Bozena Adamczyk

Please describe yourself in 15 words or less:

Audacious, networkaholic, travel lover, trilingual, finance professional

Hometown:

Paris

A fun fact about yourself:

I learnt to swim at 35 years old.

Undergraduate School and Degree:

• INSEAD - Executive MBA
• Warsaw School Of Economics - Postgraduate Degree
• Warsaw University of Technology - Master's Degree

Where are you currently working, and what is your role?

I am an Investment Director at Truffle Capital. Truffle Capital is a European fund investing in BioMedTech and Fintech.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career so far?

I was offered an opportunity within my previous company to move from Poland to France. When I arrived in Paris, my French was extremely limited, if non-existent, and I had not only to adapt to a new team, new responsibilities and a new culture, but also learn to speak and write in French as quickly as possible.

Not only did I succeed in extending my secondment, but one year later I also managed to obtain a permanent contract in this company and stayed for five years.

What is your ultimate long-term professional goal?

The sky is the limit!

Why did you decide to do an Executive MBA?

In terms of professional experience, I have gone from working for local companies in my country of origin to succeeding at an international consulting firm abroad, to becoming a financial leader at a globally successful company.

However, I am very ambitious, and in this context, I was eager to make the Executive MBA programme at INSEAD the next logical step in my career that would expand my horizons and help me achieve my goals quicker.

How did you benefit from the PWN EMBA Scholarship?

I did not have any financial aid and faced some difficulties in fully funding the costs.

Thanks to the PWN EMBA Scholarship I was able to cover part of my tuition fees.

What was your Executive MBA experience like?

As a member of the Europe section I went through 14 intense and rewarding months of learning, self-reflection, group work, exams, project papers, and fun. Working with like-minded classmates from around the globe is very inspiring. It makes you humble. And it makes you grateful for the opportunities you have.

Additionally, the faculty at INSEAD is outstanding, the programme is extremely well designed, the course materials are world-class, but this is not what makes INSEAD the most special. It is the personal development journey that every Executive MBA embarks on called the Leadership Development Programme.

How did the Executive MBA benefit you in your career?

Many fellow classmates expected the programme to be a driver to success in their career, and many succeeded.

In my case, since graduation in December 2018, I went through two transitions in my career. Without INSEAD I probably wouldn’t have been able to do it so quickly!

During your time as an Executive MBA student, how were you able to juggle work, family and education?

The weeks at school are very intense. I still remember our first two weeks in Fontainebleau. In the first week, we had classes all days long and in the second week we had four exams to write. It is for a good reason that INSEAD asks its students’ employers for a letter of support!

The weeks outside of school are not free either, but filled with hundreds of pages of pre-readings, the requirement to write project papers, as well as individual and group homework. All of this against strict deadlines and with high expectations.

Balancing the needs of work, family, friends and school is not easy and sometime almost impossible. I think that I was able to manage it by onboarding my family into this project from the beginning and having their approval before even starting the MBA.

What advice would you give to a female professional looking to enter an Executive MBA programme?

You’ve probably heard the following statistic: Men are confident about their ability at 60%, but women don’t feel confident until they’ve checked off each item on the list. It is the same in case of entering a top-ranked business school. Women need to have more faith in themselves!