As an American who had not worked in Europe before, the opportunity to learn about Europe while completing my MBA studies was a key benefit of SBS. While the world is converging in many ways, Europe remains a unique operating environment for individuals and companies. The SBS experience offers unique insights / skills for doing business in Europe, on top of providing a strong international MBA. The relatively small class size and intimacy of the MBA program was also a key factor. As I have spent most of my career in Asia and specifically China, I also look back fondly on the pleasures of living in Brussels - a lovely place to spend a year! My best learning experiences at SBS took place in the project teams.
Beyond hard business skils, I learned a lot about my strengths and weaknesses as a leader, a manager and a team member. This was the most valuable part of my Solvay MBA, and I continue to draw from those experiences in my career journey.

DAVID BROOKS,USA, MBA ALUMNI 1993
THE COCA-COLA COMPANY,
VP AND GENERAL MANAGER
OLYMPIC PROGRAMS GROUP BEIJING, CHINA

Solvay Business School’s MBA programme not only provided me with in-depth knowledge of the business world and an opportunity to evolve with top quality faculty, but it also formed a launching pad for my career in the Financial services sector. During this year I was transformed from an infantry officer to an active member of the business world. With fellow MBA candidates representing 25 nationalities, I was able to build an international network of my own. And in my job, as a relationship manager, this network comes in handy every single day.

SHIKKOH MALIK, PAKISTAN, MBA ALUMNI 2001
EUROCLEAR BANK S.A.
NETWORK MANAGER BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

Solvay’s MBA programme forced me out of my personal, academic and professional comfort zones and up to levels I never thought possible. I chose for Solvay because the teaching philosophy places emphasis on teamwork, interaction and on balancing theory with practice for effectively translating strategy into action. Working on cases with other professionals from different backgrounds really opened my eyes and triggered my curiosity about what is happening around me, and why. I learned so much about myself along the way: my strengths, how I interact in a team, what I need to do and think about when making decisions, and so much more. Looking back on the two-year programme, the most enriching aspect was the friendships made along the way. As a class, we’ve been through so much together and continue to support each other in any way possible.

KARI MATALONE, USA, MBA PART-TIME ALUMNI 2004
EUROPEAN CROP PROTECTION ASSOCIATION,
COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

Selecting Solvay’s MBA program back in 1992 was based upon three distinctive factors: top reputation, intensive oneyear curriculum and internationalism of students and faculty. SBS in Brussels stays faithful to its reputation and its European location – it runs a truly international MBA course. I had high expectations of Solvay's business course, but the reality exceeded them. In a world of increasing competition for the top jobs, I wanted to become more versatile and valuable. Through the MBA, I developed the business foundation needed for a well-balanced management background. The opportunity to work with people from various cultures was invaluable and it broadened my horizons. I also wanted to be challenged and I felt that this would only happen through active discussion and debate between students and professors. Solvay’s MBA opened the door to many career opportunities. As a Vice- President with The Boston Consulting Group, I can definitely recommend Solvay for an MBA in the heart of Europe.

FILIEP DEFORCHE, BELGIUM, MBA ALUMNI 1993
THE BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP,
VICE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

To take an MBA after 11 years of career in the international business environment was a challenge in itself and the choice of school therefore not least so. I was keen to put my vast international working experience into a theoretical framework which the international Solvay faculty lived up to through combining theory with practice. My Solvay MBA has been posi-tively received in Belgium and beyond and has added credibility and been a door opener in the international business world. The international student body is another attribute and a good preparation for working in multicultural teams in the global economy.

SIDSEL GRAAE, DENMARK, MBA ALUMNI 1999
HUMAN SYNERGIES,
DIRECTOR AND OWNER BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

Whenever my wife Jennifer and I talk about Solvay and Brussels, we just feel very warm and very lucky. It is warm
because we spent one year as classmates in Solvay, especially the year of turning to a new century, from 1999 to 2000. We made a lot of friends there who were later located nearly all over the world. It is lucky because we were impressed by the high quality education we had at Solvay. After we went back to China in 2000, Solvay experience helped me find a good job, being the Marketing Director of American Standard Bath & Kitchen
China. This job takes care of both product management and communications of bath and Kitchen products of the American Standard brand in China. The knowledge learned at Solvay makes me feel confident in this position. The study of culture management at Solvay gets me closer to my colleagues, many of whom are
expatriates. Working with my colleagues, we turned American Standard business around in China from a declining trend to a 9% annual growth. Due to this, recently I was promoted to be the Product Marketing Director for American Standard Bath & Kitchen Asia Pacific.
Another thing I feel very proud of is that I have my alumni nearly all over the world. Whenever I travel to a city, I
am always thinking that I might have an alumnus here, who can help me whenever I need.

GEORGE CHENGGANG GUO,CHINA, MBA ALUMNI 2000
AMERICAN STANDARD,
MARKETING DIRECTOR SHANGHAI, CHINA