General Management & Sustainability Programme - MBA Highlights

This MBA Highlights programme illustrates the future of executive education. It’s a fast-paced course combining both management skills and concrete business cases with a top European business school’s know-how and intense participants’ interaction.

The Solvay Brussels School represents over 600 respected international academics. Firmly rooted in the business world, they truly understand the issues faced everyday and the aspirations shared by all managers and entrepreneurs.

This action-oriented learning experience helps participants articulate their leadership intuition, acknowledge the efficiency dimension of any organisational situation and develop synergies within their teams, while also building a rich business vocabulary.

This high-level programme is designed to use our collaborators’ personal experiences to their best advantage, offering up-to-date content and helping companies succeed in a dynamic environment like Luxembourg today. Capitalising on the success of similar programmes we run, our principal objective remains to challenge and assist you as you redefine your future professional path.

We’ve taken the best from our existing MBA programmes to offer you an introduction to the most important aspects of strategy, sustainability, finance, HR and leadership, designed to help you accelerate your career.

This eight-day programme is delivered twice a week over a three to four-month period. With the number of participants limited to 20, this ensures a highly interactive and intensive experience with effective exchange and knowledge transfer.

In such economically turbulent times, it’s important to focus on growth, invest in management and harness change, creating strong leaders equipped to steer through such future uncertainty. With the solid international reputation and established faculty of Solvay Brussels School, we present a MBA Highlights programme that offers training excellence in Luxembourg.

• Our faculty has designed this programme to challenge leaders to think creatively and critically about how to lead and devise new businesses, or improve existing ones.
  

• Leaders will leave the programme with practical skills and tools that can be immediately put to use in the workplace

NOTES:

• The entire course is run mainly in English, although some speakers may also be available in French.

• Training materials can be designed with content in English and/or French

• Each module can also be accessed à la carte, independently of the entire course.

• Entrepreneurs with at least 5 years of experience who want to grow their business in the future
  

• Managers with at least 5 years of managerial experience who expect to grow into a top-level management position

• Degree in management or equivalent is not required
  

You’ll be learning from some of the most important influencers in their fields, coming from leading business schools and universities from across the globe.
Not only do they have a wealth of real-life business experience, but their numerous corporate positions, board memberships and consulting roles bring a fresh and unique perspective to learning.They understand the importance of applying knowledge learnt immediately in the place of work. The high-value learning experience provided by our professors is rich in case studies, videos and role plays, all drawn from their own personal experiences.

This ensures that you, the future leader, have the chance to not only learn about innovation and leadership, but to live it too. In a world where business is evolving at top speed, our faculty staff are not only part of that evolution, but they keep abreast of other developments in the field too.

As such, this makes for a course whose content is just as dynamic as the leaders it aims to inspire.

• Transform the way they reason, solve problems, and perceive themselves and those around them
  

• Build the required skills to manage, inspire and lead a culture of innovation in increasingly complex and multicultural workforces
  

• Think creatively and critically about how to lead and design new businesses, or even improve existing ones
  

• Identify opportunities and develop growth strategies
  

• Engage in robust exchanges about ideas and solutions. Discussion and collaboration will allow participants to articulate their specific leadership intuition and acknowledge the importance of organisational effectiveness.
  

• Take away practical skills and tools that can be immediately put to use in the workplace
  

• Emerge from their Solvay experience with the attitude and acumen to become leaders who will contribute to changing society, and in turn create future influencers themselves
  

1. The team of professors brings an exciting mix of theory and practice. They provide personal, dynamic learning through real-life case studies, group work and individual assignments.

2. Participants are encouraged to ask questions, engage in meaningful discussion and bring new ideas to debate.
   

3. The course offers a multidisciplinary perspective integrating the study of leadership, strategy execution, resource management, innovation.
   

4. Classes will draw from a wide range of multimedia from varied international sources. This includes journal articles to videos, documentaries and business case studies.
   

The following programme will be enriched by the context of Luxembourg.

The participants are given access to the side-programme  "Luxembourg Sustainability Management Series" included when registered to the entire programme

Business Strategy

Introduction to strategy

The lesson

The aim of this workshop is to define strategy, and to get insight into what it is and how to execute it.

What will you learn?

• How to clarify key strategic elements (vision, mission, scope, value chain, innovation)
  

• How to make a strategic diagnosis (competitors, potential acquisition, start-up)
  

• Key elements about executing strategy, from where and how to allocate resources to achieve your company’s vision, to aligning competences and daily activities to produce optimal results

How?

By exploring the latest different methodologies that will create, deliver and capture value when applied to the workplace.

BRUNO WATTENBERGH, Senior Advisor and Ambassador for Innovation EY

Bruno Wattenbergh is a professor in strategy and entrepreneurship at Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, delivering seminars for various academic courses at all levels.
Bruno has years of professional experience and know-how in strategy, open innovation and innovation, and he specialises teaching in financing SMEs and new business ventures, public institutions targeting enterprises, Business Model Innovation and entrepreneurship.
Bruno’s studies have taken him across Belgium, the Netherlands and the USA. He holds several degrees in management and labour sciences, a master’s in innovation and entrepreneurship and has attended a study programme in strategy and innovation at MIT. He also has a certification in Business Model Canvas.

Leadership

Personal leadership

The lesson

• Personal career management
  

• Self-knowledge
  

• Personal development plan
  

• Action plan to actively experiment

What will you learn?

• Dealing with challenges and pitfalls in different management positions
  

• Gain a better understanding of your own character, interests and needs
  

Teaching Methods:

• Lecture(s)
  

• Self tests
  

• Small group discussions

Valérie Vangeel, Specialises in in strategy, leadership and company culture as well as development and facilitation of change management processes

As Marketing and Communications Director of Nestlé Belgilux, she was Member of Executive Board of Nestlé Benelux and Team Leader (30 people) in charge of the communication of all the Brands (Business of 850+M EUR) and the Group’s Corporate image in Belgium and Holland and in charge of the local Marketing development.
Valérie developed her skills at Amnesty International as Associate Director and at Procter & Gamble where she was Brand Operations Leader, Talent and Leadership Development Manager and  P&G Marketing University Faculty Lead
She is a certified Business Model trainer and Neurocognitive and Behavourial Approach Practioner
Valérie holds an MBA from the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management.

Finance

Financial Analysis and Planning

The lesson

This workshop provides an introduction to the indispensable tools needed to understand, interpret and analyse the financial data of a project. Whether you are in charge of strategy, operations, R&D, marketing or HR, it is essential to understand performance management and know how to prepare a budget.

What will you learn?

• How to assess a customer’s product launch profitability and evaluate success
  

• How to master such tools to enhance internal communications
  

• Becoming a more effective communicator ensures you ask the most relevant questions to those responsible for managing finances..

How?

By defining and tracking a department’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Laurent Gheeraert, Ph.D. in Economics and Management from the Solvay Brussels School (ULB)

Laurent is managing the “International Business Field Projects” at MBA Solvay, which involves scoping, coaching and/or supervising several management advisory projects across different companies. He is also part-time Professor of Finance at the Solvay Brussels School.
Until 2005, he was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company and was involved in operations, strategy and finance projects in Europe, South Africa and the Middle East.
Since 2007, he has been advising several public and private institutions on such wide-ranging topics as international finance, Islamic finance, company valuation, portfolio analysis, and financial modeling.
He is regularly delivering business case-based trainings to various types of audiences in different industries and different parts of the world (EU, Switzerland, Vietnam, Morocco).
Recent client references include Leaseurope, the Swiss Accountancy Academy, AWEX, Solvay SA, CIRB/CIBG, Fedesco...

Customer Development

Sales management

The lesson

This workshop is aimed at helping organisations apply design thinking in business.

• Principles and methods of sales

• Product-based, value-based selling & co-creation
  

• Sales planning

What will you learn?

• How to apply this approach to innovate and redesign sales processes, finding new ways to add value for customers
  

• About design thinking methodology and how it is used to find desirable solutions for customers

Teaching Methods:

• Hands-on workshops based on cases
  

• Application of theory on own business
  

• Group discussions

RÉGIS LEMMENS, Professor and founder of Sales Cubes

Régis Lemmens is the founder of Sales Cubes (now called The Co-Creator), a consulting firm which helps sales organisations to innovate and co-create value with their customers. He has advised organisations such as BNP Paribas, Sony, Ergo and Bekaert.
He is a professor in Sales and Sales Management, and teaches at business schools in Belgium (Antwerp Management School, Solvay Brussels School), the Netherlands (Tias business school) and in the UK (Cranfield School of Management).
His work has led him to speak at various sales and business events, such as a recent TEDx event in Belgium.
He holds a master’s degree in science from South Bank University, an MBA from the University of Surrey, and a PhD from the Aberdeen Business School.

HR Management

HRM Toolkit

The lesson

The objective of this workshop is to understand the importance of HR as a strategic business partner.

What will you learn?

How to improve your organisation’s performance by clarifying the relationship between leadership and human capital management (HCM), including the processes behind recruiting, developing and optimising an organisation’s human resources.

How?

Using the HR framework, participants will analyse the HR cycle within Space Applications, and design best practices for organisational change, competency, performance and talent management. This includes areas such as personal development, and compensation and benefits processes
Practices and tools are then summarised in an HR dashboard to be used in different situations.

REGGY DEGEN, Guest lecturer in HR Management at Solvay Brussels School

Reggy Degen is a Senior Human Capital Management Executive with more than 20 years of HR experience working for companies in a wealth of industries like FMCG, telecoms, technology and education.

He holds a master’s in law from UCL (London), as well as a degree in international trade from Cooremans Institute (Brussels) and human resources management from the Economische Hogeschool Sint of Aloysius (Brussels).

Sustainability

Fundamentals of sustainability

The lesson

This is an introductory course to sustainability starting from the state of the planet and the interactions between the planet and human societies, to the scientific and historical underpinnings of sustainability and its implications for business and policy.

What will you learn?

• Greater awareness about current sustainability challenges and their impact on the economy
  

• Familiarity with the concepts, jargon and reference frameworks for sustainability
  

• Ability to understand and take part in conversations around these issues (understand)
  

• Ability to identify the relevant frameworks for the problem at-hand (apply)
  

• Exposure and acquaintance with new data sources
  

• Robust foundations for further knowledge acquisition

Julia Jadin, PhD. researcher in economics at the European Center for Advanced Research in Economics and Statistics (ECARES).

Her current research focuses on environmental economics, in particular carbon emissions. Before that, she worked for a non-governmental organisation focusing on the conservation of coastal ecosystems in Mexico, and then as a consultant for Compass Lexecon. She is now back to the Université libre de Bruxelles because she is interested in providing academic output to support a sustainable economic transition.

Marketing

Sustainable Marketing

The lesson

This Marketing and Digital Transformation Workshop explores new trends in sustainable & strategic marketing and the impact of digital on commercial strategies

What will you learn?

• How to use digital technology to re-engage with customers and remain competitive
  

• How to effectively build customer-centric strategies

How?

• Using a variety of tools, case studies and examples, discussions will cover personas and insights, value creation and capture, and budget and execution pitfalls
  

• Practices and tools are then summarised into a marketing dashboard, which can then be applied immediately in your workplace

Dr. Deep Parekh, CEO Collaborative Forum, Community Lead

Dr. Deep Parekh is a seasoned executive and advisor to the top ranks of Fortune 500 companies including Tetra Pak, Unilever, Danone, Lego, ABInbev, IBM, and others.  He is the founder of Epistemy BV, a boutique advisory firm whose engagements span business strategy and business model reconfiguration, digital transformation, and embedding of environment, social, and governance (ESG) factors into multinational enterprises.  He is also the co-founder of MakeOurFuture, one of the first European consulting cooperatives that work with only sustainability related projects with clients worldwide.
The scope of his business experience includes ESG business strategy and models, business operations and process management, design thinking and service design, large scale consumer research and analytics, multisided marketplace platforms, blockchain based platforms, and customer centricity.
Deep earned his PhD in Business Model Dynamics from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology - Lausanne (EPFL), funded by the CHF 1.3 million grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation.  

Leadership

Team leadership

The lesson

This hands-on, interactive training module is based on participants' real-life challenges and experiences. Participants will acquire the necessary frameworks to formalise their approaches to people management. The training will also focus on best practices for your role as team leader, manager and coach, and provide tips for avoiding some of the most common pitfalls.

What will you learn?

• Understand the different roles of the People Manager
  

• Identify your personal leader signature
  

• Apply the “magic formula” of good performance
  

• Practice the power of feedback and the art of managing difficult conversations

Valérie Vangeel, specialises in in strategy, leadership and company culture as well as development and facilitation of change management processes

As Marketing and Communications Director of Nestlé Belgilux, she was Member of Executive Board of Nestlé Benelux and Team Leader (30 people) in charge of the communication of all the Brands (Business of 850+M EUR) and the Group’s Corporate image in Belgium and Holland and in charge of the local Marketing development. 
Valérie developed her skills at Amnesty International as Associate Director and at Procter & Gamble where she was Brand Operations Leader, Talent and Leadership Development Manager and  P&G Marketing University Faculty Lead.
She is a certified Business Model trainer and Neurocognitive and Behavourial Approach Practioner
Valérie holds an MBA from the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management.

By registering for this training you will have free access to the following program: 

12 x 4-hour modules* with speakers from Luxembourg and Greater Region:

* These modules are conducted in French* 

• Introduction au développement durable et aux principales réglementations ESG

• Raison d’être - Définir et déployer la raison d’être en entreprise  

• Stratégie ESG - Réaliser une analyse de double matérialité en impliquant les parties prenantes pour développer une stratégie de durabilité  

• Gouvernance ESG - Comment instaurer une gouvernance permettant d’intégrer et de relever les défis du développement durable
  

• Reporting ESG - évaluer la performance extra-financière d’une entreprise dans le cadre de la Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
  

• La finance durable - Un nouveau paradigme pour les entreprises
  

• Innovation durable - Intégrer les critères ESG dans le développement de nouveaux produits et services
  

• Valeurs partagées - De la RSE à la création de valeur(s) partagée(s) au sein de l’entreprise
  

• Chaîne de valeur responsable - Comment exercer une diligence raisonnable en matière de droits de l'Homme et d'incidences sur l'environnement
  

• Décarbonation - comment élaborer des trajectoires de transition grâce à des stratégies climatiques

• Economie Circulaire – comment insérer une démarche d’économie circulaire dans la stratégie d’entreprise

• Inclusion des collabor’acteurs – Comment engager toute l’entreprise dans la démarche de développement durable
  

At the end of the course, participants will receive a certificate of attendance issued by the House of Training and Solvay Lifelong Learning.

Our objective is to select a coherent group of motivated participants, in order to maximize the quality of the interaction within the group.

The Admissions Committee will make a first judgement based on the application submitted by the candidate. The selection is made on the basis of the present application form and an interview.

Application form