EMBA at EMLYON: Student Interview

TopMBA.com talks to Otmane Bensaid, who has just completed his Executive MBA at the prestigious EMLYON Business School in France.

Bensaid has been working in the cement industry at Lafarge for 12 years, starting out as Head of Quality, Environment and Quarry Department at Bouskora Plant, near Casablanca in Morocco. Prior to joining one of the world’s leaders in the cement industry, Bensaid worked in the nuclear industry, doing R&D for five years.

“I decided to pursue an Executive MBA because my background was mainly technical and industrial from my experience in R&D and manufacturing, and I wanted to have a bigger picture of business,” he explains.

During his time in the classroom, Bensaid found his perception of the business environment began changing. “I have started asking questions, and having some new insights and a different way of thinking,” he says. What’s more, his changing approach, combined with his Executive MBA experience, meant Bensaid reaped the rewards of his degree before he even graduated.

“A few months before the end of the program, I was in talks about a new position in Zurich,” Bensaid recalls. “In August, I take up my new position within Lafarge as Regional Intelligence Manager for Africa and the Middle East. I don’t believe I would have had this opportunity had it not been for my Executive MBA.”

Bensaid, who can now add Switzerland to his places of employment – having had experience in Morocco, Nigeria and France –believes the greatest advantage of having an Executive MBA is the bigger picture of business one acquires. “One needs to be aware that he or she must be well prepared from a personal point of view before embarking on an Executive MBA, but yes, I would definitely encourage others to pursue this degree. It should be somehow mandatory in order to achieve a higher level of responsibility in a given organization,” he says.