Meet Northwestern Kellogg’s MBA Class Of 2020

Charlotte Hamelin

Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University

Perpetually curious, unapologetically resilient go-getter who is passionate about bringing people together. Avid traveler.”

Hometown: Paris, France

Fun Fact About Yourself: I really love to travel and meet people from other cultures. I would love to do that for a living. I might just, in another life.

Undergraduate School and Major: Bsc and Msc from ESCP Europe

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Market access project manager at Roche France

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far:  There is one memory that stays with me when, with my team, we launched the first patient app in France that simplified care for melanoma patients. It was a very special moment when we received letters from patients thanking us for this initiative.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? I am constantly blown away by the depth of knowledge of my classmates, combined with a high impact, low ego attitude! After only one month in, I know they have no limit to their leadership and ability to care.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you?  It is tough to come up with just one key factor, so I will say I was naturally drawn to the one-year program of Kellogg because I was deeply convinced that it was the best fit for me to grow as a leader and a person. After six years at Roche, I wanted a business school experience that would embrace diversity and push me to think boldly and more diversely about problems and areas of business that are outside of my comfort zone. Kellogg is giving me the ability to learn from brilliant faculty and from a globally diverse classroom. With a strong alumni network and a vast pool of extracurricular and career opportunities, Kellogg is really my dream school.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? Kellogg offers a variety of clubs and extracurriculars. I know that the tough part will be to choose from all of these great opportunities! I can’t wait for our KWEST trip and to be actively involved in the Healthcare and European clubs. I want to put together networking events in these clubs and grow the awareness of Kellogg in Europe!

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? A restlessness feeling was creeping up on me after working six years in my company. I wanted to work on my weaknesses, continue to learn, and have a broader exposure to international challenges in healthcare. I knew that it would take more than the network and skills I had developed at Roche to follow my dreams.

How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment? After careful research and talking to alumni from different business schools, I came to the conclusion that a one-year MBA was worth investing time and money as I was committed to reflect on who I am as a person and as a leader. Holding a Msc in Business, the one year program seemed the right path for me.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Wharton, INSEAD and Cornell

How did you determine your fit at various schools? Determining the fit to the school culture was a key component that helped me after chose which school was best for me and my career. Visiting the campuses, meeting advising counselors, and talking to current and former students was a great way for me to get a deeper understanding of what experience I would get going into one school. Alumni were really responsive and were key in that decision process. The time I put into this work was really worth the investment!

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? What really shaped who I am today and what drives me is the time I spent abroad when I was younger. Being completely immersed for nine years in four countries helped grow my curiosity. I can’t imagine my life without traveling!

What do you plan to do after you graduate? Going to Japan! And after, I hope I will be able to do what I love, working in marketing in the cancer space in the US!

Where do you see yourself in five years? Five years sounds like a good time to be in Southeast Asia! Tackling healthcare issues in emerging markets is something that I aspire working on. And there is a course at Kellogg, ‘Medical technologies in developing countries’ that will be a great asset to prepare for these challenges.

I know that in the next few years I will continue to embrace diversity and learn from the people that I will meet and work with.

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