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Testimonials

The MBA adds value with time.
It creates long-lasting bonds and a proud sense of belonging.
 
 

Riccardo Monti

Riccardo Monti

MBA 1989
Senior Partner & Managing Director, The Boston Consulting Group, Italy
BAA Vice President
« SDA Bocconi gave me a methodology, taught me the value of team work, the importance of every day challenges, and allowed me to meet some extraordinary people. That is why I believe in the value of a community and in networking as being almost strategic for a manager.
Today we have a well established Association and a valuable community that ranks together with top international business schools. Its network is useful to its members and to the School providing companies and institutions with the necessary tools to be able to create true business value. »
Marco Saltamacchia

Marco Saltalamacchia

Senior Vice President BMW Europe
Former AMSDA President (2004 - 2007)
« The things that I cherish the most about the MBA are the true and profound friendships that were created over those months. That experience was so all-involving that it built companionship that has lasted over the years. This is the essence of the Alumni network where "peers" (and also perhaps “accomplices”) can meet, overcoming the generation gaps among the various courses.
This is also the essence of the Alumni Association, based on the intimate bond that exists among the SDA Master graduates. The new Master Alumni Association of the Bocconi School of Management strengthens the ties between SDA graduates, the companies in which they work and the University.
Because this is precisely the bond that enables the School to grow more and more, and thus increase the prestige of those who have had the privilege and honour to be part of it. »

Mary Zhao

MBA 2007 | Area/Project Manager, ICT Team, China and South Africa - Fiat Group Automobiles, Italy
« My MBA experience in SDA Bocconi enriched and benefited me for life both personally and professionally. It provided me an opportunity to live and study in the vibrant Milan, one of the most important European financial and fashion centers. It equipped me with both technical and managerial skills that are essential for an ever changing and increasingly challenging business world. Most importantly, in a very diverse environment, I learned from the program itself and the professors and fellow students from different cultures, professions and industries to look at the world from a different angle. And it also opened the door for me in a large multinational corporation, where I can gain experience for the continuous career advancement. Over all it further expanded my international experience after living, studying and working in China and USA for many years. »

Veronika Antonova

MBA 2008 | SDA Bocconi Outgoing Exchange Student
The University of Chicago Booth School of Business (Chicago)
« It is a great personal experience: Chicago is the third largest city in the U.S., it is huge and represents the different social and cultural levels of American society. It offers great experience on how to orient yourself in this diversity, which is definitely valuable for life. I must say that to be there during the election of the first Afro-American president was like living U.S. history first-hand. »

Assem Khamzayeva

MBA 2008 - Kazakh
Group Project: Johnson & Johnson-DePuy Spine
« Our project consisted of a market study on the Italian spinal implant market. We had to segment the market, discover its trends and also do some research into the market potential of a new product launched by the client. The most stimulating part of the assignment was conducting face to face interviews with Italian neurosurgeons and radiologists all across Lombardy. Our team consisted of one Italian student, one exchange student from India and myself. It was challenging and exciting to work with such diversity in an industry none of us had previous knowledge of. »

Sebastien Agnessens

MBA 1996 - French
Founder, Formavision NY
« My MBA taught me the importance of remaining open to people and ideas. Since I increasingly deal with the world of design, Italians come into my life more and more, and I must say that I gain an undisputable trust when I tell them I graduated from SDA Bocconi. »

Barbara Avdis

MBA 2000 - Greek
Managing Director, Yades Historic Hotels Greece
« My decision to come to Italy and to follow an MBA at SDA Bocconi was at a turning point in my career. I already had one of the most internationally renowned degrees for hotel management, as well as a good working experience; however I felt that I needed to consolidate my managerial knowledge with a top MBA. This is why I chose SDA Bocconi. »
Monica Engen

Monica Engen

MBA 2003, Norwegian
Manager, Ernst & Young, Norway
« I wanted a really international experience, in a European context. That's why I chose the SDA Bocconi MBA. The openness and warmth of my diverse and co-operative class are the aspects that perhaps struck me the most during my MBA. In addition, thanks to the effective network that Bocconi has established with the world's top business schools, I had the chance to spend the last part of the course at Wharton. »
Stefano Mangini

Stefano Mangini

MBA 2003, Italian
Overseas Production Manager CELINE, Hong Kong
« Why Bocconi? Nine years spent out in the world living and working in the USA, India and China -- work was becoming the main focus of my life. Yet I knew that before reaching a deeper understanding of what to do with my future, there was still a dream to be fulfilled: getting my MBA. I'd had the MBA dream since graduating from university in New York, and somehow the dream stayed alive even while I was caught up in what I was doing in the here and now.
The more I grew professionally, the greater the desire became to take what I was doing to the next level. I was learning so much and I just needed better tools to properly implement it all. I felt it was the right time to return to formal studies and to focus on myself a little more.
So I started to consider the options. The choice to come back to Italy did not come easily. After being away all those years my concerns were whether I could adapt again to the circumstances that made me leave Italy in the first place, and if I could by so doing find what I was seeking.
Curiosity about living in Europe again and the opportunity to come back to my country and regain the proper perspective of things was what made me make the final decision. Once this decision was made, the choice of Bocconi was natural. »
Ido Wallach

Ido Wallach

MBA 2001, Israeli
Finance Manager, Procter&Gamble Western Europe
« I chose SDA Bocconi with clear goals in mind: to acquire the right tools to successfully reposition myself professionally; to enjoy a cultural experience in a context where diversity is a value, living in a dynamic and vibrant city. Today I can certainly say that SDA Bocconi went far beyond my expectations. »
Ruth McAdams

Ruth McAdams

MBA 2003, Irish
International Product Manager, DePuy (Johnson & Johnson Group)
« I knew I was going to the Bocconi business school in Italy but I didn't expect such a complete experience of Italy! Living in the centre of a vibrant city like Milan, interacting with Italian students and Bocconi teachers, gave me immense respect for the character of Italians – creative, spontaneous and full of resources. »
Marco Porcellana

Marco Porcellana

MBA 2001, Italian
Vice President, International Division, Optimal Value Associates, Shanghai
« A trip to China, a 700 km bicycle ride, and an MBA colleague: that's how I decided to change my job. In Shanghai I met again with Xu Qian the Chinese girl that took the MBA with me back in 2000-2001 and whom I had been in touch with through the years. After the Master, she returned to China, where she started working as manager for Europe at Optimal Value Associates (OVA), a local consulting company with strong connections in the institutional world. The company supports the start up of European companies in China and helps Chinese ones enter the European market. It is after this meeting that I quit almost all my activities in the finance software sector, and became the contact in Italy for OVA. »
René Mejia

René Mejia

MBA 2004, Argentine
« We had a fantastic opportunity to work in marketing, a sector in which we didn't have a great deal of personal experience. The project schedule was very tight and we used all resources available for us to achieve the objective. We immediately found ourselves having to propose creative solutions. We had the total support of the school, however, not just that of Marco Ortolina, our tutor. The project was important for the company and our suggestions and results will be taken up to improve its marketing activities: real satisfaction! The project highlighted the true value of the Bocconi MBA: a capacity for total adaptation to new working contexts. »
Pilar Chaparro

Pilar Chaparro

MBA 1998, Colombian
Executive & Leadership Coach, Life Coach Lab
PWA President (Professional Women's Association), Milan
« The value of the SDA Bocconi MBA has been revealed to me on various occasions throughout my career.
I must say that the SDA Bocconi name has opened many a door to new business and been a key element in my career. As an American professional in Italy the SDA Bocconi MBA has allowed me to integrate into the business world and overcome any initial barriers very easily. »
Jean-Christophe Lonchampt

Jean-Christophe Lonchampt

MBA 1994, French
Director of Strategic Planning, Agere, London
« What I consider the greatest value in my Bocconi MBA is the diversity of the participants and alumni from around the world. Their personalities, motivations, abilities and experiences truly reflect a global and competitive working environment. Each one is your client and vice versa - you discover something new about yourself every day. »
Alessandro Lamanna

Alessandro Lamanna

MBA 1996, Italian
CEO, Nokia Italy
« The secret of success in life and work is a matter of balance between heart, mind, guts and hands. This is something I learnt during my MBA at SDA Bocconi and is a quality that has stayed with me ever since. »
Debora Hirsch

Debora Hirsch

MBA 1994, Brazilian
Partner, Evince Management Consulting
« The MBA allowed me to develop an increasingly effective management style and entrepreneurial spirit, a strong element in the Italian economy, with no limit to ethical business development.
If I had to name a single main benefit from SDA Bocconi MBA, it is that the program strongly raised my confidence in my ability to do well in diverse circumstances. So when I “jumped” from a top management job six years after my MBA to embrace a career in art, I was sure I could make it. »
Milan Perovic

Milan Perovic

MBA 1999, Serbian
CEO, Telecom Montenegro
« I chose Bocconi owing to its reputation as a top class European school which gave me a chance to live in a different but still Mediterranean environment.
The Bocconi MBA Program surpassed my expectations with its international environment, interaction with professional tutors, high intellectual exchange with colleagues, mixture of cultures and professional experiences, many real-life projects.
Studying Italian after classes was an extra effort but worthwhile as it allowed me to really appreciate the community and culture and enabled me to take the Electives in Italian and work on a field project for an Italian company.
Bocconi also gave me the chance to link up with world top-ranking universities, spending my last term at Manchester Business School.
My post-MBA career started out at Deloitte & Touche Financial Advisory, and after almost three years I moved from consultancy to telecommunications. When I joined Telecom Montenegro I realised the importance of the breadth of experience. From the graduation day onwards I have met my friends from MBA 24 in leisure time but, very importantly, I have done business with some of them.
Just recently, two of my MBA 24 colleagues provided consulting services to my company. We all remember when we worked together on business cases at Bocconi. »
Robert Seguin

Robert Seguin

MBA 1985, Italian-Canadian
Stockbroker, NBF International, Geneva (National Bank of Canada Group).
« The MBA Program at SDA taught me a full-spectrum method of managing work and especially the selective acquisition of information to make better decisions in varied and often unpredictable situations. That was 20 years ago now, and I've been part ever since of a vibrant network of friends and professional contacts. »
Marina Del Bue

Marina Del Bue

MBA 1987, Italian
General Manager, MolMed Biotech
« I wanted to combine scientific and managerial skills, in an ethical mission to bring an innovative, life-saving therapy to the market.
So after my degree in molecular biology, specialization in New York , and a period as a researcher at ENI (an Italian petrochemical company), I chose the SDA Bocconi MBA to complete my competencies.
It was a really tough but fantastic period. My classmates are still among my best friends. »
Mihir Warty

Mihir Warty

MBA 1998, British
Head of Sports Strategy, BBC
« Bocconi offers a really unique MBA experience: the country, the language, the quality and diversity of your classmates and, obviously, the Program itself, are all elements that distinguish the Bocconi MBA.
In that period I was able to acquire greater confidence and build solid competencies: both key to my career development. »
Alvise Zanardi

Alvise Zanardi

MBA 1999, Italian
CEO Buongiorno Vitaminic, France & MENA
« For me the MBA has a multi-faceted value, personal and objective: it strengthens confidence in your own abilities through systematic and constructive comparison with others; it teaches you to manage priorities pragmatically and analytically. I also consider it a trump card in the professional environment, where you often have to open up to face new, increasingly ambitious challenges, an attitude not far from what the MBA pushed us towards from the first day. »
Irina Bass

Irina Bass

MBA 2004, German-Ukrainian
Reuters SA, Switzerland
« Choose the B-school? An easy choice for me. I knew right away that it would be Bocconi. I found myself alongside people from all around the world and with very different backgrounds.
Initiative, enthusiasm, and the entrepreneurial spirit of my classmates on the one hand, and the lively, dynamic atmosphere of Italy's business capital on the other, made my MBA really unique.
If I had to go back, I'd take the same path: to Bocconi. »

Gabriele Grego

MBA 2002, Italian
« Ever since the very beginning of my undergraduate years I had in mind joining an MBA program. Clearly, professional reasons such as improving my competitiveness in the job market or gaining the knowledge necessary to start my own business were important factors.
However, the main reason that drove me to this decision was and remains the commitment to self improvement. In fact, I believe that only through a continuous process of re-questioning ourselves and enhancing our skills can we really grow and develop as professionals as well as humanbeings. »

José Yanes

MBA 1993, American
« Milan is to Italy what Italy is to the world: creative genius. I entered Bocconi's MBA program thinking I was going to master the art & science of management, and though I did, the Italians as usual turned it all upside down for me: Bocconi managed to help me master the science & art of thinking. If the world were a box, you would most certainly find Italy outside of it... »
 
Bocconi School of Management