1. What is your professional background? Why did you decide to do an EMBA? Why did you choose the Weekend Track of the ESSEC & MANNHEIM Executive MBA (now: Mannheim Executive MBA)?

Following my studies in Law at the University of Tübingen and my PhD, I first started an ordinary career as a lawyer in a law firm before I joined the legal department of Bilfinger SE (at that time Bilfinger Berger AG). Over time, the company offered me the opportunity to develop my skills outside the original legal environment as Head of Mergers & Acquisitions and shortly thereafter also Head of Corporate Strategy. To support me in this career move and in stepping out of my comfort zone, an Executive MBA seemed to me the best way to learn and understand more about business models, strategy, and business analytics. The weekend-based Executive MBA at Mannheim Business School was my preferred option as already then it was the top program in Germany, and in terms of location it was the easiest to combine with my family of four kids and my challenging job in Mannheim.

2. What impact did the EMBA have on your career?

The EMBA not only provided me with a theoretical knowledge of economics, but also broadened my mind and helped me to reflect on many topics relating to my career, my approach to work, and internationality. Both the knowledge and the title I gained with the EMBA gave me the personal strength and validation I needed to step out of my initial profession and take on an operational role as CEO. In order to succeed in such a new role, you need to be open, ask questions, and build up trust. However, you also need to have the business tools ready to apply them in your job, and the EMBA helped me a lot in getting familiar with those tools. Of course, there were moments during the program when I wasn't sure whether I would be able to finish it – with all the challenges I was facing in my personal and working life at that time. But, as often in life, once you push through, you benefit even more from the experience and the confidence you get out of such an achievement.

3. What were some significant experiences that you took away with you from the program? What was your personal highlight?

For me personally, the classes in strategy, strategic leadership, and change management were absolute highlights. The residency at UCLA in Los Angeles was outstanding as the entrepreneurship we experienced there opened new horizons. The interaction with my international class mates with all their different backgrounds was a great experience as well, with friendships and a network that are still going strong today. 

4. How did the EMBA prepare you for dealing with crisis situations such as the current corona pandemic?

Managing extreme workloads and getting through tough times with night shifts during the EMBA after arduous days clearly prepared me for times of crisis like the current one. A ‘never give up’ attitude helps a lot in times like these. Besides that, in a crisis situation companies need leaders with good general management skills, people who are genuine and empathic. To help your company, you will need to be able to deal with a lot of different issues, for example safeguarding liquidity, reducing costs without destroying the company, but also reassuring the anxieties of your workforce, and winning back clients.

What is your personal and professional background? 

I was born in Eritrea and, due to the civil war between Eritrea and Ethiopia in 1984, came to Germany as a refugee. I started my professional education as an industrial manager (Industriekaufmann) at Coca-Cola and then studied sports sciences and psychology at Goethe University in Frankfurt. After graduation, I worked in sales for a start-up software company, looking after clients in the sports and medical industry. In 2011, I moved to TRACOE medical, where I started as Regional Sales Manager in the International Sales department.

Why did you decide to do an EMBA? Why did you choose the Mannheim Executive MBA?

In 2017, I was given the opportunity to become a board member and Executive Sales Director on condition that I complete an MBA. To me, it was a no-brainer to start a program at one of the best institutions in Europe, Mannheim Business School. After attending the Open Day, talking to alumni and carefully reviewing the program, I was very confident that I would develop the skills needed for my future role in the course of the EMBA at MBS, as almost all the challenges and requirements that I defined were addressed in the program. Finally, I was very happy when I successfully completed the application process.

What impact did the Mannheim EMBA have on your career?

Successfully completing the EMBA was the final and biggest challenge for me on my way to the management team. In January 2020, I became a member of the management board at TRACOE medical. In my new position, I benefit greatly from what I have learned in the last two years. In particular, I received positive feedback on my communication and leadership style.

What were some significant experiences that you took away with you from the program? What was your personal highlight?

I had several key moments in my time at MBS, but I will focus on the three most important experiences.

I learned a lot about myself through my fellow students. Working closely with very talented and bright people shows you exactly where you stand and where you still have room for improvement. The personal exchange in between and after classes has influenced me a lot. Besides my personal development through others, I also found new friends and extended my network dramatically.

The study trip to Georgetown University was another unforgettable highlight for me. Listening to and meeting all these impressive speakers in the lecture rooms of one of the elite US universities is something I will never forget.

I also need to emphasize the Strategic Business Project. The opportunity to work on a growth strategy for a global corporation in a highly motivated and skilled team was a great challenge. We were able to implement everything we learned during the program – from strategic management and marketing to financial accounting – in our project. The Strategic Business Project made my journey at Mannheim Business School even more special.

How did the EMBA prepare you for dealing with crisis situations such as the current corona crisis?

The COVID-19 pandemic caught us, like many others, unawares, and we quickly had to make important decisions. Even though we were positively impacted by the pandemic – due to the huge demand for our products – it was one of the biggest challenges we had to face. I am very certain that the EMBA helped me make the right decisions with my teams and I was better prepared to moderate and communicate internally as well as externally.

When moving from Brussels to Frankfurt to start her job at DB Netz, the German Rail Infrastructure Company, it very soon became clear to Sophie Ismaier that the project she was in charge of was bearing great business potential still to be unfold, but which would require additional leadership skills and business-oriented competences. At a personal level, she had the feeling that she had made the best use of her public administration profile, strengthened by three years at the European Commission, but yet needed to reach for more. Sophie was looking for enlarging her intellectual horizon to, for her, largely unexplored territories and was eager to meet new people. Therefore, she decided to participate in the Mannheim EMBA Program.

The Mannheim EMBA fulfilled all of her expectations. Sophie values in particular the high quality and practice-oriented training and lectures. She regards her participation in the EMBA Program as the experience of a life time:

“The high-level of expectations towards the participants could be met as the group offered motivation and mutual support for delivering the best out of ourselves during the day - and enjoy a great time together in the evening.”

On a personal level, Sophie appreciates her personal growth and the bonds with the other participants:

“The EMBA gave me a sound self-confidence, strengthened my ability to propose, decide and deliver, and brought me new, long-lasting friendships. It made me a better, and a more resilient professional. In this respect, and even though I largely self-financed the program and attended it on my holidays, I regret neither a cent nor a day. I would do it all over again.”

Today, Sophie works as a project manager for DB Netz.

Thomas Saueressig is Member of the Executive Board of SAP SE for SAP Product Engineering and was the youngest CIO amongst DAX companies. He explains how he uses the skills he learned during the Mannheim Executive MBA in his work at SAP. 

Like all companies, SAP is undergoing a massive digital transformation – and nowhere more urgently than in its IT department. As the then youngest CIO of all companies in the DAX, Thomas Saueressig relied daily on the skills he learned in the Executive MBA to lead the company’s internal transformation.

“I'm a firm believer in continuous learning and the Executive MBA program provided an amazingly inspiring learning composition, including seminars, workshops, lectures as well as other helpful methods,” says Thomas.

SAP’s ongoing digitalization – including a shift to the cloud – requires a complete change in mindset. To achieve this, leaders need to model the behavior they require from employees. This includes demonstrating how the company and individuals can benefit from change.

“During the MBA, with the help of the classmates, professors and coaches, I was able to reflect critically on my behaviors and to challenge myself.” Now Thomas, who started at SAP in 2004 as a student in the company’s dual work-education program, has developed his own management style built on authenticity and trust. Creating the right spirit, culture and mindset in the team is key and he places a lot of value on empowerment and employee development.

Thomas has had broad experience leading multiple teams in SAP’s IT organization and working in a global environment requires particular skills. He particularly enjoyed and benefited from international orientation of Mannheim Business School and the clear focus on cultural specifics in business, which helped to enhance his leadership skills and cultural sensitivity.

As an active networker, Thomas appreciated how the MBA program allowed him to develop close contacts to leaders in many other companies. He also found the cross-coaching and mentoring between his MBA classmates to be of tremendous value. “I believe that great things happen by connecting the right people.” 

Despite Thomas' challenging role at SAP, he found the curriculum fitted his work schedule, thanks to the bi-weekly classes on Fridays and Saturdays and he was able to manage both.

When he was SAP CIO, Thomas was creating a user-centric IT organization, with the twin goals of delivering great user and customer experiences, while changing the perception of IT. “In the digital economy, entrepreneurial spirit and experience are crucial to success. I found the entrepreneurial project in the MBA both exciting and inspiring, and I am working to foster an entrepreneurship culture at SAP.”

When her employer, DCL International, Inc., asked Tawnya VanGroningen to move from Canada to Germany to develop and grow the European business, she already held a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering and had 7 years of work experience at the company in technical, sales and management roles. Still, she felt that she lacked a solid knowledge of business concepts which were necessary to succeed in this new position.

Tawnya VanGroningen, who worked as Sales Manager for Europe at DCL at the time, evaluated different schools and programs and chose the Mannheim EMBA. It appealed to her as it not only provided courses on every important subject related to business but also different methods and ways to present the information, including leadership camps, seminars, lectures, workshops and a variety of lecturers from both academia and business. Tawnya VanGroningen was convinced that the strong focus on multi-cultural and multi-competence group work would further enhance her leadership skills as businesses become more international and working with colleagues of different cultural background becomes more important. In addition to this, the three residencies located in France, USA and Asia appealed to her as it was an opportunity to gain hands-on experience for learning business concepts from different cultural backgrounds.

Tawnya VanGroningen also appreciated the time format:

"Another advantage of the program is the length of 18 months and scheduled classes every other Friday and Saturday. This was a schedule I could sustain in my personal life and my company could agree with while I was working a full-time position."

The EMBA provided her with personal and professional benefits:

"Since the EMBA I have more confidence in myself and my leadership abilities. It is sometimes challenging being a younger woman in a leading position, and I feel the EMBA provided me with a solid base of business concepts, presentation techniques and leaderships skills which gave me the confidence I needed to discuss, negotiate and interact with a variety of business professionals in high level positions. In the leadership workshops and exercises I also gained experience and tools to be a good leader and motivate my employees."

She regards the program as one of the best experiences of her life:

"It was a challenging 18 months but I learned a lot about myself. It helped me identify my strengths, improve my weakness, fine-tune my time management and organizational skills and build relationships with classmates of different cultural backgrounds and professions. The skills, contacts, and memories I made during the Mannheim EMBA program will stay with me for the rest of my life and guide me through the remainder of my career!"

Today Tawnya VanGroningen is Managing Director of the European subsidiary of DCL International Inc., DCL Europe GmbH. 

When Jörg Bruch started his career with SAP SE, he held a degree in biology and geography, but had no formal education related to his business life. In order to fill this gap after more than ten years of work experience, he decided to join theMannheim EMBA program:

"One major motivation to do an Executive MBA was to fundamentally learn all the theories, tools, and skills that are relevant in business life. To me, choosing the Mannheim EMBA was a natural choice – first because it is the best business school in Germany and one of the best in Europe; second due to the proximity to my current hometown Heidelberg; last but not least due to the interesting curriculum."

Bruch values the impact his MBA degree has made on his business life:

"The learnings are really helpful in my day-to-day business life, now having a solid background in Corporate Finance, Financial Accounting and many other disciplines. I also found myself reconfirmed in my leadership role, not only within my company but in a group of other executives from different companies and industries with really diverse backgrounds. Finally making so many new connections to other executives, not only in my class but through the Alumni network of MBS also to many others, is a real value in itself."

Bruch's biggest take-away from the Mannheim EMBA program:

"A kind of 'I can do' attitude – going 'back to school,' managing all the lectures and assignments besides my normal work and eventually graduating after eighteen months was a great re-confirmation that I can still learn very efficiently and that I can achieve something great. Also the Entrepreneurial Project was a really changing experience that is hard to gain in a corporate environment. Keeping this entrepreneurial thinking for my work in a corporate environment alive is definitely something that puts the question of value in the center of the work."

Today, Jörg Bruch is Vice President and COO of a large development unit within SAP. While before the degree his daily business was mainly operational and related to budgets before the degree, processes and formal HR topics, he took on additional responsibility after his MBA. His role now also includes product strategy, portfolio, and governance across the product development for 25 different industries and two lines of business.

Mirko Strube started his career as Inhouse Consultant at MVV Energie AG and was convinced that in order to take his career to the next level he needed to expand on his leadership skills. For him, becoming a member of the Mannheim EMBA Class of 2008 was the logical consequence: 
"The excellent reputation of the Mannheim EMBA program and the possibility to work closely together with executives from a wide range of professional and educational fields were the decisive factors for my decision to participate in the program.”
Strube considers his expectations towards the program more than met:
“Besides the profound education, the most important aspect of the program was the intense team experience: without feedback and self-reflection it is hardly possible to grow – as a person and as a leader. Looking back, I can say that I learned as much from my peers as I did from my professors.”
His biggest take-away from the Mannheim Executive-MBA program: 
“Acknowledging and appreciating the value of past experiences, learning from mistakes and establishing an environment of trust and mutual support.”
Today Mirko Strube is Senior Vice President Controlling at E.ON Germany.