MBA Alumni Profile: Nicolas Derville, Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA

Nicolas Derville’s Executive MBA has taken him to a land of possibilities. Currently Sales Director, Asia-Pacific, Kraton Polymers, he talks to Ann Graham about his business school journey since his EMBA at Kellogg-WHU. 

“The moment you drop your pen after the last assignment, and two years of around the clock work and study, feels pretty good,” says Nicolas Derville. “But I enjoyed every single bit of the Executive MBA, as I found that even the pressure and late hours were more than rewarded by the quality of learning and the exhilaration of sharing the experience with group and class mates.”

A graduate of Kellogg-WHU’s Executive MBA, Derville spent many a weekend in Vallendar (1 hour train commute from Frankfurt) with live-in weeks at Kellogg School of Management in Chicago, Illinois and HKUST in Hong Kong while studying for his business degree. It was a decision motivated by a combination of need, envy and opportunity, he says.

Derville says “that after six years working for a major oil company in different roles, ranging from business analysis to sales, via project management, I felt that my academic background needed to be reinforced if I was to evolve to the business unit management.”

Derville had also received enthusiastic feedback from friends who had jumped the fence, which was reinforcing his desire to take on the EMBA challenge. He was rewarded for his efforts: “The month following the graduation ceremony, I got offered a senior business management position. In that sense, my case was a rather good example of a successful career development project between my employer and me, as they had supported me throughout the program,” Derville says.

He’s also received subsequent career development as a result of his Executive MBA. “After three years acting as European business manager for one of the company divisions, I recently moved east taking on overall sales director responsibility for the Asia Pacific region, relocating to Shanghai with my family. This is a nice development in my career in terms of the position itself as well as gaining some experience in the fastest growing region in the world. The pace is frantic in Asia and my schedule sometimes reminds me of my EMBA years, but overall this is a great experience for my family and me.”

Derville says he may have had the same professional opportunity eventually had it not been for his EMBA, but he doesn’t believe such opportunities would have developed as rapidly as they did. “If you look at it in the context of your existing employer, the learning and skills acquired during the program invariably boost your performance at work, thus placing you ahead of the pack when it comes to moving up the ladder,” he says.

“Companies are seeking to fill top executive roles with individuals who have demonstrated their ability to cope with pressure and complexity, seize the big picture and act with it – and you have plenty of opportunity of demonstrating this when doing your EMBA.”

Derville has had a fair number of discussions with friends and colleagues who are thinking about pursuing an EMBA, and he says his response has invariably been the same: if you have the possibility to do it, go for it. “I think the key reason is because, independently of whether people go for a top level program like Kellogg, which represents a major financial and personal engagement, or whether they settle on a more accessible local program, the return on investment is positive.

“It is not just about the money, it is about personal achievement and giving oneself the tools and skills to achieve what you really want to do in life. For me, this means moving my family and taking a senior position in a land full of possibilities. For some of my classmates it has been starting a business of their own; for all of us it has been to expand our knowledge and our ability to engage with others and get a richer life.”