| 长江商学院MBA |
A World-Class MBA Program for China Business
The year was 2012, and Marco had a dream: to grow his career in China. At that time, he was living the dolce vita in Italy working at the family business, a mid-sized venture with a sizeable market-share in public transportation digitalization. Marco enjoyed his work as international business manager, and in his leisure time pursued mountain bike racing. However, Marco’s heart began longing for a more indigenous, challenging, and, most importantly, independent career.
It’s not the first time that the travel-loving Italian boy wanted to leave home for adventures in faraway lands. Marco had left his northern Italian hometown, Bergamo, for U.S. college education in 2002. In 2006, Marco graduated from Fordham University in New York City with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and then joined the derivatives team at Citigroup, first in New York City and later in London. At Citigroup, he experienced life in the finance industry and decided that it was not for him. He wanted to build tangible business value. Through his daily trades and transactions, he sensed that the next big thing was going to be China. He decided to some time learning about China and the Chinese. In 2008, he left Citi and flew to Nanjing to partake in a one-year Chinese language immersion course.
In 2009, on the request of his family, Marco returned home to assist in the family business. He was responsible for developing overseas channels. After 4 years, Marco had established overseas distribution channels in India, EAU, and South America to add to the existing US, Brazilian, and German subsidiaries. But he never forgot China.
“Living a stable Italian life and working for the family business was not my dream. I fell in love with China while I was in Nanjing and I knew I would be back someday.”
Marco looked at his options for returning to China. To make it here as a business professional, one must blend in.
“An MBA in China was my best chance to develop insight and sophistication in Chinese culture”.
Marco applied for several different MBA programs in China. He ultimately chose CKGSB. Marco rationalized:
“CKGSB is the best school for me since it has the deepest China insight. CEIBS is more like an international school in China, whereas CKGSB is a real Chinese school. You get very open-minded top-notch professors, but they are mostly Chinese and can stay on top of Chinese news, policies, and consumer trends. I want to get the most real version of China.”
At CKGSB, Marco immersed himself in everything the program has to offer. Building on his former Chinese learning, he further strengthened his language skills. He started using Chinese daily with his classmates and through WeChat. Through his 14 months at CKGSB, Marco learned to interact with his Chinese peers on an automatic level.
Marco grinned proudly:
“After 14 months at CK, I feel confidentabout my fluency in Chinese interpersonal skills. I can now read and understandChinese facial expressions. My Chineseclassmates communicate with me exactly the same way that they communicate witheach other”.
During his MBA program, to build his career in China, Marco applied and received an internship in Bosch as well as a consulting project for Yonghui Superstores – one of the fastest-growing Chinese retailers. One month prior to his MBA graduation, Marco had secured a job in a Sino-Italian Joint Venture, now one of the leading manufacturers of agricultural machines, sporting the world’s most advanced high-power tractor brands, Deutz-Fahr and Lamborghini.
“I couldn’t believe it was real when I received my offer!”
The job responsibilities, the role progression, and the compensation package were all beyond his expectations. But most importantly, this offer helped Marco realize his objective of developing his professional career in China.
In 2015, Marco Biava is currently one of a handful of foreigners residing in Linyi of Shangdong province.
He has been working as project manager at Changlin Deutz-Fahr Machinery Company for six months now. Marco works on company-wide process improvement and is responsible for the start-up of a brand new factory in the Heilongjiang province, including the start of production of a localized high-power tractor model.
Just like Marco Polo before him, Marco Biava is well on his way to building his own history in China.
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