Sofian Kerrou

HEC Paris

“A doctor passionate about improving the quality of peoples’ lives and looking for new challenges.”

Hometown: Lviv (Ukraine)

Fun Fact About Yourself:  I was brought up in an international family, which allowed me to master 7 different languages.

Undergraduate School and Major:

Medical faculty, Lviv National Medical University, Lviv Ukraine

Medical faculty, Albert-Ludwig University Freiburg, Germany

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Dres. Jacobi GBR, Augentageskliniken MVZ, Giessen, Germany (Ophthalmology Clinic), Ophthalmologist

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? To start with, HEC Paris is recognized around the world as one of the best business schools of the modern time. Its entrepreneurial focus has garnered attention of high-quality professionals from all over the world.  Moreover, numerous startups and companies have been launched at HEC or founded by HEC alumni. Noteworthy, HEC Paris has a reputation of educating a big number CEOs of the Fortune Global 500.

I graduated from a medical school, where almost all my teachers were full time doctors. This is great, because we could benefit from their huge experience and real cases, which helps us in day-to-day work with our patients. HEC has a similar philosophy. One of the biggest advantages of pursuing an MBA at HEC is that you will be taught by renowned professors, who are at the same time real entrepreneurs. Consequently, a student will not only learn a ‘’dry’’ theory, but he will also be able to receive practical knowledge and learn from his professors’ own experience. Apart from this, HEC is a member of the biggest startup incubator in Europe: Station F. This is a huge advantage for aspiring entrepreneurs: they will be mentored by experienced business people and they will network with their peers in the incubator.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at HEC Paris? I am very excited to take part in the annual Outdoor Leadership Seminar. This seminar is an occasion of a lifetime. Also, I am planning to take part in the Entrepreneurship Club and visits to companies.

HEC Paris is just 17 kilometers from Paris. What do you see as the best part of earning your MBA so close to Paris? Paris is one of the biggest business and financial hubs in Europe and many headquarters of big companies are located in Paris. This proximity to the capital of France gives the advantage on finding an interesting internship and a job after the MBA.

Paris is also a magnet for start-ups. The biggest start up incubator in Europe is located in Paris, and every HEC Student can start his own project fueled by that incubator, or join a team of an existing start up.

For me personally, the fact that for more than 100 years Paris has been a medical hub with the most renowned clinics in the world is a strong argument to choose Paris. Many Parisian hospitals are considered centers of reference for almost every medical specialty, and this is the place where the medical innovation is being created.

Historically, over 90% of HEC Paris’ MBA students hail from outside France. Why is exposure to global diversity so critical to business success? Diversity is a big advantage of the MBA program at HEC Paris. Teams at companies are getting more and more diverse in every aspect. Every company tries its best to attract talents from different parts of the world. This is especially the case in my field: Medicine and health care. In Europe, most of the medical teams consist of people from different nationalities. I have worked as an ophthalmology resident in 2 major clinics in Germany, where we had doctors from 4 different continents.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest achievement is a chicken farm that my friend and I founded in the Republic of Congo. We started as a very small business, but we were sure that our project would succeed. Despite all of the challenges that we had faced we were able to build a farm and to become one of the main local suppliers of chicken eggs.

What is one thing you have recently read, watched, or listened to that you would highly recommend to prospective MBAs? Why? I would recommend to a prospective student to draw his attention to the boom that is happening in the healthcare sector. An increasing number of companies and even governments are investing massively in the healthcare sector, especially after the beginning of the pandemic, which gave a stimulus for such phenomenon. There are a lot of articles, which describe these changes and the new opportunities that this sector can offer.

An MBA could be a good chance for someone to change his orientation towards the healthcare sector. You will not only be part of a fascinating industry, but you will also make your contribution to changing the world for a better place to live.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into HEC Paris’s MBA program? HEC Paris organizes regular online info sessions via Zoom. It is a good occasion to get more information about the program and about the application process. They also travel the world and do in-person sessions and one-on-one meetings (during COVID it was all virtual, but now they are travelling again).

Personally, I would highly recommend getting in touch with a Marketing & Recruitment Manager. You can receive feedback on your CV and your profile. They can also provide you with valuable and specific information about the program, the application process and the interview.

You should also work hard on your application essays to help the admission team discover your personality. These essays can show your strengths and also how you deal with your weaknesses. Also, it can help to reflect on yourself, your experience and your future.

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