It’s been over twenty years since I graduated from UL, however the skills I learnt during my MBA have been with me throughout, powering my career and giving me the confidence to make strategic choices along the way. In that time, I’ve changed companies, changed roles, and embraced new technologies, ultimately forging a path to a role as a Global Solutions Manager with a multi-national organisation. Of course, I still have my eye on new opportunities, but it’s been an exciting journey so far, with the MBA giving me the tools and insight to progress.

Right from the start, the MBA helped to shape my vision, empowering me to go for jobs I otherwise wouldn’t have considered. When I initially applied to UL in 1999, for example, I was working as a Market Analyst at Thermo King Europe. I had been with the company for seven years and was ready to embrace a new challenge but unsure of which direction to take.

Thankfully my employer encouraged me to study for an MBA and even sponsored my learning. University of Limerick was my first choice due to the part-time structure of the course. With three-day blocks on site per month, I was easily able to continue in my marketing role and schedule work around my studies. Support from my employer made it all the easier and I was sure it would be a steppingstone to move upwards.

During the course, I found the strategy modules really engaging. The product module also fuelled my imagination, examining competitor crisp brands to assess their position and market goals in Ireland. As a student, I appreciated the opportunity to speak to the sales and marketing managers at these impressive rival companies to see how they viewed each other’s strengths and weaknesses – it was enlightening!

The economics and statistics programme were also incredibly helpful. This area was new to me and the programme offered tools and frameworks to which I still return, even now. Inspired by this, and with the insight I developed from a broader understanding of business, I was able to focus my energies on career progression. With my studies complete, I was promoted from Market Analyst to Senior Market Analyst at Thermo King Europe.

Backed by strong foundations and equipped with new skills, the MBA ultimately enabled me to make a huge career leap. In just a few years I transitioned from marketing intern to Senior Product Manager as I successfully applied for a new job with APC. Thanks to my time at UL, I was sure about the pivot in direction, as well as being equipped with the critical thinking and decision-making skills to excel in the role.

Moving into a project management role was really rewarding, however, not long after my appointment, APC was bought out by Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management and automation. It was a time of massive change within the company, and with duplicate roles in the new organisation, I was faced with applying for my job all over again.

Fortunately, with the skills I acquired at UL, I felt ready to step up and embrace the challenge. Thanks to my MBA learning and the confidence it gave me I was able to sell myself and my abilities. Having an MBA on your CV speaks volumes; it shows that you are committed to your career. It also gives you the soft skills to present yourself and demonstrate how you will add value and bring something innovative to the organisation. My commitment and vision clearly impressed the APC team and consequently I was the candidate chosen to keep the role, despite having the least experience.

Since that time, I have enjoyed various positions within the company, stepping up to become EMEA Channel Programs Implementation Manager, and from 2016, Global Solutions Manager – Digital Channel Management. Despite being part of the same company, moving from one business unit to another has felt surprisingly like moving to a different company. In a large multinational organisation, each unit operates differently and has its own culture, which presents new challenges and new opportunities.

Throughout my time at Schneider Electric, change has been the one constant – I think that’s true of any global enterprise. As the organisation evolves, people come and go, roles change, goals shift, and you have to be able to adapt. That was one of the key takeaways from my MBA and something that has certainly proved useful.

The UL course teaches you to be flexible, exposing you to new industries, topics, and people. Both the academic content and the group dynamics expand your view and give you new perspective, throwing you into a situation where you must interact and collaborate with your peers, as well as providing new structures and frameworks to help you adapt.

The coping mechanisms I absorbed at UL and the change management skills I learnt have been vital. To thrive in a global multi-national, you need to be able to survive constant change, but more than that, you need to embrace it and work with your team to create a positive change culture.

I now support a network of resellers for our products, establishing the sales strategy and communicating this to several disparate teams. As a business-to-business company, I don’t have a direct link to our customers, so I need to ensure our resellers understand our product inside out and choose to sell it over our competitors. My MBA skills are indispensable here as I work to mentor, manage, and motivate my network through a complex and rapidly evolving technological landscape.

This expertise is especially useful in my latest role as Digital Channel Manager for Schneider Electric’s EcoXpert Program. I’m helping to set the direction for our partners across the globe to become experts in their industry, pioneer the future of intelligent buildings and the IoT and deliver smarter, integrated and more efficient solutions to their customers. The data analysis and frameworks I learnt during the MBA help me to establish a global architecture, while the soft skills and effective people management tools help me communicate this to my team, ensuring they have instant access to the resources and processes that they need.

Of course, the Covid pandemic brought yet more change. I was used to working remotely and was able to adapt easily, but the rise in remote working has also affected the business. Customers increasingly expect to do everything online that they previously did offline, and they need to be able to achieve their goal quickly, cleanly, and seamlessly. As Digital Channel Manager, it’s been fascinating to watch this momentum build. It pushed the online side of our business to rise to the challenge and it’s certainly an exciting time to be involved in the digital channel.

Looking to the future, I’m ready to take on a leadership role to direct our digital strategy and focus on realising proactive change in this area. The MBA helped me to understand that everything is about the customer experience and in fact, this has never been more relevant, particularly considering the changes Covid has driven in the digital environment.

To move forward you need to be different and offer something new; to be unique while still maintaining your core business. With the skills to take a strong, strategic approach, I know my MBA has given me the tools to help Schneider Electric excel in this objective. Furthermore, it’s helped me achieve several promotions, making a name for myself in a big multi-national, and thanks to my MBA, I’m always ready to step up and bring something new to the next challenge.