SDA Bocconi School of Management and ESADE Business School are educating future CEOs. Their part-online executive Master will hope to capitalize on demand for sales and marketing roles.
When SDA Bocconi School of Management and ESADE Business School, two titans of the European MBA scene, joined forces four years ago, the result was a unique executive Master’s program.The schools’ Executive Master in Marketing and Sales – EMMS – combines distance learning through an online platform with traditional classes in Milan, Barcelona and Madrid.
But Alessandro Arbore, the course co-director, does not see online-only MBA programs taking off. “I don’t see pure distance learning as the future of executive education, and I don’t see distance learning as the future of education overall,” says Alessandro, an SDA Bocconi professor of marketing.
In January 2007, the school took on its first EMMS cohort. The program cost €29,500. The course runs for 14 months. Fifty percent is taught through distance learning and 50% is face-to-face. EMMS students split their classroom time between SDA Bocconi’s Italian campus and ESADE’s Spanish bases.
The distance element, says Alessandro, is more demanding. “A single course face-to-face is one week – nine or ten sessions in one week – while distance learning is nine or ten sessions but lasting seven or eight weeks.”
SDA Bocconi, which also runs traditional MBA programs, has developed the partnership during a revival of executive education. It has also launched the sales and marketing-only track at a time when specialist Master’s programs are gaining in popularity.
The question for Christopher Graf von Hallwyl, an EMMS graduate, was: do I want to be a generalist or a specialist?
“A specialist – not limited to an industry, but profoundly equipped with above-average functional skill sets – is what the future requires,” says Christopher, who works at Engel & Völkers AG, a real estate firm.
An EMBA will give you a solid overall perspective of business management, and will allow you to work while studying. But EMMS allows students to focus on specific marketing and sales topics. “There is no other program and no EMBA that can give you such a broad and deep understanding of this process,” says Alessandro.
He thinks it will give students a career boost: “People already within this career track found it valuable to get the tools and the knowledge to speed up and boost their career within that field.”
Most of the students, then, come from a strong management background. But entrepreneurs flock to the EMMS program, too, who are “looking for a better understanding of how the marketing process” works.
Candidates from both big corporations and SMEs have taken to the EMMS program, which is made up of seven modules. The course covers topics from the marketing fundamentals to the strategic aspects of client relationships and sales innovation.
Most of the program’s candidates have nine years’ experience, says Alessandro. They come from marketing and sales departments. “But also higher levels [of management], with the idea of putting customers at the centre,” he says. Most of them stay in their pre-Master functions, but move up the careers ladder, he adds.
Industry surveys reveal that sales and marketing are the biggest hiring areas for companies this year – 54%, above finance and consulting. However, most executive students are not seeking a career change; rather, they want a promotion.
Luca Porcellati, an EMMS graduate who works in brand management, says the course still enhanced his marketing and sales knowledge. “Without doubt, you will learn new business models that you can apply to your daily work,” he adds.
The benefit to being partnered with ESADE is an increased network. “It doubled the network of our students,” says Alessandro, before adding: “Enlarging the places where the students are going to meet is also improving their real-life and personal experience.”
Vanessa Márquez, an EMMS grad who now works in Spain, says: “Working with different persons with different backgrounds, different experiences and different technical languages makes the program even more attractive.”
For EMMS alumnus Federico Parma, diversity was one of the biggest draws. “Both of them [school cohorts, have] distinct influences. It helped in targeting different aspects of our preparation,” says Federico, who works at Ericsson Telecommunications in Italy.
As one of the brains behind the new course at SDA Bocconi, Alessandro is no stranger to the debate about online MBA education. “Distance learning… is more flexible, but you need to blend and balance and mix this efficiency with the efficacy of face-to-face experiences and interaction, which is still very useful for managers,” he says.
There are important aspects of human face-to-face experiences that cannot be replicated, he adds.
“This is why when designing this program we decide to mix. We don’t want to give up on face-to-face because there is a value in terms of emotional intelligence that cannot be delivered through an optical cable,” he says.
“But at the same time, since these are executives, there is the value of convenience.”
Student Reviews
Esade review
As I am just starting off in September, I do not have any hands-on information about the education or the university itself. However, I can tell you about the experience I have had with the admin staff, which was always extremely positive. As I am a scholarship student, I had some hardships with reserving my place as I needed to wait for the result of my scholarship application, otherwise, I would not have been able to attend the university. They kindly offered me to hold my place without paying which was a big help for me. Additionally, any time I had problems with the IT system or any administrative task they would always help me in a day or two.
Bachelor Business administration
ESADE University stands as a beacon of academic excellence and innovation. With its dynamic programs, world-class faculty, and vibrant campus culture, ESADE offers a transformative educational experience. From cutting-edge business education to a commitment to societal impact, ESADE surpasses expectations. It's a remarkable institution that nurtures tomorrow's leaders.
Excellent education.
ESADE is a quality university, the professors are the best in the area and this is evident in the student's academic progress. Additionally, the university is responsible for providing opportunities to access the world of work. It is a university internationally recognized for its quality and excellence. It is located in the best neighborhood of Barcelona.
Excellent teachers and classes and a superb international experience
If you are looking for a law specialization master's degree (LLM) in the non so traditional areas of law, and you are seeking for an international fully enriching experience, ESADE is your best choice.
ESADE started as a business school so the MBA and other business degrees are their core. Nonetheless, law education and in particular the specialisation master's (international business law and intellectual property and ICT law) are also on the top Europe's LLM of their fields. They combine an excellent program, with the best teachers available in Barcelona and with a more than enough amount of resources to study and help the student to get initiated in their career field. Also, this is the best international experience out there; personally, I got to share a classroom with other 25 students, where only 6 of them were Spanish, the other 19 including myself were a mixture of different nationalities, especially from Latin American countries.
What an enriching experience!
The program was super complete and touched on all the key points I considered important in a Master of Law, Intellectual Property and Technology. In addition, I was able to take advantage of business, communication, leadership and other disciplines, so important in the training of a complete and multifaceted professional. It is also great that all teachers are lawyers, so they can practice the knowledge they teach us on a daily basis. In this way, they are able to transmit theoretical knowledge to us with a much more practical approach, super useful for our future. In this way, we are able to penetrate the network of contacts in our areas, which can be extremely beneficial for our career.
I also believe that the University is really concerned with the students, in helping them in everything they need, which can be demonstrated, for example, in the current pandemic situation, since it has always tried to act in such a way as to harm the students as little as possible, providing the support and compensation that they considered fair.
In conclusion, I would like to thank ESADE for providing me with one of the best experiences of my life, in which I have made friends for life, and from which I leave with excellent academic preparation, ready to face the challenges of a professional career.
The online platform and the involvment of students and teachers
The online platform is very agile to work and gives you great flexibility to follow the program. Secondly, I was surprised by the involvement of students and teachers. This has made the program very interesting with links to extensions of the agenda. Quite a good surprise. I would clearly recommend it.
Great class cohesion, superb study location, super professors
I loved the class cohesion with plenty of international students from all over the world. Great to have that mix during a practical business project to do with the local economy of the Costa Brava.
Studying in Barcelona is simply amazing, and even though the university is not directly in the center, it is in a really nice part of the city with great views over the old town and the sea. I always enjoyed my walk from the metro station to the school.
The professors were nice and motivated, and as classes were small, it allowed a very good learning atmosphere.
Amazing experience!
The professors are qualified, passionate, and dive deeply into the topics while always making class engaging. Hands-on experience with companies to solve real issues - offering a great opportunity to apply the learnings and gain more relevant experience. The study tours and minor class trips are also adding value to the course, along with many career and social events, which help create a good environment. Would highly recommend!
Career Pivot
I decided to pursue the executive MBA at ESADE after speaking with several alumni about their backgrounds and reasons for choosing this program. Coming from tech, I wanted to learn about other aspects of a company and get assistance in creating my own business plan. The open day was well planned and informative complete with a sample class and case studies. If you’re in doubt, I recommend you attend one of these events.
