Jessica Schuett

HEC Paris

“I am a curious globetrotter, a passionate foodie, and an impact-driven problem solver at work.”

Hometown: Berlin, Germany

Fun Fact About Yourself: When my family meets for holiday dinner, we usually end up speaking with each other in three different languages – at the same time. Normally spread across Europe, everyone brings their language home when coming together.

Undergraduate School and Major: Macromedia University of Applied Science; Major: Media and Communication Management

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Mobility tech startup “Via” as Expansion Manager

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of HEC Paris’ MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Besides the incredibly diverse group of students and the fact that HEC offers a strategy specialization, I wanted to find a school that would help me switch job and location. Because of its proven track-record in helping students move across roles, industries, and geographies (the famed “triple-jump”), HEC is the best fit for me.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at HEC Paris? Having established a solid foundation in tech, I now want to explore the healthcare industry. As has become evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, our healthcare systems to date are still highly decentralized, bureaucratic, and offline. I see major opportunities for improvements that will have real, positive effects on individuals and society as a whole. I am very excited to be part of the Healthcare Club to learn more about the industry and its concrete opportunities for innovative change.

HEC Paris is just 17 kilometers from Paris. What do you see as the best part of earning your MBA so close to Paris? HEC means getting the best of both worlds: campus life with a close-knit community, and a metropolitan city nearby to enjoy and explore everything on offer there. I secretly also cannot wait to try out every Patisserie in Paris.

Historically, over 90% of HEC Paris’ MBA students hail from outside France. Why is exposure to global diversity so critical to business success? Inclusion and diversity are key drivers of the performance and innovation capacity of companies. Diverse workforces provide varied perspectives that help businesses to better navigate our complex world and achieve superior results. I have had the privilege of working together with colleagues and partners from different corners of the world and experiencing the power of diverse teams. I am looking forward to seeing the same happen with my classmates at HEC and learning even more from this global cohort.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: One of the most rewarding accomplishments of my career so far has been during my time at the tech startup Via. I led the transformation of an unreliable and rarely used transit service for disabled riders into a highly flexible offer that now enables 25.000+ passengers to travel independently throughout a major German city. Many had told us prior to the transition about the poor state of the service. Some riders had even been forgotten in the rain for hours until they were found on the street and brought to warmth and safety. After our effort, we received countless letters and calls from passengers about how thankful they were for the change and their newfound freedom. Passengers can now autonomously book trips through various traditional and digital channels. For the first time ever, they have transparency on the status of their ride, such as the exact pick-up time, and receive superior service from hands-on and friendly drivers.

What is one thing you have recently read, watched, or listened to that you would highly recommend to prospective MBAs? Why? Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss is a fantastic read. Chris Voss was a top FBI hostage negotiator who walks you through key techniques of negotiations, and illustrates these through anecdotes of hostage situations.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into HEC Paris’s MBA program? I think the two most crucial pieces of advice I can give are to (1) reflect on what you want from an MBA and how HEC can provide this; and (2) to authentically own your experience and ambitions during the application process and beyond.

DON’T MISS: MEET THE HEC PARIS MBA CLASS OF 2024