The Stereotype-Defying MBAs In The Class of 2018

Christina Weitbrecht

Christine Weitbrecht

HEC Paris MBA

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: Optimistic, happy and passionate; loves skiing, traveling and dancing; very good at strategizing and mediating

Hometown: Frankfurt, Germany

Fun Fact About Yourself: I am a cosplayer

Undergraduate School and Major:

University of Leicester, BSc Communications, Media and Society

University of Southern California, MCM Communication Management

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

cosnova GmbH

ā€¢ Blogger Relations Manager

ā€¢ Junior Social Communication Manager

ā€¢ Communication Manager essence

Self-Employed, Freelance Transmedia Consultant

Linamar Manufacturing Group Europe, Executive Assistant to President

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: As a Blogger Relations Manager for a mass-market cosmetics company, I frequently implement sets of blogger events to which beauty bloggers, beauty YouTubers, and beauty instagramers/influencers are invited. While our blogger events are usually quite popular and well-frequented, the posts and videos brought about by one set of blogger events in 2016 generated a new record reach for us that rivaled the circulation of our countryā€™s biggest newspaper.

Unlike the newspaper, however, the posts and videos generated by our set of events bore hardly any distribution losses. Instead, they reached a target audience that consisted of a) our exact target demographic and b) consumers that were definitely interested in beauty. Moreover, unlike newspapers and magazines, the bloggers, YouTubers, and influencers featured our products in great detail, offering a completely different level of information depth compared to any other medium (excluding our own website and social media, of course).

All of these factors combined make the blogger events I implement – and this particular set of events – one of the most successful and most efficiently targeted communication measures for my company, and I am very proud of that accomplishment.

Looking back on your experience, what advice would you give to future business school applicants? Start your GMAT preparation early and plan for enough time to re-take the GMAT when setting up your own application timelines. The real-life testing situation is quite different from all your preparations at home, which can affect your stress levels and, consequently, your performance. Given that the GMAT is a high-performance test, it is also significantly influenced by your ā€œform on the dayā€ ā€“ i.e. whether youā€™re tired or well-rested, happen to have a headache, feel a bit under the weather, etc. There is absolutely no shame in having to re-take the GMAT, and you should be prepared to do so. Build in a bit of leeway to hand in the GMAT with your desired results and still in time for your application deadlines in case you should need it.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? A combination of HECā€™s reputation, values and culture. I wanted to learn from the best, so I sought out European b-schools that were well-known for their quality MBA programs. In the next step, I researched each schoolā€™s values and philosophies, and created a short-list of four schools that best corresponded with my own principles. Lastly, during the admissions process and particularly during my admission interviews with these schools, I got an idea of each schoolā€™s culture, and ultimately decided that based on all three factors combined, HEC was the best fit for me personally. Not only is HEC one of the best b-schools in Europe, it also fosters a community whose members want to become leaders for the sake of bringing about change and creating something new, rather than for the sake of just ā€œbeing top dog,ā€ which was exactly what I was looking for.

Tell us about your dream job or dream employer at this point in your life?

I would like to have my own business at some point in my life. While I donā€™t quite know yet what kind of product or service I would like to sell, I really like the idea of having to manage everything from financing to production and marketing, especially at the very beginning when the business is being founded. I love developing long-term and short-term strategies, and I also immensely enjoy making sure that all parts of an operation work well together, so having my own business would be the ultimate test of my abilities in that regard.

What would you like your business school peers to say about you after you graduate from this program? I hope that after graduation, my business-school peers remember me as a kind, committed and passionate person that they can rely on in any situation.

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