Ernesto spent the first decade of his career working all over the world. Then the Italian national decided to immerse himself in Vlerick’s Full-time MBA. He’s now a corporate strategy manager at major insurer Ageas.
“The MBA gives you the tools to tackle challenges that come up in your daily work… Vlerick enables you to perform at the highest level.”
“I had an interesting journey towards my MBA,” he says. “I did an economics and management degree with an Erasmus year, which gave me a glimpse of the world outside Italy.
“When I graduated, I started working in development co-operation and diplomacy. This took me all over the world – to Afghanistan, Sudan, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya – as well as Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro and Albania. It's kind of a dream job for someone in his twenties, or this is the way it felt to me – exploring the world and deeply connecting with people.
“But of course, it’s hard to balance this type of career with a personal life. In 2019, my now-wife asked me to relocate to Europe – and I’d already been thinking about a change in career. I knew my previous experience wasn’t that relevant for Europe’s corporate environment, so I decided to take an MBA.”
“To an extent, my previous career involved jumping into the unknown and this was similar,” says Ernesto. “It was a personal investment for me, so I had to make it a success. I knew it could be a life changer if I made the most of it.”
Ernesto didn’t want to study alongside work. He wanted to pause his career and fully immerse himself in an MBA. And Vlerick’s stood out – particularly because of its location.
“Brussels is right at the centre of Europe,” says Ernesto. “That’s the beauty of it – it’s so well connected with other European cities that are also engines for growth and innovation. It attracts people from all walks of life.
“I was keen to make use of the network Vlerick can provide, in terms of its links with the business environment across Belgium and beyond. And the school does a great job at bringing together different communities. You can leverage the network whenever you need to – it’s a huge resource to tap into.”
Ernesto’s year at Vlerick gave him the knowledge and experience he’d been looking for.
He says: “I certainly found the diversity in my peer group that I was looking for. And the variety of sectors inspired me to think about my next move. I had no corporate experience, so I had to build my knowledge, mindset and way of working from scratch.”
2020 was a big year for Ernesto – in more ways than one. He says: “I started the MBA in September 2019. In January 2020 I became a father – and then in March the pandemic hit, and we switched rapidly to online learning.
“It took a little time to adjust – but Vlerick helped me manage the transition. In a way, it was great training for today’s hybrid work environment – when something unpredictable happens, you have to adapt and deal with it!”
Ernesto’s in-company project paved the way for his next steps. Major insurer Ageas wanted to carry out a market study on the potential of insurance in different African markets. While Ernesto wasn’t an insurance expert, he did know Africa. Ageas appreciated his work and asked him to apply for an open position in the corporate strategy department. He started working there just a month after graduating.
Ernesto says: “You think you’ll end up in a specific sector or role – but I actually ended up doing something completely different and, at that time for me, unimaginable. At the start of the MBA, I imagined myself in a corporate environment, but doing a similar role to my previous career, such as handling crisis situations or leading emergency responses. But my in-company project made me fall in love with strategy and gave me my first taste of insurance. And of course, it connected me with Ageas.
“I’m now more than two years into my role. I wake up in the morning and I’m still motivated to contribute and make an impact.
“Nevertheless, I still have a lot to learn to be able to make an even greater contribution. If the opportunity came up to do more with local operations across Europe and Asia, I would love to take it. It would feel like a circle back to my first career – having boots on the ground.”
Ernesto regularly finds himself drawing on his MBA experiences at work – and using the hard and soft skills he learned.
“The content side of the programme was very powerful,” he says. “All of the courses shaped and enriched my knowledge – strategy of course, but also themes as diverse as finance and presentation skills. The MBA gives you the tools to tackle challenges that come up in your daily work.
“The faculty are practitioners – they come from the business world. It’s not theoretical knowledge. It’s concrete cases, real-world problems and how you solve them. I still reach out to Vlerick professors today. They are always happy to connect and give advice.”
Ernesto also gained a great deal from Vlerick’s focus on personal development – which he says is something you don’t typically get in a more academic programme.
“They talk a lot about mindset and the way you conduct your working life,” he says. “Vlerick helps you develop in a way that allows you to perform at the highest level – for example through constantly collaborating with your team, not being afraid to speak up in challenging situations, having the ability to present your ideas in a concise and engaging way.”
Ernesto knows an MBA is a significant commitment – and he has wise words for prospective participants.
“You may find the idea of pausing your career – and making the financial and time investment – scary,” he says. “I say, don’t let the fear overcome you. Be confident that it can work – and take the leap.
“The programme is intense. It really does give you an idea of the pace you need to work at in real life. But if you put your whole self into it, really immerse yourself – you will get so much out of it.”