Sebastien Aubrey

What made you decide to do an EMBA?

Given that my career goal a long time ago was to be in general management, I was keen to expand my speciality at that time, which was sales – sales in China to be more specific. I wanted to gain exposure to more areas within the company such as understanding how a company works in terms of finance, manufacturing, production, logistics, etc. I wanted to broaden my skill set to be able to run a business or a unit within a larger company.

Why the Tsinghua-INSEAD EMBA (TIEMBA)?

TIEMBA was perfect for me in terms of the programme locations. I was based in Beijing at that time and half of the classes were held here. I am French and I live in China. My career was all about China and so I had the best of both right there. For me to be exposed to a very international class was a critical factor, and TIEMBA provided the perfect environment for this. 

How has the TIEMBA helped you in your career so far?

TIEMBA has helped me to gain the confidence to address all kinds of people, be it senior executives in companies or its partners. With the knowledge I acquired, I was able to relate to their objectives and their needs. For instance, I was able to talk to a CFO, or to a production manager or logistics manager, even though I had not been practising those areas myself. Beyond that, I was able to raise my discussion in my career to a strategic level.

Can you share more about the Leadership Development Programme (LDP)?

The LDP is about knowing yourself better, do an introspection of your qualities, and this is done through the feedback that you get from your peers. The feedback that you get is very valuable, and you would accept this feedback because these people are not just colleagues or your manager, they are people that you trust and build friendships with.

Do share more about your class experience.

The class experience was very interactive and dynamic. We were always looking forward to not just the academic knowledge, but also the experience sharing from either classmates or even the professors. It was a mix of enjoying the learning experience, as well as being able to interact and think about problems and issues and get feedback immediately. Discussions usually took place in class or during breakout sessions and we would talk about issues that you normally would not get to discuss in your work environment.

What is the biggest takeaway you have gotten from the programme?

The biggest take away I got from TIEMBA was that I was in an environment that forced me to open up to many different point of views, cultures, opinions, and it made me a lot stronger and richer in my perspectives on problems. So it is a lifetime takeaway, I would say. And it is valuable not just for work, but for my personal development in my interactions with people every day.

In one word, how would you describe your TIEMBA experience?

Enriching!