Andrew Rea (pictured) is Head of Professional Services at Esri Ireland and a past participant of the Henley MBA at IMI. He shares his story of how instrumental this MBA at IMI was to his career and his organisation.
Why did you choose the Henley MBA at IMI?
My role in Esri Ireland involves managing the operational activities of the department (a team of nearly 40 people), providing strategic direction for the department and contributing to overall company strategy. I selected the Henley MBA at IMI because I believed that this programme would help me to be more successful in this role and provide me with enhanced skills in leadership, management and in strategic thinking.
The flexible approach combined with the applied learning style provided by this was something that I thought would be very beneficial. I could achieve my MBA while at the same time applying the learning in a practical way within Esri,and gain insights and learning from the experiences of peers on the course and from the IMI community.
What were your MBA highlights?
The opportunity to have an interaction with experts in the various subject areas was great. This, combined with being able to share experiences with people in different industries made the experience really invaluable. Similarly, being able to apply the learning directly to my work environment through the assignments was excellent and allowed me to demonstrate the value of the MBA to the organisation.
What challenges did you face with the MBA?
The biggest challenge was balancing work, personal life and study time. Maintaining a consistency with all of these factors across the three years required a lot of planning and sacrifice personally and from my family. Also, it had been a long time since I’d done anything academic, but there was plenty of support from Henley and the IMI team.
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What impact has the MBA had on your career?
I’ve just completed the programme but I can say that there has been a change in both my personal development and in my leadership in work. I know that I’ve grown as a leader and have developed a more rounded, authentic leadership style. My perspective has evolved to being more strategic in nature and is now focused on leading my department and Esri Ireland, as opposed to managing it.
What impact has the Henley MBA at IMI had on Esri?
The MBA is structured so that you apply your learning to real work scenarios, so from the very first module until the very last, Esri Ireland has and is benefiting from my Henley and IMI experience. It has helped in achieving our margins, growing the team and increasing our value to our parent organisation.
What advice do you have for others planning further study?
Firstly, plan how you are going to balance all of the demands on your time, e.g. home, work, study etc. Make sure that it is something that you will enjoy and that you can see the benefits of, as this will help you get through the times where you are exhausted and hitting that study wall. Secondly, heed the advice of the people administrating the course. It will be the first time you have done it but they’ve done it hundreds of times.
For more information on the Henley MBA at IMI, contact our programme advisors or our programme director Dr. Mary Hogan.
E: programmeadvisors@imi.ie / mary.hogan@imi.ie
T: 1800 22 33 88 / 01 207 8551
W: www.imi.ie
Applications must be submitted before 15 August 2016.
