Hi everyone,

I have a Ph.D. in telecom related field and more than 3 years of project management experience mostly in European-wide partnership projects. I am now in a very large research institution in Germany but would like to enter the industry in an executive-level role. I could still enter the industry without doing an EMBA, but my career plan would be mostly technical-oriented, and climbing the executive ladder would be really difficult.

Therefore, I am planning to do an EMBA such that I can steer my career development towards executive-level roles. I would like to see myself in a C-level executive role in a large tech company 10-15 years from now. I have a couple of questions in this regard:
1. which EMBA program does suit me the most? the one offered by IESE Munich branch or the one offered by ESCP Berlin branch? (I would like to do it part-time and the program of IESE Munich is quite convenient considering my current occupation)
2. I do not speak German quite much. Would that significantly affect my transition to such roles in Germany? Is speaking German a must for executive roles in big tech companies?

I am in the decision process and any insight would be very very helpful for me.


Thanks!

Hi, not speaking german will impact because it will be tough to speak to authorities and other important people that don't speak good English (especially older generations). However, between the two, I would definitely pick IESE, they are quite known for having quite solid executive programs. If not, why not consider the Netherlands which is really close (could be an option)? But the Berlin ecosystem is quite developed and I think given you already live in Germany, you could find an English speaking C-level position. 

[Edited by Andy776 on Dec 21, 2021]

For a board role, you need excellent written and spoken German more than an MBA. Given your lack of Germanness, a Spanish or French EMBA will just stress your outside status. 

Thanks for the replies.

I also had the same impression and try to find out whether I should invest more in my German or an MBA degree. What if I decide to learn German and plan to reach C1 in 3 years time window. 

Will the E-MBA degree land me in a more proper place than me having no MBA degree?

Obviously I can only imagine you, and your professional development needs but, having working a lot with clients in Germany, I would have thought the ideal path would be first German and then a programme taught in German. for example, there is an 18 day programme leading to the ESMT postgraduate diploma in advanced management: https://execed.esmt.berlin/offene-seminare/advanced-management-seminare/general-management-seminar 

Thanks a lot, Duncan. Really appreciate our valuable feedback.

A German course, and especially a ,,Deutsch fuer den Beruf'' programme, will give you some great functional vocabulary. However. I think a programme in German will attract a different pool of people - less likely to moderate their behaviour to fit foreign expectations, and thus more useful to model and observe.