From Russia With a Love for Learning

Ksenia Sukhova was looking to build on a career in consulting, having previously worked in strategic teams. Originally from Russia and with a background in applied mathematics, she wanted to broaden her business knowledge and embrace new challenges. 

With deep curiosity and an ambition to evolve professionally and personally, Ksenia decided to study for an MBA. She searched for a program that would give her a firm business grounding with a specialization in finance. EDHEC Business School fitted the bill.

“EDHEC is very well known for finance education,” says Ksenia. “It’s one of the top schools, known for the quality of its education.” (02:30) 

The highly-ranked business school has campuses in Nice, Paris, London, and Singapore, along with its founding campus in Lille. It was the London campus that caught Ksenia’s eye.

“The finance track was the only track that was in London. All the other tracks, their locations were less interesting to me from the perspective of future work opportunities… London offers a lot of consulting opportunities.” (03:13)

And so she embarked on a profound educational journey. One that would see her make lifelong friends, develop essential leadership skills, and land a role as Senior Manager at a major London-based consultancy.

Launching a Global Career With EDHEC

Ksenia believes the EDHEC Global MBA was pivotal to her transformation from a talented consultant to a leader at a multinational company. 

“I don’t think I would have been able to relocate with the same efficiency and the same opportunities as I managed to with the [EDHEC] MBA. That has 100 percent opened doors for me to get where I want to be and get a European job,” she says. “After that, the whole is open and full of opportunities.” (09:04)

The EDHEC alumni network was also on hand to provide greater opportunities for Ksenia.

“Having the network of my fellow alumni… is also something that is super valuable,” she says. (09:37) She has found the network particularly useful for making finance industry connections in the UK capital.

“I’m quite lucky, because in the UK there are a lot of people from EDHEC,” says Ksenia. “EDHEC is well known for finance, and London is one of the finance capitals of the world. There are a lot of people from EDHEC who have relocated to London, and they work specifically in finance.” (07:09)

Ksenia landed a role as a consultant at leading multinational firm Deloitte soon after graduating from the EDHEC MBA. This key opportunity came from a referral from an alum at EDHEC.

The Magic of a Shared Experience 

Ksenia didn’t just learn from the EDHEC faculty. Her MBA cohort was pivotal to the educational experience. 

“The MBA at EDHEC is [made up of] a very diverse group of people. And I’m not only talking about ethnic diversity or gender diversity. It’s also the diversity of the backgrounds and [the]  type of roles they are looking for afterwards,” she explains. “The mix of knowledge and the mix of personalities that brings is really significant… I would never have experienced that in any other environment.” (03:54) 

Ksenia maximized her experience by engaging with her peers and actively learning from them. As she details, “At EDHEC, I met so many different people and different personalities. It has taught me how to hear them, be flexible and adaptable, and take the best out of those people to achieve amazing results.” (04:54) 

Her experience went beyond professional connections. She even formed lifelong friendships during her EDHEC MBA.  

“I think I had one of the best cohorts ever!” she says. “I’m still in touch with a lot of them. I became a godmom to a kid from one of my classmates from my MBA seven years after we graduated.” (05:32)

It’s these special human connections that illustrate the difference in the EDHEC MBA experience.

Expanding Her World

The Austro-British philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein once wrote, “The limits of my language are the limits of my world.” Ksenia had the determination to expand her world. This meant immersing herself in life in London to eventually become a fluent English speaker. 

“Because I’m not a native speaker, [the MBA] helped me to elevate my proficiency in the English language. I definitely came out of the MBA way more experienced than I was before,” she says. “My first language was still my native language before my MBA, and now it has become basically dual proficiency because I live in London.” (08:13)

Learning English to such a high level reflects Ksenia’s drive and passion for discovery. It helped her maximize her ROI, opened a world of opportunities, and gave her a competitive edge in the international consultancy jobs market. 

Final Thoughts on an Unforgettable Journey

Graduating back in 2019, Ksenia has had the chance to reflect on her experiences, comparing them to those of friends who have also taken an MBA.

“I have spoken to some people [who studied other MBAs] who came from non-business backgrounds,” says Ksenia. “They told me they felt like they were not respected properly by their cohort. That they were judged for [not having a] business background… I have never seen that during my time at EDHEC. Everyone was welcomed.” (12:00)

In fact, the EDHEC MBA is purposefully designed to bring about collaboration.

“The program really caters for different backgrounds, and it creates an atmosphere where a lot of assignments are done in groups. That creates a strong bond between people. That bond stays with you.” (12:51)

So, was it all worth it? For Ksenia, it’s a clear yes. “I think the EDHEC MBA was probably one of the best years of my life,” she says. (10:16)

There’s no doubt that Ksenia’s journey will inspire the next EDHEC MBA cohort. Will you be one of them? 

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