll in an advanced management program, noting he had a lot of management experience. But Francesc’s mind was made up. “I wanted an in-depth program revising all the important areas of business, including finance and marketing. Only an MBA could deliver that.” The average age of participants in IESE’s Global Executive MBA program is 37. Francesc was 55 when he started it, enriching the class's diverse profile. “I believe that within ten years' time we won’t be retiring until 70. When I retire as head of my company I want to continue to help manage it at board level. The knowledge I need to do this well I can get only through an MBA at IESE.” And why IESE? “Because it carries a lot of prestige. Proximity was not a decisive factor. I had studied at Harvard and saw IESE as having many similarities. I evaluated business schools in other countries but the clincher was attending Open Days and speaking with program graduates at IESE.”

In Stuttgart, Ukraine-born Ilona Klassen, now 35, had clocked up six years at an operational level with Porsche and wanted to widen her horizons. “Every good learning experience I remembered involved not only improving skills and gaining knowledge, but gaining new perspectives. I felt the need for new
impulses, a phase of intensive learning, questioning things I’ve done so far and discovering new perspectives.”

Ilona decided on IESE’s Global Executive MBA because she saw it as a means to also: “improve my leadership skills, learn more about working with different nationalities and company backgrounds, and widen my international network while getting a first class education at a top school.”

So did the Global Executive MBA program deliver on such lofty goals? First we asked Andrzej. In answering it should be pointed out that Andrzej is now general manager and chairman of the board of JTIPoland, part of JTI International, the world’s third largest international tobacco company. Not only that, he is the
group’s youngest general manager and its first local rather than expat head. Early last year, while still doing his MBA, JTI bought out his then employer, Gallaher. Andrzej says the fact that he was doing the program greatly impressed his new bosses, who despite some initial reservations because of his age, promoted him.

The self confidence and wider general knowledge he gained from the program have also proved crucial. Andrzej says he is more assured in meetings with visitors from HQ and not put off by their frequent comments about his youth.
He says it is a big plus being able to talk intelligently and from first-hand experience about a variety of topics. For instance, drawing on the Global Executive MBA modules he did in China and Silicon Valley he can speak more authoritatively about the global economy.

For Andrzej, however, the key benefits from his MBA have been in the soft skills - leadership, time management, decision making, problem solving and networking.“They turned out to be of more use than anything else, helping me in my private life as well.”

“I really liked the problem-solving methodology taught to us by Mike Rosenberg.
I use it not just at work but in my personal life. People normally make decisions based on their feelings and experience and quickly decide on a solution. But now I take different steps, looking at things from different ways. It does not take much more time but the better methodology results in better solutions.”

But the big benefit for Andrzej was learning to listen. “In the program’s first week we had to summarize our first case in teams but we were still very much a group of individuals. We had to find a common language and understanding.
Through this process we all learned a lot about each other and realized we could not get it done if we did not work as a team. I realized I learned more when I listened more and at work that means I make better decisions.”

As for Greg, he says that thanks to the Global Executive MBA he can now put together a solid project proposal with all the right figures and projections and doesn’t need “to call Jack” – MBA insider code for whoever takes care of the numbers for them - to decipher a balance sheet.

He had hoped the program would give him more options and help him to identify and invest in good business ideas, and it did; "Right now, my friends and I are working on a concept, called Znak it!, that will – naturally! – change the way we do business on the Internet. If Znak it! becomes another Yahoo or Google, it will be in partially due to the Global Executive MBA.”

“I believe, however, it is mostly because of my increased confidence in my business and managerial skills. The Global Executive MBA has given me the ability to look around for new opportunities or new ways of doing business, and the confidence to go after my gut instinct with a full set of management tools, proven strategies and a network of friends willing to help.”

Other key takeaways were the program’s thorough review of all major general management areas, from decision-making strategies, marketing and financial accounting to leadership and ethics.“I am sure anyone who took Prof. Rosenberg’s or Prof. Weber’s classes (to name just a few) will well remember what we learned in thinking, deconstructing common problems and analyzing them in systematic ways to find solutions.”

For Greg, IESE’s emphasis on the value of people was particularly important. “In my industry –- consulting -- people are everything. I was very happy to notice this emphasis on people as assets in most of IESE’s offerings.” “My firm has already invested in a project that combines solid business practices that will measure its success in terms of social impact rather than the EBITDA," Greg said. Francesc said that thanks to the Global Executive MBA he has gained the latest in management know-how. This is crucial in the rapidly changing world, where staying up-to-date is essential but not easy.

He had wanted an international experience and he got it. “I met people from a range of industries, cultures and countries. For example, in our group we had people from the U.S., India, Russia, Portugal, Germany and Spain (me). It was like a microcosm.” This was important because the future for business is internationalization.

“You need to know how to manage a company in the context of globalization.” Francesc said the program started to payoff from the very first day. “It has helped me to generate new ideas and plan changes to the business that we will be implemented over the next few years.” “Thanks to the program I have already made some changes, such as to our cost accounting system, and some organizational improvements.”

Overall, the program has been invaluable.“I think many people my age are thinking about retirement but I still have many active professional years ahead. If you are determined and willing, then the Global Executive MBA is an extraordinary experience.”

Post-graduation, Ilona is still with Porsche but has made a massive career jump, one she attributes largely to the program teaching her to reframe her thinking. She is now Group IT Manager for Porsche Cars GreatBritain Ltd, based in Reading, near London. The UK is Porsche’s third biggest market.

It was the kind of promotion that usually takes years and yet had its genesis in almost a dare. While Ilona was doing a project at Porsche UK during her Global Executive MBA, the IT manager quit. Ilona’s then boss asked her if she was going to throw her hat in the ring. Ilona said that before starting her MBA she would never have considered such a move. IESE had taught her to see things differently. She was encouraged by IESE’s Mike Rosenberg, a former consultant. “Without his support and the knowledge I gained in the first two modules, I don’t think I ever would have seen this job as the opportunity it is and made it through the interviews. He stressed the importance of having an opinion, to show not just that I knew the company but what I would do differently.”

And Ilona is wasting no time putting her learning into practice in her new post. For example, she found Prof. Jaume Ribera’s lessons in managing operations particularly practical and applied the theory to restructure a help desk. Without any increase in resources, within a few months it was handling 25 percent more requests and its backlog had been more than halved.

Ilona says doing the MBA was her most intensive learning experience so far and a catalyst of personal growth. “IESE gave us the necessary tools (skills and knowledge) and the opportunity to find friends. You don’t change the world on your own, it’s always through team work.”

”The great thing was that in addition to the professor, in every class we had nearly 40 other people to learn from, all from diverse backgrounds and with impressive experience and knowledge.” And as for Ilona’s acquaintance with a dilemma, he has since applied to and been admitted to IESE’s Global Executive MBA.

NEW GLOBAL EXECUTIVE MBA FORMAT

The Global Executive MBA program has launched a new format, to complement the original version. For seven years, the program has followed a bi-monthly structure, with two-week residential modules in Barcelona, Madrid, Silicon Valley and Shanghai.

While the program has become a popular format choice for working professionals, IESE has decided to expand the Global Executive MBA's accessibility by offering a new version.

Starting in September, the program will be offered in a monthly format, with 17 oneweek residential modules that take place over 22 months. The program will maintain the same focus, philosophy and intensity.

One change will be that the new format features modules in New York and India, giving participants a close-up view to these two very different business contexts.
With this new format, executives have more options for balancing
an MBA program with their professional and family life.