Anna Dragina

“Purpose-driven sustainability leader and community-builder”

Grad Year: 2023

Current Employer / Role: Global Sustainability & CSR Manager, L’Oréal Group

Is this the industry and role you envisioned yourself in upon entering the program?

Not exactly, but I landed my dream job — maybe not in the industry I imagined initially, but impact-wise it was exactly what I was striving for: an international sustainability position, working on strategy and eventually seeing my solutions arrive on pharmacy shelves.

Why was HEC Paris and their MBA program the right fit for you among all of the options out there?

Beyond HEC’s strong reputation in France — my target geography — what really drew me in was the promise of an exceptionally diverse and tight-knit community. With around 95% international students, HEC offered a level of cultural richness I couldn’t find elsewhere, while still being small enough to build genuine relationships. The flexible format, with a fundamental phase followed by a customizable second phase, gave me space on one hand to build general business knowledge — something I lacked, coming from a communications background — and on the other hand to deepen my hard skills in sustainability, the field I wanted to transition into.

How has the program helped you grow personally or professionally since graduating?

Professionally, the program gave me the foundation, network, and confidence to move into a global sustainability leadership role — the kind of experiential, “learning-by-doing” approach HEC is known for pushing me well outside my comfort zone. Personally, though, the growth was even more profound. I went through real personal crises during the program, and coming through that with the support of an incredible community reshaped how I think about resilience, vulnerability, and leadership. I learned that the most valuable part of an MBA isn’t just the credential or access to a global alumni network — it’s the human relationships you build along the way, ones that stay with you well beyond graduation.

What’s a standout moment or memory from your time at HEC Paris that really stuck with you?

It’s less a single milestone — like the leadership seminar or the MBA Tournament — and more the everyday moments of working with the MBA Council team as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director. That experience taught me a new level of leadership — servant leadership — a concept our Council President, a former US Navy officer, introduced to us. It’s based on the simple idea that a leader is someone who serves their own community, rather than acting as a “manager” or a “boss”: someone who addresses the key issues the community raises, supports their team by providing resources and removing roadblocks, and always prioritizes long-term impact over short-term wins. It changed the way I lead at my job today, and watching a classmate from such a distinct background successfully put this philosophy into practice during the MBA inspired me deeply as a leader myself.

How did you balance your work/school/home life during your degree? What were the biggest challenges?

This was genuinely one of the biggest challenges for me — juggling the sheer volume of social, academic, and work-related opportunities happening on campus, all while making sure my actions had real impact for the communities I cared about.

My biggest takeaway is that balance really comes down to prioritization: figuring out what matters to you personally in a given moment, rather than following what your friends or batchmates are doing. Equally important is developing what I like to call JOMO — the joy of missing out. The program is designed in a way that forces you to personalize your experience and choose certain activities over others. So learning to be genuinely happy about skipping a summer internship to focus on practicing your French (or vice versa), passing on a networking event in favor of a real one-on-one conversation with an alum at your target company, or even bailing on a party to unwind with a book instead — these are the kinds of trade-offs that became essential skills to develop.

What are some of the biggest takeaways or skills you gained from the MBA experience?

There were several key takeaways:

We are all different — and that diversity of background, culture, and experience is what makes a community powerful, bringing complementary perspectives that lead to better ideas.

The power of community — real impact comes from people supporting each other, not just individual achievements.

Growth is often uncomfortable — the most meaningful development doesn’t come from a polished, linear journey, but from navigating real hardship with the support of others and having the courage to be vulnerable about it.

What is your advice for those who are considering applying to the HEC Paris MBA program?

Go in expecting more than a career boost — expect to be personally challenged and changed in ways you can’t predict. The professional outcomes matter, but the deepest value of this program is the community you build. Invest in those relationships genuinely, be open about your struggles rather than hiding them, and hold onto that HEC family after graduation — it becomes a support network for every occasion, career-related or personal.

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