Executive MBA: Mandy Deimel on how to benefit at all levels

Mandy Deimel is Managing Director of DNA Synthesis Business at Eurofins Genomics Europe and successfully participated in the Executive MBA  program in 2020. In three questions, she tells us how she benefitted professionally and personally from the study program.

Which goal did you have in mind to accomplish when you entered the Executive MBA program? 

The most attractive and outstanding goal for me was personal development. The program offered the chance to get more individual support to work on my personal development and to improve my leadership capabilities. Each day I face situations that require high interpersonal skills while leading people and managing day-to-day business. I appreciated being able to spend a large amount of time examining and changing habits and, for example, experimenting and adopting servant leadership behaviors.

Moreover, the Executive MBA is great for career change and thriving business opportunities. I was looking forward to gaining access to an extensive business network and more insight into current innovation. I had a unique multicultural learning experience interacting with people of different backgrounds and had the chance to absorb their insights and share mine.

I was eager to learn how to transform my ideas into a viable business. Yet my aspirations have not stopped there, as I have taken over the role as Managing Director and stepped out of the Quality career path into a General Management position.

How did the part-time program fit into your professional life?  

One of my decision criteria to join TUM’s Executive MBA was based on the modular setup offered. The ability to take modules, which mostly took place Thursday to Tuesday, helped me manage my full-time job, focus on the MBA, and still have time with my family and two kids.

I was able to focus all of my attention on the module topics: The lectures and interactions with classmates, professors, and speakers. The modular blocks allowed my family to plan for and handle the time when I was not available. Between modules, the flexibility meant that I was able to cope and manage my time at work.

What was your greatest learning from the study trip?  

I was especially interested to gain more insight into Chinese culture. To find out more about Asian industry, the market and better understand the political situation excited me a lot. The lectures at Tsinghua University, the guest speakers as well as the company visits made for a great and unique experience.

There is a big difference between a planned economy like in China and the market-driven economy we have in Europe. It was very interesting to experience cultural differences in leadership too. We looked at how in respect of the world’s digitization and entrepreneurial development a planned economy may have to adjust its leadership behavior and approach to meet the new demands of Industry 4.0.

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