Felix Bataille

INSEAD

“I am a young European who is eager to live life to its fullest.”

Hometown: Senlis, France

Fun Fact About Yourself: I have sailed across the Atlantic Ocean just after finishing my undergrad. It was an amazing transition to then dive into the working world.

Undergraduate School and Major: Ecole Centrale de Lille with a major in IT Architecture

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Employer was Plastic Omnium, my job title was Supply Chain and Packaging Know-How Engineer.

INSEAD is one of the most culturally and professionally diverse MBA programs in the world. How do you see these global perspectives enhancing the value of your business education over the next year? In today’s world, business partners can be from all around the world. Having worked in different countries, one can’t help to notice that we have different ways of handling situations. The thought process as to how one reacts depends on many factors. One of them is culture. Being able to meet and work with people from around the world enhances my understanding of interactions between people.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of INSEAD’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? It is a one-year program with a wide choice of electives including some dealing with family businesses.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at INSEAD? I am quite excited to join the Industry Club. Not many students have an industrial background in this course and therefore I am quite keen on understanding what their motivations and aspirations are as well as the reasons why they have decided to come to INSEAD at this point in their life.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishment so far took place between 2017 and 2019. I was in India for two years for a tier one automobile supplier. The task was to transfer the production from premises we had to vacate into a new plant built from the ground up with a brand new automatic paintline. The company was continuously delivering assembled bumpers to three different OEMs while we were making the transfer. Nonetheless we managed to deliver a new plant that has been thriving since then. I consider it an accomplishment as the challenge was not only technical, bringing people together from different cultures to work efficiently as a team was the key to success.

How did COVID-19 change your perspective on your career and your life in general? From one day to the next, my job completely changed. I stopped travelling to the plants and my audience changed. Instead of working for the plant operation heads, I started analyzing data for the top management. The exiting part of my day-to-day professional activities was going on the shop floor, understanding the issues and trying to solve them. Many of the solutions arise by discussing the problems with the people who have to deal with it on a daily basis. These interactions disappeared with COVID.

COVID led me to have more free time than I have ever had since I left high school. It was an opportunity to do things I hadn’t done enough in the last years: sports, reading, and just taking the time to stay in touch with friends.

My life, like everyone’s, changed and it was not always easy to cope with. It’s great to now be able again to socialize in person and to interact with so many interesting people on campus.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point and what do you hope to do after graduation?  As my job changed with COVID, I started looking at alternatives to my situation. I had always had at the back of my mind to do an MBA. Having studied engineering up until now, I am lacking some understanding of all the aspects involved in running a company. I am convinced I will be able to learn and therefore grasp in more detail than before the different entities that make up a company.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? None.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into INSEAD’s MBA program? I believe that applying is just the endpoint of getting into an MBA. The first steps include understanding your previous experiences whether they are professional or personal. The second part is knowing why you want to do an MBA and what you can bring to the MBA.

The application is just a matter of being able to express efficiently your life story and achievements.

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