Nele Van Kerrebroeck has achieved great things in her career as an employment lawyer – most recently, her promotion to partner in the Employment & Incentive team at Linklaters Belgium. And she believes that her Executive MBA from Vlerick, which she gained in 2017, helped propel her to the top of her field.
“There were three main reasons why I chose to do an MBA,” she says. “At the time, I was five years into my law career. This is a crucial time, because from your fifth year, you need to start to generate business for your firm, to really make a difference for your clients, and to manage a team.
“An MBA felt like the logical next step. I knew that if I could combine my legal knowledge with business knowledge, it would add value to my career – and help me add value for my clients. So I went to my firm with a business plan – setting out why an MBA would be a good next step, for me and for them. They were very supportive.”
Nele wanted to continue working as she studied – so Vlerick’s part-time Executive MBA format suited her perfectly.
She says: “The format and location were perfect for me. But the main reason I chose Vlerick was because I wanted to broaden my network. The school has such a strong reputation – and such a vast network.”
Nele’s objective was to enhance her business knowledge. And she soon discovered that Vlerick’s international, diverse and pragmatic approach had exactly what she was looking for.
“There was so much diversity in terms of professional backgrounds,” she says. “I found it so enriching to step out of the legal world and speak to doctors, pharmaceutical professionals, engineers and tech experts.
“I also really enjoyed the international trips. We went to Stellenbosch Business School in South Africa, which was inspiring. And I found the Dublin trip, where we visited different companies, very valuable.”
Nele also found that the business knowledge she was gaining could be applied directly to her work.
She says: “The course that stood out to me was corporate finance – because it was closely linked to the M&A work I was doing on a daily basis. It really helped to develop my knowledge. In international business law, it’s so important to have this wider understanding when you talk with clients.”
But the highlight of Nele’s Executive MBA was the Knowledge-in-Action Project – where participants take on a strategic challenge for their own organisation.
“It’s a practical application of what you learn on the MBA – and it’s where you can create real value for your organisation,” she says. “I did a research project on client experiences with international law firms – which involved client interviews and surveying around 2,000 clients, before making recommendations. This raised my profile and visibility with the partners at my firm – and added a great deal of value to my career.”
After she graduated, Nele’s project evolved into an initiative that was adopted by Linklaters’ global Employment and Incentives team. She says this is one clear example of how her organisation gained a real return on their investment in her MBA.
To this day, Nele continues to use many of the skills she honed at Vlerick.
She says: “In my role as partner, I really draw on my ability to work with people from different backgrounds – particularly at international level.
“I regularly use the business knowledge I gained – depending on the client I could be discussing corporate finance, HR and so on. You take the pieces that are useful and apply them to the work you’re doing that day. On a day-to-day basis, I also use the presentation and feedback skills I learned on my MBA.
“And of course, I have excellent time-management skills. Combining an MBA with working at a law firm forces you to become extremely efficient!”
Since she graduated in 2017, Nele has stayed in touch with Vlerick. She regularly speaks to MBA candidates through the alumni network – particularly lawyers. And Vlerick’s vast network is one of the major reasons she recommends the programme.
“For me, what makes Vlerick really stand out is the network,” she says. “And it’s not just big organisations. The school has an entrepreneurial focus as well – so it attracts diverse profiles. Typically, I work for large clients, but entrepreneurs will need legal expertise at some point. To have that variety in the network is so valuable.
“I graduated in 2017 – and today, 10 of my really good friends are classmates I met at Vlerick. And my network includes many talented professionals in a variety of sectors.”
Nele says: “My advice for any MBA participant would be to make the most of the opportunities you have throughout the programme. If you work in professional services, use your clients for your assignments – then it’s a win-win for you and your organisation. And make the most of the network – once you graduate, nurture the connections you made, and make new ones.
“Sometimes I think, would I have become a partner without my MBA? I’ll never know. But not many lawyers have MBAs – it helps you to stand out. And for me, particularly with my consultancy project and the visibility it gave me at an international level, it made a real difference to my career.”