Justine Herbet Dinesen (2008)

What is your personal/educational background?

Why did you join the CEMS programme?

What are you doing at the moment and what are your plans for the future?

How did the CEMS programme help you achieve your objectives?

Jonathan Hamborg (2007)

What is your personal/educational background?

I was born in Denmark but raised primarily in Brussels, Belgium, where I graduated the European Baccalaureate in 2000. After a gap-year I enrolled at Copenhagen Business School, where I finished my B.Sc. International Business in 2004 after having completed an academic exchange at Queens University in Canada. I subsequently enrolled on the M.Sc. line in Finance & Strategic Management at CBS, which I completed in 2006. Meanwhile I was on another exchange at Stockholm School of Economics as part of the CEMS Master in International Management, which I am graduating in 2007.

Why did you join the CEMS programme?

I joined CEMS because I considered it a good way to stand out from the crowd, and profile myself as someone willing to go the extra mile. In addition, I appreciated the practically oriented curriculum and the international community that surrounds the programme.

What are you doing at the moment?/ What are your plans for the future?

I am currently employed in the Graduate Programme at Vestas Wind Systems A/S, where I am working in the area of finance and business improvements. Right now I'm placed in the Group Finance function at the corporate headquarters, but in May I will transfer to our North American business unit where I will be closer to the customers and get a better feel of the daily operations in a sales unit. In January next year I'm planning to go to the Asia pacific region, where I hope to be involved in the operational details surrounding project management and -excecution.

What do you think, how did/will the CEMS programme help you in achieving your objectives?

I have no doubt that the CEMS programme helped me achieve my objective of having an exciting and international career. My employer is very fond of CEMS, and uses the programme as a way of screening applicants - the requirements to candidates for our graduate programme are very similar to the CEMS acceptance criteria.

Lau Hornstrup Andersen (2006)

What is your personal/educational background?

Why did you join the CEMS programme?

Because of it's clear international reach, networking opportunities and high academic ambitions. The fact that corporate partners were part of the programme attracted me as well.

What are you doing at the moment?/ What are your plans for the future?

I work as a Product Manager for Arla Foods, Inc USA, based in New Jersey close to New York City. I do tasks that fall in between marketing and sales. I work on building 6 different brands and always optimizing our product mix in cooperation with our corporate offices in Denmark. I have been here for 2 years, and right now I plan to stay. I learn so much in the position that I have now.

What do you think, how did/will the CEMS programme help you achieving your objectives?

I do not really work towards a certain fixed set of objectives as to where I want to go, who I want to be career-wise, but CEMS has provided me with the international mindset that is required for me to act in a global business first of all. Secondly CEMS has given me a professional and social network of internationally minded people that I can use in my daily job.

Christian Bjøl (2006)

What is your personal/educational background?

I am 25 years old and have spent 10 years in Lyon in France, where I also took my Baccalauréat. In 2001 I spent half a year in London working as a market researcher before I decided to move back to my home country Denmark and join CBS in September 2001. After having completed the B.Sc. in Economics and Business Administration, I joined the M.Sc. in International Marketing and Management programme in September 2004. Immediately hereafter I applied for and was accepted to CEMS with Univeristá Bocconi in Milan being the setting of my term abroad. I left for Italy in June 2005 where I had my internship in Parma with my Danish employer, ingredients manufacturer Chr. Hansen. In December 2005 I went back to Copenhagen and in July 2006 I graduated from both CBS and CEMS.

Why did you join the CEMS programme?

I initially joined CEMS for purely academic reasons - but soon discovered that there was much more to CEMS than the academics. First of all I was overwhelmed by the mere fact of finding so many like minded people with whom I shared a real identity. I therefore quickly got very involved in CEMS, first in CEMS Club Copenhagen and later on the CEMS Student Board. My commitment to CEMS made my two years as a CEMS MIM student a most valuable experience, and allowed to create an extensive network across Europe.

What are you doing at the moment?/ What are your plans for the future?

I am currently working as International Business Developer with Danish mortgage bank Nykredit. My role is that of a project manager, leading cross-organizational projects in developing new products for Nykredit's existing markets and seeking new market opportunities for Nykredit to grow it's business.

Being truly European, I of course see my career evolving along international and cross-cultural lines. I therefore very much hope in a not too far future to get the opportunity to live and work abroad again, improving my language skills (learning a new language?) and my cultural awareness...

What do you think, how did/will the CEMS programme help you achieving your objectives?

First of all CEMS has given me an extensive network across Europe - be it in the corporate world or among my peers. This makes a very mobile graduate, and I feel I could settle with ease anywhere in Europe.
But I would also mention how CEMS has contributed to my interpersonal and people skills, which on the international scene are very important assets for a future career in management.

Tina Deutsch (2005)

What is your personal/educational background?

I was born in Vienna, Austria, and I am 24 years old. My first exchange was back in high school, when I spent one semester in Hampshire, England. Right after high school graduation, I went to Italy to learn Italian. I worked in a hotel over there for 6 months altogether (two summers consecutively). In the meantime, I studied for a Bachelor in Economics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration (WU Wien), during which I went to Summer University at LSE (London School of Economics) and on exchange to Paris (Université Paris Dauphine). After that exchange, I stayed on in France for an internship at the European Headquarters of IBM. Back in Vienna, I worked some time for Deloitte and then applied for the Master in Applied Economics & Finance at CBS, which I started a semester later. During my time in Copenhagen, I wanted to get some experience in the financial world and took on a study job at Danske Bank in their research department. I then finally applied for CEMS, and through that went on exchange to Prague, where I also wrote my thesis. After a final internship at the international NGO called CARE, I went on to travel for 5 months through South America and Africa before starting to work full-time for Shell in Copenhagen.

Why did you join CEMS?

CEMS offered the perfect addition to my otherwise very “hard” background of Finance. I wanted something a bit softer and broader. At the same time, CEMS impressed me by its internationality. I had the feeling that I could meet people who maybe had the same type of international interest that I have, and that was completely correct. I met many others who lived in different countries and who shared my interest in different cultures, languages, etc.

What are you doing at the moment and what are your plans for the future?

At the moment, I am working for Shell in Copenhagen as Nordic Change Coordinator. Shell is going through a big change process, and I am responsible for making sure this change happens at the right time with the right people. It’s a lot about people management and communication, very different than my previous job as Financial Analyst. I plan to stay in Copenhagen for another year approximately. In April 2007, I will start a Coaching education to become a certified Coach at the end of the year. In spring 2008, my boyfriend and I will most likely move back to Vienna – I haven’t been there for so long and miss it quite a lot! What I’m going to do there – I’m not sure yet. I would not mind at all staying with Shell if there are some good opportunities at that point in time. Alternatively, I could imagine going for a career as a Corporate Coach.

How did/will CEMS help you in achieving your objectives?

CEMS changed everything for me. Before joining the programme, I had an international approach and an interest for traveling and for different people and cultures. But after joining CEMS, my international network merely exploded. By doing so many different seminars all over Europe and participating in lots of social activities, I got to know people from all kinds of places. Today, no matter whether I want to go to Paris, London, or Barcelona – I will always know quite some people to go out with. This is amazing both on the personal and on the business side. If I ever want to start up my own business, this network will help me enormously. And I know quite some people who are exactly in that situation. Now of course I also travel quite a bit with Shell, and it’s simply nice to be on a business trip and meet with one or two of your friends, no matter which city you are in! Apart from that, CEMS simply gave me a mindset that showed me how different we all are but how many similarities we have at the same time. By now, I feel closer to a CEMS student/alumnus from Spain than to an Austrian who has never lived abroad...

Just Pedersen (2004)

What is your personal/educational background?

I have a bachelor degree in commercial pre-law and a master's in international marketing in addition to my CEMS degree. Prior to my bachelor's degree I worked as an sales representative in various companies and before my master I was an analyst for KPMG Consulting.

Why did you join the CEMS programme?

Well, obviously one takes an education in order to reach a certain goal. My goal with the CEMS was to sign on with one of the global conglomerates that are part of CEMS. Furthermore the idea of an education with values and an emphasis on skills as opposed to pure academics appealed to me as a quite sensible idea.

What are you doing at the moment?/ What are your plans for the future?

Freelance consulting work. Prior to that I was 5 years with BP in Austria, the UK and the US.

What do you think, how did/will the CEMS programme help you achieving your objectives?

CEMS helped me in three quite positive ways, firstly with great career opportunities - I actually had my first interview for my job with BP at the CEMS career forum back in 2001. Secondly, as I have been moving around, the CEMS alumni network has been a great provider of professional and private contacts in my new locations. Thirdly, the CEMS network has also provided me with a number of opportunities to both give and receive coaching.

Søren Kroon (1998)

What is your personal/educational background?

Please read the interview in the CEMS student magazine with Søren for more information.

Anders Krabbe (1993)

What is your personal/educational background?

2006: IMD training (Lausanne, Switzerland) 
1992: M.Sc. Economics (CBS, Denmark)
1992: CEMS, Int'l Management (HEC, France)

Why did you join the CEMS programme?

I was the first Danish CEMS graduate and actually didn't believe it would be possible for me to achieve this. CBS had just joined CEMS when I went to HEC and I had to take some of the under-graduate courses on my return. I was interested in CEMS because I always have had a drive to work internationally. I am driven by working in multi-cultural environments and in achieving business results across borders. I have a talent for languagues and like to explore it. The main driver for me was to get an int'l degree that could facilitate my entrance into international corporate life. CEMS has been one of the keys for me.

What are you doing at the moment?/ What are your plans for the future?

I am working as a marketing manager for Novo Nordisk diabetes offerings in the Middle East. The region is extremely diverse and represents both mature and virgin markets, private and public, fully re-imbursed where patients don't pay for medicine themselves and 100% out-of-pocket markets as well.

I work through local marketing and sales people in individual countries and make sure all focus on our overall company strategy in daily operations. I deal with both long-term initiatives and setting ambitions, challenge business plans and budgets and motivate, push, support, challenge and help my colleagues in the countries.

I am based in Istanbul on 3rd year with my wife and 2 kids. We live an international life as ex-pats and enjoy our time here. The children are attending Istanbul international school and are already bi-lingual English-Danish. It is a great driver to give them this wonderful opportunity in life.

What do you think, how did/will the CEMS programme help you achieving your objectives?

The CEMS program/degree has been a help in my career in an indirect way.

It showed my first employer (Copenhagen Airports) that I follow through on the things I set out to do. It also demonstrated my drive to make a difference in an international setting.

The language and cultural abilities I trained during CEMS courses and subsequent internship were invaluable in making me look for international opportunities later in life. Gave me a real-life opportunity to test my own abilities in this respect early on.