With the INSEAD Master in Management, participants gain the business skills, knowledge and connections they need to propel their careers into the future
When participants join the INSEAD Master in Management (MIM), they know they’re signing up for a rigorous 14- to 16-month programme that will integrate core business disciplines with practical learning experiences.
They also know they’ll be immersing themselves in courses spanning finance, marketing, strategy, operations and more. Moving between INSEAD’s campuses in Fontainebleau, France and in Singapore, participants will enhance their analytical-thinking and problem-solving skills, and get a chance to apply their knowledge to real-life business scenarios.
But what happens after graduation? Read on to find out more about how the MIM is opening up diverse career opportunities for participants, and where – in a crowded job market – it is helping them stand out.
Developing in-demand skills
The promise of gaining practical, in-demand skills that can be applied to diverse roles in a broad range of industries is a major reason many INSEAD MIM participants sign up for the programme.
Liam Goodman (MIM'23) was no exception.
Since graduating, Liam has found that the skills he gained from the programme by specialising in finance and technology are helping him flourish in a fast-paced start-up environment.
Today, he is Head of Technology at Amsterdam-based venture Fidamy, which focuses on developing embedded insurance solutions for leading businesses.
“The MIM programme didn’t just teach me classic business tools such as discounted cash flow and competitor analysis – it taught me how to apply these in innovative ways. That’s because the MIM takes such a distinct approach to structuring, analysing and prioritising business challenges in the first place. This has significantly enhanced my ability to drive business growth and foster innovation within my organisation,” he reports.
As Liam explains, the programme also helped him develop the managerial mindset he needs to successfully streamline processes and boost productivity.
“INSEAD’s focus on bringing participants up to date with the latest operational strategies and tools – I’m thinking especially of the trailblazing teachings we had on generative AI – has given me a distinct advantage in understanding how to enhance financial and strategic processes and navigate disruptive change,” he says.
“The extraordinary INSEAD network has also been invaluable in supporting and strengthening my entrepreneurial journey.”
Laying foundations for an international career
In today’s interconnected world, the ability to operate as part of a global team has become increasingly sought after by companies striving to succeed in an ever-expanding marketplace.
As Stefano Pizzoli (MIM'21) found, the INSEAD MIM programme allowed him to lay the foundations for a successful international career.
In 2021, shortly after graduating, he was hired by global data processing company Celonis, which offers software-as-a-service tools to help companies transform business process efficiency and execution management.
At INSEAD, Stefano had focused on MIM courses such as strategy, data science and analysis, and financial reporting.
“As a solution and value engineer within the company’s Madrid-based Centre of Excellence, I’ve been able to draw on the problem-solving skills I honed on the INSEAD MIM programme to quickly grasp complex customer challenges in different markets and work out how to adapt our approaches to meet local requirements.
Recently, I was tasked with helping the company meet accelerating demand for Celonis’s platform in Japan, which included heading to Tokyo to support the upskilling of our team there,” Stefano explains.
Stefano found the international aspect of the INSEAD MIM has also been beneficial in his current role.
“The Singapore-based part of my MIM journey – and certain highly impactful classes I took, such as ‘Innovating in China’ – was all about adapting to a new environment, navigating diversity and gaining trust.
Both really gave me a head start in my collaborations with global teams on designing and testing strategies that need to be adapted to local ways of running processes and businesses.”
Standing out to top employers
A core thrust of the MIM is empowering a new generation of agile-thinking individuals who are ready to make a positive impact in today’s society.
Such individuals include Tanya Paul (MIM'22), who came to the programme looking to pursue her passion for sustainability as a career and lifelong mission.
At INSEAD, Tanya was particularly impressed by the support she received from both the faculty and the Career Development Centre on how she could achieve her goals.
“That was a vital part of the INSEAD experience, alongside gaining the hands-on skills necessary to turn my aspiration into reality,” she says.
After graduating from the INSEAD MIM, Tanya joined global energy management specialist Schneider Electric in Singapore. “I immediately embarked on a two-year leadership training programme to become a consultant for Schneider’s sustainability business in Asia Pacific,” she says.
“This is a company with a venerable history that also manages to embrace new levels of transformation that excite me every day.
For example, right now I’m helping to drive decarbonisation programmes and renewable energy procurement negotiations, working with clients that are pushing the boundaries of climate tech as they aim to achieve wide-scale carbon emissions reduction. It’s invigorating!”
As Tanya explains, the MIM played a vital role in helping her succeed in this environment. “To take just a few examples, the critical mindset I developed in my 'Financial Statement Analysis' and ‘Investing for Impact’ classes is what I lean on when I approach prospective new client data sets during the due diligence process.
And the extensive pitching experience I gained in my ‘Sustainability and Business Model Innovation’ class really set me on the right path at Schneider, where I work with clients to develop investor presentations and create new business models.”
For Tanya, INSEAD and Schneider Electric have so far been equally instrumental in helping her unlock her potential: “Both are organisations filled with limitless possibilities – you just have to seize them.”
If you’d like to learn more about the INSEAD Master in Management, please download the brochure or contact us.
