Handelszeitung – On-the-Job Expertise and Networks Needed More Than MBAs

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Handelszeitung – On-the-Job Expertise and Networks Needed More Than MBAs

Professional experience, and especially specialist expertise, is now more important than theoretical knowledge, says Egon Zehnder’s Philippe Hertig. MBAs have lost the “wow” effect they used to have, he adds in an interview with the Handelszeitung. Some large companies, however, are teaming up with top business schools to design customized transformation leadership courses that still look impressive on a resumé. According to Hertig, today’s top leaders are characterized by five key success factors: intercultural intelligence, team-playing and team leadership skills, the ability to adapt fast and a focus on results from day one. The ability to build and draw on personal networks is also essential for today’s leaders; and alumni networks can open useful doors in this respect.

Full story: “Professional experience is more important than education” (“Berufserfahrung ist wichtiger als Ausbildung”) an interview by Isabel Steinhoff with Philippe Hertig in the Handelszeitung (23 February 2017).

Access international media coverage of Egon Zehnder's 2016 Global Board Diversity Analysis