Vivienne Cox

I am sure that my MBA gave me confidence to take on widely different roles; from running all of BP’s trading businesses, to being the CEO of Air BP which refuels aircraft in 92 countries around the world. INSEAD filled the gaps in my business knowledge, and gave me a truly global perspective. Best of all though were the people - smart, diverse, challenging.

And if it weren’t for my INSEAD experience, I suspect I wouldn’t be the Chairman of one of France’s leading companies today! In those days INSEAD only had the campus in Fontainebleau, but living in France for a year just reinforced my love of the country and that is why I joined the board of Vallourec two years ago, never expecting that they would ask me to chair the company. And of course, it was the friends that I made at INSEAD that I turned to for advice when I was approached to do the job!