Regional Business Manager, Trivago

From her former work experience and her job as a Regional Business Manager at Trivago Anh Nguyen offered the current MBA students one of her secrets to success: “If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room” she said. She also suggested that the students first compete in a conservative management level environment to boost their confidence. These words show how large the need of management skills and leadership qualities for today’s working culture really is. She also said “you have to show up wherever you are. Try more than the rest and let people know that you are there”. 

Global Marketing Manager, Nexperia

Asad shared his journey from being a general expert for performance analytics to being a global marketing manager for Nexperia, a global leader in small signal discretes, Logic and MOSFETs. His theses, that Asad wrote with one of the big German car producers, allowed him the step into a new field: the automotive industry, “one of the most conservative industries in Germany”, as he said. He asked the MBA students to become real value drivers, no matter in which field of business they might work after their studies. “Be proactive and develop your own ideas. What is the worst that can happen…? If it´s a success you go from there.”   

Business Manager & Senior Consultant, bridgingIT 

Coming from a mechanical engineering background with work experience in the automotive industry in Turkey Reha especially appreciated the exchange with his batch mates of the MBA program. “To learn from each other is priceless”, he stated when asked about his experience at Hochschule Pforzheim.  He also stressed how important it is for international students to learn German if they are planning to enter the German job market. After graduating from the MBA Reha did his PhD at Stuttgart University. Besides his job as a business manager & senior consultant at bridgingIT he also works as a lecturer for mobility innovation at Hochschule Esslingen and Pforzheim. Since Reha considers time management being one of the biggest challenges in our times, he suggested the students to “try to keep calm even when you are burning inside.”

Assistant Director, EY

Avigyan, who was holding a Bachelor in Electrical and Electronics Engineering when he started the MBA in Pforzheim, told the current students how important the program was for him to get interviews for a strategy and consulting position after his graduation despite having the required experience at times. He said that “the rich exposure to open debates and presentations in the classroom prepared me for my current job at EY” and “if you don´t develop soft skills, there is no excuse.” Besides this he also stressed how important it is to learn German as soon as possible if someone plans to work in consulting in Germany.

Vice President Compensation & Benefits, HR Services and Workforce Planning, WMF

Stefan shared with the current students that for him, being a German student, the intercultural experience of the MBA on a daily basis was priceless. For Stefan communication management is one of the crucial challenges of today´s business world so the skills he acquired during the program were very helpful. Another advice that he had for the students was to “be curious! Always ask things and bring new ideas to the company you work for.”