Meet INSEAD’s MBA Class Of 2019

Adel Boulazreg

INSEAD

“Level-headed analytical Canadian with a Macbethian-like ambition who attempts to make use of all opportunities.”

Hometown: Toronto, Canada

Fun Fact About Yourself: I used to play (American) football as a Defensive Back. My team went undefeated and won a province-wide championship in Canada.

Undergraduate School and Major: Bachelor of Science, Double Major, Statistics & Political Science; University of Toronto

Most Recent Employer and Job Title:

Employer: Justin Trudeau Administration / Government of Canada

Job: Senior Policy Advisor.

Prior to that I worked for candidate Trudeau, where I was dubbed: his Digital Savant and Number Cruncher.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Helping to elect Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister of Canada.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Intellectual. Prior to even setting foot at INSEAD, we organized a pre-MBA trip to Ibiza, Spain. Over the span of the first 36 hours together, we had had 5 intellectually stimulating conversations, ranging from current global affairs, to moral and ethics, and to certain principles of quantum mechanics.

More importantly, my classmates are fun.

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?

Family:

My family is a strong driver in my life, and a big determinant of my choice of having gone into politics in Canada. Political work provided me the opportunity to play a role in shaping the direction of my country, a direction that has and will continue to have a first-hand impact on my family. More importantly, the network that I will build at INSEAD and the success that (I hope) I will achieve post-INSEAD will help me to have an even greater impact on my country and, by extension, my family.

Mentor:

I have the pleasure of calling Blake Goldring, an INSEAD alumnus and a Canadian business leader, a mentor. His business success and philanthropy has motivated me to model both my educational and my professional pursuits around his paths, while shaping it into my own image.

Share Viewpoints:

Working in Government and having grown up in Canada, I have a first-hand understanding of diversity and of multiculturalism. Through interactions with family, friends, colleagues, and diplomats, I’ve learnt that respect for others’ way of life and viewpoints is at the heart of a diverse and a multicultural society. I’ve come to understand that diversity is grounded in learning from one another through the exchange of life experiences, opening up each other to different understandings of life.

Growth:

The next year will help me grow and develop as a person, and eventually into a business leader. I intend to take full advantage of the opportunities that have been and will continue to present themselves while studying at INSEAD.

Career Change:

An INSEAD MBA will help me transition out of political work and into the private sector.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? I’ve narrowed it down to four clubs: Rugby, (European) Football, Consulting, and Investment Banking.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? As much as I enjoyed my work in the political world, at this point in my career I believe that more growth is available in the private sector.

How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment?

I looked at it from a personal development viewpoint. The 10 months at INSEAD would help fast-track my development as a leader.

Of course, I also looked at it from a pure monetary perspective and the numbers were crystal clear.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? None. I only applied to INSEAD.

How did you determine your fit at various schools? I only applied to INSEAD:

  • Provides the opportunity to interact with a group of 90+ nationalities
  • Minimizes time out of the job market as compared to other top schools
  • Leads to the development of an unprecedented network in terms of geography and of sector
  • Would help begin my development as a business leader

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? In 2012, following interactions with two homeless individuals, I decided to dedicate part of my professional career to public service, choosing politics as the avenue for public service for my parents taught me that politicians ultimately decide a country’s path.

Later that year, I worked for President Obama’s campaign. Then, in 2013, I helped elect the 25th Premier of Ontario. That was followed by helping to elect the current Mayor of Toronto and, eventually, helping to elect the current Prime Minister of Canada.

What do you plan to do after you graduate? I have an idea of where I want to be and who I’d like to work for, but it would be premature to have it published yet. To the company that will eventually hire me, you were the one I always intended to work for.

Where do you see yourself in five years? I see myself as an executive position in a Fortune 100 company.

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