Hi,

I am an Indian with 12 years of work -ex running 4 businesses so far in the fields of renewable energy and Mechanical fabrication.
I would like to shift careers in Finance. Short term goal is to work with venture capital or Private equity companies in Europe ( Germany, France or UK) ( Ireland - not so sure)
Sales and marketing is my forte since its a major part of managing a startup.

I wouldn't want to take the GMAT now. So please mention programs where GMAT is not compulsory .
IELTS score is 7.5

Which Universities should I apply too? I would prefer a 1-year Program. ( SInce I am 34 years old already)
Warm Regards

Aniriddha Wakchaure
Mumbai
India

It's difficult to shed the 12 years baggage and do a functional shift. Why would any company recruit you for high paying managerial level positions in Finance since you have no experience in that area and only 1 year of education? For that matter, even for entry level positions, they may find an undergrad or someone having lesser experience more suitable.
Experience triumphs Education. Any brand name MBA would help, but it would require GMAT.

I would suggest to explore PGPX, PGPM type 1 year full time executive MBA from IIM/Spjain in India to get the functional shift. I assume you neither have work authorization, or language or functional (Finance) skill. Your will be a high risk candidate for companies in countries you mentioned.

Hi Ayon,
Thanks for the reply. Maybe ,marketing or strategy planning would be the right choice? I have around 10 years of experience in selling and marketing.

Hi Aniriddha,
Since you were quick to switch your function from Finance to Marketing or Strategy Planning, that tells me that you aren't sure about what function you want to follow.
Remember for Marketing / Selling / Brand Management type roles you need language and cultural proficiency since those are customer facing. As long as you can convince the recruiter why he or she should hire you over a native speaker (who has work authorization as well) you'll be good.

Usually analytical type roles which require proficiency with one or various tools such as SPSS, SAS, Tablaeu, Salesforce etc. i.e. Marketing Analytics are explored by Desi Junta.

You can search on LinkedIn if you come across any desi who is working in a Marketing/Finance/Strategy role in Germany/France/Ireland without a brand name MBA.

Otherwise as I mentioned earlier, your lack of language, work authorization, functional knowledge, cultural knowledge makes you a risky candidate. Unless you take the GMAT route and target schools like RSM, Vlerick etc. which may help bridge the gap a bit - but not a lot.

Hi Ayon,
Thanks for the analysis. I am not switching my functions , I am enquiring on the quickest way to move vertically across an organisation.
Almost all the senior profiles usually require only soft skills and knowledge of numbers.
The past industry I was working in didn't have much scope for growth or innovation. Hence my plan to move to tech/Fintech( an advanced stream where innovative ideas will pay off in meritorious upcoming companies)
. My past experience in Handling a variety of businesses has heavily trained me in functions such as procurement, budgeting, supply chain management, operations , Sales -marketing, etc. - Mostly problem solving of all kinds.
However I enjoy sales the most but I feel lacking in financial skills needed to run larger than SME organizations.
I am guessing a GMAT will upgrade my options. According to you, English speaking countries should be my target?

If you're working to climb up the career ladder at your organization, why not see which MBAs the organization's leaders studied? It may give you an idea of the schools that are valued among your peers.

Hi Hipster,
Appreciate your reply. After a few serial startups and businesses , its tough to enter the tech market .
Most of the talent acquisition guys value an MBA rather than an entrepreneurial experience.

Sorry I was confused, I thought you were just looking to climb the ladder in your current company.

Most of the larger tech firms (Amazon, Google, Microsoft, etc.) have built recruiting relationships with various MBA programs. Whatever your goals, look at where the firms you are interested in working for recruit their talent.

Hi Hipster,
Appreciate your reply. After a few serial startups and businesses , its tough to enter the tech market .
Most of the talent acquisition guys value an MBA rather than an entrepreneurial experience.

Most of the talent acquisition guys value an MBA rather than an entrepreneurial experience.

That might be true in India, but it's certainly not true for US/Canada/EU. Vertical mobility is usually achieved while within a company not across companies - certainly not across countries. I mean think about it. When a company wants to hire - let's say a General Manager - they either hire externally or promote someone internally. For external hires it's always someone who has done the exact same thing . i.e his or her current or past designation is General Manager. They won't hire someone who doesn't have that qualification and experience. The career switchers won't even get an interview call or resume shortlisted.