Sheer diversity and overall quality of the student body.

Maximilian von Spiegel, Germany
Institution:Esade Business School
Program:Full-time MBA
Degree:2012

Why did you decide for a Master of Business Administration?

For more than 5 years I worked for SAP as an IT consultant, helping some of SAP’s largest customers translate their business strategy into a long-term IT strategy and the appropriate IT architecture. I tremendously enjoyed the intellectual challenge of optimising large scale IT systems. However, I always felt that enterprise IT should be more than a mere support function but instead be a true enabler of business innovation. As such, IT strategists should have a profound understanding of their business counterparts’ needs and challenges which I hoped to gain from an MBA.

Why did you decide for a fulltime MBA?

It quickly became clear to me that only a fulltime program would work for me. I wanted to be able to concentrate all my attention to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and not get side-tracked by my consulting duties. I anticipated that the daily interaction with my classmates would offer me with as many learning opportunities as the pure academics.

Why did you decide for ESADE Business School?

For choosing the school, I had three main criteria:

  1. European school - I wanted to work in a European company after graduation and benefit of the school’s alumni network.
  2. Rankings – high average position to ensure a high academic quality.
  3. School profile – the profile should match my own personality. ESADE’s cooperative approach appealed to my preference of team work.

How was your experience at ESADE Business School?

As it turned out, my expectations were not only met but surpassed. True, some things could have been better organized by the school. However, this seems to be the case at all business schools once you get a look behind the scenes, either from talking to their students/alumni or by experiencing it first hand through exchange programs. What really blew me away at ESADE was the sheer diversity and overall quality of the student body. Many times long conversations with my classmates taught me more about another culture, profession or industry than a standard case study could have. The sense of bonding and mutual support in all matters we shared in our class was staggering and forms the basis for a very strong alumni network. The school not only welcomed this but expected and actively encouraged this whenever possible, hence the famous "ESADE spirit".

How did you profit from the ESADE MBA?

Now that I have graduated from ESADE in 2012, many aspects have contributed to landing me my dream job as a Business Architect at the world’s largest logistics company. I learned about the industry, the specific challenges it faces, how to approach them in structured way and, last but not least, how to survive a very tough hiring process.

Why would you recommend the ESADE MBA?

Looking back, my initial assumptions about the MBA have proven true and I am now much more effective as a bridge between the business and IT departments, helping both sides understand each other’s needs and capabilities much better. I was fortunate enough that ESADE offered a program and an environment that was almost ideally tailored to my needs. This indeed resulted in the MBA becoming the time of my life where I could grow both academically as well as in my personality!

Maximilian von Spiegel
Fulltime MBA 2012
ESADE Business School

More Information

University Profile:Esade Business School
DBA-Profile::Full-time MBA

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