Jonas Borgel
“For me, attending the GEM MSc in Business Development was one of the best decisions I could have made for both my personal and academic development. Whether it be the international environment, the state of the art academic classes (with my all-time favourite Strategic Management) or working on projects with the world’s leading companies – it was always challenging but a great deal of fun. One of the greatest takeaways for me was that the program showed me how much I love the Tech sector. The Live Business case with Oracle equipped me with all the essentials I needed for becoming the Global Product Manager for Fintech at Vodafone Group in London. To summarize it in three words: Challenging, International, and Fun. Proud to be part of the GEM family.” - Jonas Borgel, MSc Business Development 2017 Graduate, Global Product Manager Fintech at Vodafone
Alessia Pezzini
“The reason why I chose the Business Development Program at GEM was the blend of the academic offer along with the hands-on experience of participating in a live business case. I had the exciting opportunity of consulting a company internationally and visiting numerous companies in South Africa.
As a highly international school, we were exposed to intercultural and interdisciplinary teams, with fourteen nationalities and a class of forty. The professors were international and taught highly practical courses.
Thanks to my experience at GEM, I learned how to take the first steps towards my career objectives. As Events & Sponsoring Manager at MINI Switzerland today, I continue working towards my goals with discipline and rigour using the skills I gained at GEM. Furthermore, I always enjoy the international gatherings of Alumni around the world - a strong, connected, motivating network.” - Alessia Pezzini, BD 2018 Graduate, Events & Sponsoring Manager at MINI, BMW
Jorgen Giske
The MSc Business Development exposed to a very challenging environment in which I excelled both academically and personally. The study trip abroad to Japan was a real highlight of the program, combining an enriching cultural immersion and many corporate visits.
I also feel that being in group of 43 students from 23 nationalities greatly enhanced my interpersonal and intercultural skills as well as building my international network.
The Live Business Case was a very rewarding aspect of the program which involved working with consultants from real companies over the course of 7-8 months. I worked on the Schneider Electric business case and at the end of the first academic year of the program I received an internship offer from Schneider. It was clear that the MSc Business Development had already greatly increased my employability.
Since then I have been working as a Business Developer in an innovative department called Shore Connection at Schneider Electric. It has also been a great opportunity to practice my French. I am convinced that this program has provided a lot of added value in terms of career opportunities and opened doors for me which previously were inaccessible. - Jorgen Giske
Adel El Shentenaway
He is a first class example of a GGSB taught Business Developer, who has successfully applied his know-how and initiative to transform his business ideas into reality. Following his graduation, Adel was approached with the exciting challenge of developing an innovative and unique hydroponic system that would be economically feasible to build and run in Egypt, his homeland.
Read the full story.
Benjamin Devoise
Benjamin Devoise is set for a fast-track career. Having recently finished the taught part of his MSc in Business Development, and working on his Final Management Project at the moment, he already started a fast-paced career doing what he likes best: generating value for a company through its sales activities.
Fouad Howayek
During the second semester of the MSc Business Development program I had the chance to participate in the Procter and Gamble Information and Decision Solution Challenge in Istanbul, Turkey.
During this event, I was able to put into practice the different learning acquired during the different modules at GGSB. Those learnings definitely boosted my performance at the business challenge where together with an amazing team, we managed to rank first. Based on my performance, I was offered a 6 month internship as a business analyst in a Customer Business Development team at P&G Paris.
The main highlight of this experience was the responsibility that was offered to me on trying to change the way business is done using deep data analysis and pitching new solutions to customers. After that, I joined GOOGLE EMEA HQ in Dublin for the role of Account Manager for Middle East and North Africa for the Adsense product. Supporting publishers from 19 different countries and helping them monetizing their websites is my daily task. That's definitely the biggest responsibility I've ever had!
Stephanie Keinert
During my studies at GGSB I was excited to read about an opening for a summer position in social media at Procter & Gamble - posted by JAI, the school’s association for student job opportunities. P&G was looking for 6 students of different nationalities to be Community Managers & Analysts for their respective countries. My first practical experiences in social media through our class blog about Business Development and highly interactive courses such as Digital Marketing and Customer Relationship Management were surely beneficial during the assessment day.
Since May I have been in charge of the Facebook and Twitter communication and analysis for the German, Austrian and Swiss markets for one of the company’s major brands. The various group projects in a multicultural environment during my program, and especially our Live Business Case for Michelin, were a great preparation for working in this highly international team.
Being in direct communication with thousands of users every day, I have already greatly improved my understanding of social media management and particularly consumer engagement. I furthermore learnt how to cooperate efficiently in a multinational team with various working backgrounds - not only outside the classroom, but even in one of the world’s largest consumer goods corporations. And as an extra incentive we were told that those of us with outstanding performance might be offered a permanent position in Geneva afterwards.
Katherine Hushovd
Taking part in this exceptional experience helped us in acquiring the right balance of informative business visits and opportunities for cultural exploration. All of the logistics were well organized and our hosts and tour guides provided important assistance.
We visited Michelin China, Airbus Tianjin, Sansi Tech (a Chinese company), Aon Hewitt, (consulting firm), Oxylane Decathlon, Asobio, and EDF Trading. The executives who spoke with us were particularly impressive. The level of attention they gave to our questions was exceptional.
In regards to the Business Case I believe its benefit lies in the fact that it empowers students to think creatively about a real problem that a company is currently facing. That the case problem is a current problem gives added meaning to students and is a cornerstone of the programs uniqueness.
Having the case situated in one of the much talked about BRIC countries gives an added international and relevant perspective. The international study trip gives students a glimpse of how MNC's adapt to and operate in a challenging market like China and also gives us real life experience in a fruitful and emerging market.
The ability to experience the energy and power of the pace of change of business in China is a true privilege.