TIEMBA Journey: Matthias Soreau

Matthias Soreau

From the early stage of my career I always leaned toward nurturing a strong expertise. I believe dedication will always pay off in one way or another. The idea of applying for an MBA was in my long term agenda with no rush. Across the years, my trading role naturally evolved into a mid-ranked managing position.

To me, leadership is a way of life. It is not limited to the business environment. My role as a leader is to make sure my team is evolving in an environment that allows them to excel in their own initiatives. This requires each team member have an entrepreneurship mindset and dedication that can only be achieved through values that are beyond the scope of the office. In trading the values, what I look for is likely not what you are expecting to hear. Among these values are empathy, care and generosity; because good technical expertise is not reliable enough to overcome stressful trading experiences. These values bring focus and alertness. I expect from the candidates I am looking to hire to embed these values that will lead naturally to the success of all. Technical skills are important, even though relatively negotiable in a world fostered by innovation.

At the current stage of my career, I can now see that an EMBA could help me to step back, align and leverage with the existing business ambitions. I need to foster my toolbox beyond the scope of a purely trading activity. An EMBA is a commitment I did not want to take lightly. Hence the reputation of the provider was a major focus, and INSEAD is a reputable name that I crossed multiple times in my career, in the USA and in Germany.

Being based in Singapore I voluntary only applied to TIEMBA. In-line with my business development I immediately favored the Asian market focus that TIEMBA is offering thanks to its partnership with Tsinghua University. Learning economics from a Chinese perspective is not something you can find at the library. 

The TIEMBA programme is offering a privileged look into the Chinese business and exclusive professorial access I could never have imagined to benefit before.

In my career, I am now at a crossroad of different paths and truly excited about it. Witnessing the birth of a post-COVID world is bringing a new light that I want to embrace. I can carry on and boost up the existing activity I am involved in or I can choose to dedicate the next decade into another field, beneficiating from my experience in a fast decision making and a multicultural corporate culture. Everything seems possible and I can’t wait to see what is next.

Besides the management toolbox I would like to get, I can see many lags in myself, human and technical, that could block the leverage of a more ambitious career development.

INSEAD can offer keys to open those doors thanks to its curriculum, values, network and events.

INSEAD was founded with a vision to have a positive impact on the world using business as a mean. In regards to the industrial revolution we are living in and the incredible climate and indirectly energy change challenges, it has never been more of a major topic. The values that appeal to me the most are that role that business can provide as a force to improve people’s life, in an entrepreneurial spirit, with cultural adaptability.

My experience in the first module was great. The enthusiasm behind the  introductory course to know the other classmates joined with the Techmark business challenge were very fun. As a trader, I particularly enjoyed the macroeconomic class with the Chinese insights.

Generally speaking the organization is pretty well managed, with a particular attention to live feedbacks and immediate action for a better experience in a mixed physical/online class experience.