Are These The Best Business Programs For Managers? 

AN INTERVIEW WITH GRADUATES OF THE IMPM: DAVID CAVEY, MARA FLORES & ANDRIY KLEPIKOV

P&Q: What motivated you to participate in the IMPM?

Mara Flores: I had two main motivations when I chose this program: first, to develop more soft skills to better fulfill my role as a leader in the organization — with my team, my colleagues, and stakeholders — and second, to have an enriching international experience in universities around the world, with people in managerial positions from different countries and cultures.

I love to work with passion and to make an impact on the community that surrounds me, which I feel is the same spirit of the IMPM. The five mindsets capture the essence of a leader, and each module is about learning through experiences, as well as readings and lectures.

For me, IMPM is about developing the abilities needed to be more conscious while completing each task individually, as a team, or as an organization; learning from each other and having the tools to improve ourselves, our jobs, and our lives. IMPM is about people working with people.

David Cavey: After completing a traditional business degree, I didn’t think returning to school for more business education would be helpful or a good use of my time — so I immediately entered the workforce (and loved it!) Traditional MBAs repeat much of the “core” of an undergraduate business degree, so the thought of repeating what I had already learned was nonsensical.   

After a while in the business world, I started to yearn for something more – education, experiences, or a combination of the two. The IMPM was recommended to me by a retired McGill prof and it seemed like the perfect fit and exactly what I was looking for.  

Unique experiences and programs, to me, are far more valuable than a cookie-cutter degree that everybody else has. I go to school to learn and become a better leader, manager, and colleague –an MBA only offered half of that.  With half the learning coming from the cohort, not just the professors and lecturers, the IMPM was the perfect hybrid. The learnings I get from other seasoned executives are invaluable.  

P&Q: How do you think the IMPM compares to other management education programs? 

David Cavey: It’s very different! Traditional management education focuses on the business disciplines (which every manager should already know via previous education or on-the-job learning). The IMPM goes further and challenges us to apply our knowledge to complex situations with the guidance of an international cohort and faculty from every corner of the globe. Traditional education is always there (and can be learned in any MBA/traditional program worldwide), but it is very rare to find a program that offers the practical and innovative approach of the IMPM. It challenges us to be far more reflective, to develop personally, and to think deeply about where we can provide the most value in our organizations.  

For people who don’t have any traditional business education, I would argue that an MBA is still very valuable, but if you have learned the “core” of the learnings in an undergraduate degree or on the job as a seasoned executive, the IMPM is the better choice.  

Andriy Klepikov : At a certain stage in our careers, we start looking for changes—whether it’s a job or role change, within or outside the organization, or finding new ways of working. I was hungry for out-of-the-box thinking and for exploring new horizons. It’s worth mentioning that while managing a large organization, I didn’t have formal management education, but I didn’t want to go ‘back to school’ for a traditional MBA, even an executive one. So, for me, IMPM was a perfect match.

It was also an organizational decision — IMPM was seen as the best tool for organizational transformation. Over ten of us from around the world—members of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance (now Frontline AIDS) — attended several cycles, coming from Ukraine, India, Zambia, Uganda, the Philippines, Peru, Vietnam, and the UK. Within the Alliance, the IMPM cohort became ‘agents’ of transformation, both in our own organizations and across our global partnership

P&Q: What specific topics or themes discussed in the course so far do you believe were crucial for the challenges currently facing your cohort?

Mara Flores: We discussed foundational topics that will never go out of date, such as culture and values, ethical responsibility, finances, strategy, negotiation, communication, and team building. But we have also addressed some of today’s pressing challenges, like artificial intelligence and climate change. I believe that all these themes are useful for better understanding our organizations, but, more importantly, for developing a more critical approach to the problems we face every day. IMPM is more about cultivating a way of thinking and reflecting on the realities within the company than about becoming a specialist in any one topic. For me, it has been very valuable to learn about the importance of listening and asking the right questions.

Andriy Klepikov:  Although I graduated 15 years ago, for me, IMPM is not a memory or the past; it’s my present, something that helps me keep going. Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, my Ukraine-based organization, Alliance for Public Health, not only sustained operations but actually expanded its scope to meet emerging humanitarian needs. Through the lens of my IMPM experience, we have navigated unprecedented circumstances where traditional management doctrines fall short, and where value-based leadership serves as a guiding compass. My three leadership lessons in wartime are: prioritize agility and responsiveness to needs, delegate and build trust based on the team’s strengths, and find a careful balance between safety and risk-taking.

Currently, my IMPM cohort is focusing on the broader issue of climate change. The planet can survive without humans, but humans cannot survive without the planet. Climate change must be framed not only as a cause of specific negative outcomes but as a self-destructive trajectory for humanity. This requires urgent counter-action. 

P&Q: Have there been any positive interactions with other participants that stood out to you so far? Any long-lasting connections? 

David Cavey: Absolutely! While having a very international group of participants can be daunting at first, it has led to some very unexpected friendships and deep connections that I will cherish for a lifetime. Although we have only completed 2 of the 5 modules thus far (over about 20 intensive days), I feel like I have been friends with some of the people for years. It’s rare to get very like-minded people in the same room – and even rarer to travel the world with them and experience the IMPM together.  

Mara Flores: Absolutely. I have had the opportunity to do my managerial exchange, which is an incredible opportunity. It is amazing how much you can learn by observing others and exchanging points of view. IMPM requires people to talk and exchange ideas, it is the main idea of the small groups in class. Each day you can interact with people from different backgrounds and industries, which is how you enrich your own way of thinking. I loved a particular session where we discussed the culture in each organization, through the lenses of each country. I also enjoyed visiting companies in teams and analyzing together the problems that were explained to us; even though we came from different backgrounds, we could understand business and people. I can say that I have true friends in my group, and that trust is being built.

Andriy Klepikov: Since completing the IMPM 15 years ago, our Cycle 12 group has stayed in regular contact. We’ve met in person in China, the UK, Uganda, Ukraine, Germany, and Canada, as well as through special Zoom meetings where we organize additional IMPM modules focused on reflection, personal development, and emerging issues. This group offers a unique platform for friendly, development-oriented advice from professionals who know me and have followed my professional growth over time. One piece of their career advice was to consider joining boards, and I have since joined several, which became a pivotal step in my career. I moved into truly global roles, representing civil society from over 100 developing countries as a Board member of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria — the largest donor organization in this field, raising and investing over US$5 billion annually to combat deadly infectious diseases, address injustices that fuel them, and strengthen health systems. This role gave me opportunities to interact with top-level policymakers, directly conveying key messages to leaders such as Justin Trudeau, Emmanuel Macron, and Joe Biden.

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