Real Humans of MBA Students: HEC Paris Executive MBA
John Possumato, HEC Paris, Executive MBA
Hometown:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Current City: Austin, Texas, USA
John Possumato, HEC Paris Executive MBA
Undergraduate Institution & Major:
Rutgers University, Art History
Pre-MBA Work Experience:
10 years – Automotive 2 years – Logistics
Why Business School? Why Now?
Entrepreneurship. I want to work on building out my ideas into viable companies.
Why did you pick your school/program? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
HEC Paris stands out for excellence on the world stage. During my interview process, the Alumni interviewer told me that HEC Paris would “change the way I think”, which is not something I heard from any other school in Europe or the US and was exactly what I was looking for. Likewise, I determined that HEC Paris also has the best ROI of the schools I viewed and has the most forward-looking curriculum, matching not only what is happening currently, but what will happen in the next 5+ years.
What do you think is your most valuable or differentiating contribution to your graduating class?
My North American business perspective. The way business is transacted differs on either side of the Atlantic, and I’m happy to provide this perspective to my classmates. Likewise, I have been present on the mobility tech landscape in my background and I’m happy to provide personal input and frame of strategy from some of the companies we have studied in class.
Fun fact that didn’t get included on your application?
My family has been in the mobility/automotive industry for well over 100 years. We started in the early 1900’s with a bike shop and transitioned to cars in the 1910’s. We were part of the original 120 Chrysler sales points – the first in the world!
Post-MBA Career Interests:
I want to build an automotive/mobility consultancy. Ultimately, it is my intention to do this either in Europe or Latin America.
Advice to current prospective applicants:
Stay open-minded. This program will change your perspective on business overall and learn from the application experience and your peers. I chose to do the case study analysis in place of the GMAT. I highly recommend that process. It allowed me to demonstrate what I have learned with my nontraditional background and helped me understand the perspective and capability of HEC Paris’ alumni.
What is your initial impression of the school’s students/culture/community?
Diversity is the driver of everything at HEC Paris. Diverse people, viewpoints, opinions, backgrounds, etc. The school does an amazing job of assembling this program for the participants to maximize learning opportunities. Likewise, HEC’s only focus is its business school, which sets it apart from the culture of other business schools in Europe and the Americas. We have the unique opportunity to interact with undergraduates, specialized Masters’ students, MBAs, and professors; we are all bound by the mutual desire to usher the world into the next generation of business. Apart from academics, there are countless opportunities to network and socialize amongst the countless people and backgrounds that make up our community.
About the Author
Metro MBA
Find the best option to advance your career with MetroMBA. Your Metro. Your MBA.
