Geraldine, what is your current position?

Partnership Development Specialist at United Nations Volunteers.

Why you decided to start an EMBA?

I wanted to study something that was in a different domain from my previous studies. I was looking for a study that would give me a different and enriching perspective on how I approached my work tasks. In addition, being a full-time employee, I needed flexibility in order to disrupt as little as possible my working presence. 

Would you suggest an EMBA to women? Why?

Yes, I would definitively suggest it. An EMBA gives you a 360-degree vision of the working environment, giving you the possibility not only to develop new competencies and skills, but also tools to analyse and decide how to approach the challenges of the working environment and career for a woman.

In addition, it expands your network and you then have more people you can contact to exchange ideas and solutions. In some cases, it can make you feel that you are not the only woman facing some type of problems, such as reconciling career and family, and you can dialogue with people in similar situations.

Which challenges did you meet?

When I began the EMBA I lived in Panama. Every month I had to travel to Lugano. My supervisor at the time supported me strongly in pursuing this study and gave me the needed flexibility. The compromise I had to make was to have less time for myself, my hobbies, family and friends. Particularly as a woman, this can be a challenge if you have a family as you have to find an equilibrium between the EMBA, work and the family.

Describe yourself before and after EMBA in three words.

Before: limited competences in finance, fragmented business administration expertise, no in depth knowledge of business theories.

After: More competent, analytical, realistic.

How the program changed your mindset?

The program definitely changed my mindset. I now look more at working tasks and career with a more realistic and analytical approach. In particular, I also adopt a multidisciplinary approach when analysing situations. I reckon I have a better financial perspective, both at work and in my private life, and this helps me a lot in taking decisions.

The Faculty Council of the USI Faculty of Economics has confirmed Prof. Gianluca Colombo as Dean. 

Gianluca Colombo is Full Professor at the Institute of Management and Organisation (IMO). Previously he was Full Professor at Università dell’Insubria, and Associate Professor at Bocconi University in Milan and at Università degli Studi in Pavia. His other previous roles: Deputy Professor at the Sapienza University of Rome; Visiting Professor at the EM Lyon business school, at Aix-Marseille III University, and at Università Federico Santa Maria di Valparaiso (Chile). Prof. Colombo is member of EURAM (European Academy of Management), and of the Academy of Management. He has published several books and academic articles in the fields of strategic management, M&A, complexity theory, entrepreneurship, and family business –the latter for which he is a consultant. Prof. Colombo is the Director of the USI EMBA – Executive Master in Business Administration.

Annalisa, what is your current position?

I am CFO of Kern Tunneltechnik SA, the family business of me and my husband.

How the EMBA helped you in your job?

EMBA improved my knowledge in all the aspects of the business, but the most important help was the improvement in my mindset.
I managed to see my business from different points of view and I gained a deeper understanding of its peculiar dynamics.
I got more confident in myself and in my potential.

During my EMBA, my firm was running a negotiation with an important construction company in order to enter in our business and support its growth.
Thanks to the knowledge acquired, I was able to debate our position, to analyze all involved factors with the help of the gained tools, to find compromises and take the right decision. I’m sure I wouldn’t been able to do so successfully without my EMBA experience.

Why you decided to start an EMBA?

I decided to start this journey because our company was growing fast, and I wanted to be ready to bring it to the next level: from a small family business to an international organization.
At the moment we have our Headquarter in Switzerland, and some subsidiary companies in Slovenia, UK and Spain.
Our next big step will be Australia, a new challenge.
EMBA added also a valuable academic knowledge to my professional expertise: theory and practice are two sides of the same coin.

Describe yourself before and after EMBA in three words.

Before EMBA: limited knowledge, lack of strategic and international approach

After EMBA: consolidate knowledge, self-confident, and successful.

How the program changed your mindset? Did it changed your temper?

I became more confident and stopped analyzing each detail, looking at the bigger picture.
My strong temper did not change, it is way too explosive to me tamed, but I managed to channel and focus my energies in a strategic way.
I remain an energetic and passionate woman, lover of rock music. Imagine that at our graduation party I invited the band of a very good friend to perform with me on the stage.
Being a strong woman means not to compromise your true essence, yet being able to negotiate with your counterpart.

Would you suggest an EMBA to women? Why?

Of course I would recommend EMBA for women.
It is a journey to become more self confident, strongly competent and a way to show the value of women in business.

Take advantage of this opportunity to experience an exceptional free overview of the courses, campus, and the academic body.

When: 11, 12, 13 February 2021

What: Change Management

Frédéric Godart

Frédéric Godart is an Associate Professor (with tenure) of Management & Human Resources at HEC Paris. He is also the Academic Director of the HEC Paris luxury certificate, sponsored by Kering (owner of Gucci, Balenciaga, Saint Laurent…) Before that, he was an Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior at INSEAD. He teaches in various programmes, notably at Lugano and SciencesPo in Paris.
At HEC Paris he teaches Leadership and Strategic Talent Management in the EMBA program and Leading Organizations in the Grande Ecole Master in Management. He received his PhD from Columbia University in the City of New York. He also holds an MPhil in Social and Political Sciences from the University of Cambridge (Trinity College) in the United Kingdom, an MSc in Management from Sciences Po Paris, and was a fellow of the École Normale Supérieure in France. His research explores the dynamics of creative industries, and he focuses on fashion and luxury (e.g., design, modeling, watchmaking, footwear). He is the author of Unveiling Fashion (2012, Palgrave-MacMillan).

Limited places, book your place now:  https://www.emba.usi.ch/apply-now/

Take advantage of this opportunity to experience an exceptional free overview of the courses, campus, and the academic body.

When: 21, 22, 23 January 2021

What: Leadership Course

Andreas Bernhardt

Andreas Bernhardt is executive development advisor and lead coach at ESMT Berlin in Germany, founding member of ESMT’s Center for Leadership Development Research, and manages ESMT’s pool of executive coaches. He has over 20 years of practical leadership development experience with executives from more than 50 countries and has designed and delivered executive programs for several international companies. He is also an executive coach with the Global Leadership Centre at INSEAD, one of the world’s leading business schools.

He is co-designer and convener of ESMT’s yearly Coaching Colloquium, was co-organizer of the International Coaching Research Forum in collaboration with the Institute of Coaching at McLean/Harvard Medical School, and regularly contributes to top academic and practitioner conferences. His current consulting and research interests focus on leadership development, executive coaching, HR management, and leading and coaching teams in tough times. He is co-editor of the new book “Tricky Coaching: Difficult Cases in Leadership Coaching” together with Konstantin Korotov, Manfred Kets de Vries and Elizabeth Florent-Treacy.

He teaches and coaches in the areas of Leadership, Organizational Behavior, Coaching, Negotiations and Change in MBA, Executive MBA, open enrollment, and company specific executive programs. His executive education portfolio includes, programs for, among others, Allianz, Deutsche Bank, Postbank, Hogan Lovells, Deutsche Telekom, E.ON, RWE, BSH Bosch and Siemens, Hitachi, Kaspersky, B. Braun, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis, West Pharmaceutical Services, Johnson & Johnson, Axel Springer, McDonald’s, and the European Union.

Andreas consults globally operating companies on issues of executive coaching, leadership development, and leading people and teams in challenging times. He also regularly coaches executives on leadership and career issues.

He studied Clinical and Organizational Psychology, Management and Organizational Behavior, holds a Master’s degree in Psychology, and is an alumnus of INSEAD’s long-term executive program „Consulting and Coaching for Change” directed by Professor Manfred Kets de Vries.

Additionally, Andreas has held the position of Head of Leadership and Human Resource Management Programs for USW Schloss Gracht and prior to this worked for several years in the Banking Industry as well as for the German State Police Forces.

Limited places. Book your place: https://www.emba.usi.ch/apply-now/