Claude Robillard - TRIUM

Claude Robillard, completed his graduation from TRIUM in 2007 and speaks about what the EMBA experience has brought him since. He is currently managing partner at Artemis Investment Management

What motivated you to pursue your EMBA?

My professional background lies within global capital markets in both traditional and alternative asset classes, carrying a multi-product and multi-jurisdictional focus. To stay abreast of an increasingly fluid and complex global market, it is critical to be exposed to disparate, international perspectives. Through TRIUM, I wished to gain from the experience of faculty and global professionals whose expertise lay outside my domain. In short, I wanted to leave my comfort zone in order to develop my skills and broaden my perspective to address an increasingly interwoven global economy. Leading professionals, like athletes, require coaching and intervention to ensure peak performance.
TRIUM struck me as an ideal mix of tangible international experience, unsurpassed academic reputation and a strong cohort of global senior-level executives.

Did your company suggest this, or did you persuade your company and if so how?

The idea to pursue an MBA through TRIUM was my own, though it was supported in great measure by my family and colleagues. My company recognized the professional contribution that would be derived from a world-class global Executive MBA. TRIUM was a particularly attractive option due to the senior level and global diversity of the students.

What are the realities of juggling professional responsibilities with family commitments and academic pursuits?

Hybrid professional/academic paths require discipline, stamina and support. I realized quickly that time is finite and responsibilities (professional, academic and personal) need to be managed carefully. I found it best to delineate my responsibilities and preset my schedule weeks, even months, in advance...a task I found to be challenging given my "organized chaos" approach to scheduling prior to joining TRIUM. My interest in the material, and the relationships I forged with both faculty and peers, contributed greatly towards my successful completion of the TRIUM Program.

How steep is the learning curve when you're back in the classroom after all this time?

The learning curve can be daunting in areas you have not experienced since the undergraduate level, or in fields that fall outside your professional specialization. Throughout the TRIUM Program I realized that there is a great well of support to draw from in terms of faculty, peer group, academic resources, and your existing professional network.

What concrete skills, techniques or knowledge did you acquire from the course that you were able to immediately apply in your company?

TRIUM reconfigured my approach to corporate strategy. It reinforced the importance of long-term strategic planning, risk identification and management. It provided me with a more robust "macro" perspective. The program also helped me to harvest accretive professional relationships in international markets (eg Eastern Europe) that I did not have prior to joining TRIUM. The TRIUM alumni network provides long-term access to senior level executives who are living and working in diverse regions of the world. These executives hold in-depth industry and regional expertise that extends far beyond the program.

Would you say that the EMBA program taught you how to think innovatively? Can innovation be taught / learnt?

Innovation, in my view, is the result of hard work and a fresh perspective. TRIUM requires the former and reinforces the latter. I realized quickly that ideas and approaches that are novel in one region or industry are quite common in another. Learning how business is done across regions and industry provides a terrific environment for innovation within one's industry.

A lot of EMBA candidates get promoted even before the completion of the program, or very shortly after. Is this your case?

As a founding partner of my company, the goal of   “promotion” was replaced with expansion. My firm has grown in terms of size and profitability since my completion of the TRIUM program.

Have you seen your earnings increase?

My earnings have increased since completing the TRIUM program.

With hindsight, what was the main benefit you reaped?

The main benefits reaped were professional development, a crystallized view of global markets, and a greatly expanded global professional network.

How does an EMBA help your intra/entrepreneurial approach?

TRIUM emphasizes an intra/entrepreneurial approach through its final Term Project. Throughout the program, TRIUM takes the approach that senior-level global executives must think and act like entrepreneurs whether they are working out of their garage in a true “start-up” environment or spearheading a multinational corporate initiative. The TRIUM Term Project is carried out by self-formed groups and the final project is a fully worked-out, executable business plan. This is presented to a 'board of directors' during the final module. In essence, the projects are meant to give tangible form to the ideas and concepts of the TRIUM program to encourage us to consider intra/entrepreneurial approaches. Our final term project focused on a business opportunity and social infrastructure project in Eastern Europe. Our four team members, from four countries, brought a wealth of local and international business knowledge.TRIUM blends a wide array of professional experiences with leading academic theory. It is nearly impossible to ignore the ambitious and congenial atmosphere that results from putting dozens of high-octane professionals and academics in a room; intra/entrepreneurial dividends inevitably result.

If you had to do this again, what would you do differently?

Nothing. I would highly recommend TRIUM to any senior-level executive looking to broaden both their expertise and their global network.