Nadia Minarovic

What is a fun fact or something unexpected about you?

One of the things that makes me happiest about living in Europe, apart from the incredible culture, history, and ease of travel, is the fact that there are almost no spiders, snakes, and sharks here. As an Australian, this brings a lot of tranquility to my life.

Tell us about yourself, and how you go to where you are today both on a professional and personal level?

I was born in former Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia) and moved with my parents to Australia when I was four years old. We moved around Australia a bit, finally settling in Sydney, so nature and beaches are very important to me, as is sunshine! 

I focused on biology during my undergraduate and honours studies, and then earned a PhD in molecular genetics.

I moved into the pharmaceutical industry following my studies as I wanted to have a more immediate impact on health, and felt industry was the best way to achieve this. Although coming from a research background, I had always had a keen interest in business and I felt working for a pharmaceutical company was the best way to combine my two passions. 

I had always had a fascination with France, and wanted to move to the country and so accepted a position with Sanofi, a French company, in their vaccines business unit. I found great purpose working with vaccines and being in a position where I could contribute to the prevention of infectious diseases and affect public vaccination policy. 

After a few years with Sanofi in Australia, I accepted a role as Global Medical Lead, Vaccines, based out of Sanofi vaccine headquarters in Lyon, France. Thus, I was able to accomplish a personal and professional goal of mine, to work in a global strategic role in a multinational company, in France. It was a dream come true! 

A couple of years ago I moved to Pfizer to take on an exciting opportunity to develop a first-in-class vaccine, a role I found very rewarding and that pushed my cross-functional expertise in pharmaceuticals, from R&D to commercial development. As it was a remote role, I also took the opportunity to move to Paris, my favourite city in the world!

What led you to decide to pursue an EMBA, and why did you choose INSEAD in particular?

I have gotten to a place in my career where I am very satisfied with what I have achieved and the experience and skills I have developed in my current field. Now I am wondering “what’s next”. 

There are so many opportunities in life and sometimes we can get boxed into a particular field, or industry, or even type of working environment, as it is what we’ve always known or done. Doing the GEMBA allows me to develop my fundamental business knowledge, and it gives me excellent support to reflect on my career and what other interesting opportunities are out there. 

But perhaps most importantly, it gives me exposure to so many accomplished and interesting people from all over the world, with incredible diversity in backgrounds and experiences. 

I first learnt of INSEAD in Australia, and it has always been where I envisaged undertaking my EMBA. Due to the strong scientific and health policy focus of my career, I did question if doing studies so strongly tied to marketing and business would align with my values. 

However, after doing research and attending the Open Day, I was very happy to discover INSEAD’s approach to business was as a force to do good in the world, and this really resonated with me. 

INSEAD’s commitment to improving the world, sustainability and diversity is apparent in all my interactions with the school and its community. I can see that the GEMBA will help me get to the next level in terms of being able to make a positive impact on the world.

Could you describe your experience so far? The classes, the curriculum, your fellow participants, the professors?

The experience has certainly been a steep learning curve! I’m definitely outside of my comfort zone when it comes to course content, but I’m very happy to be challenging myself and learning new skills. I’m enjoying the variety and scope of the core modules, and I am excited for the electives in July, although it will be hard to pick only four! 

One of the best long-term returns on investment at INSEAD is being able to come back every year for the electives module and take more classes.

The professors have been great, very approachable and with engaging teaching styles. I never thought Financial Accounting could be so fun! 

The other important learning opportunity comes from my cohort, it is full of incredibly accomplished and smart people. Their input during classes is insightful and thought-provoking, and I get a lot of inspiration learning about their career trajectories and the paths they have taken. 

They are also fast becoming my friends; we do a lot of social events and the tight bond we have is a huge support for all the challenges that come with the GEMBA.

What advice would you give to someone who might be interested in pursuing an INSEAD programme

First make sure you will be able to fully commit to the programme. There are so many opportunities the GEMBA and INSEAD provide, beyond that of the curriculum, that you want to be fully present to get the maximum value out of your experience. 

I had a call with Claudine from the Recruitment team and she was very helpful in explaining the application process and the best option for someone with my non-traditional background. 

I attended the Open Day, and this was useful to get an impression of the campus, the quality of the teaching and the other people applying. That was when I realised I had made the right decision to apply to INSEAD. I have found myself at the right place and time to do my EMBA, and I can see the major impact it is already having on me, professionally and personally.