Michael Venditto

“A consensus-builder but a decision-maker when required, energized by complex problems and reliable in execution”

Grad Year:  2021

Current Employer / Role:  AVEVA / CONNECT Cloud Platform Account Manager

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

Yes — and more than I expected. I started my MBA considering either the technology or traditional industrial sectors, but determined to settle in France, work internationally, and continue in sales and business development. France has been home since January 2020. I spent five years at AWS after graduating, which was another classroom — in the evolving cloud and AI landscape, and in supporting customers and stakeholders across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. I recently joined AVEVA in a sales role at the intersection of the IT and industrial environments I was once deciding between. There I drive the growth of CONNECT, our cloud platform for industrial data, across France, Spain, and Italy — work that requires meeting the needs of business leaders on site, IT executives at headquarters, and cross-functional colleagues internally.

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

First, the quality of the program’s formal education. I first learned of HEC while living in France almost a decade before I applied, when colleagues referred to it simply as the lighthouse French business school. This reputation is supported by the program rankings and confirmed by my experience on campus. Second, the international diversity of the student body. My cohort of 106 classmates comprised 42 nationalities and an even greater range of professional backgrounds. This resulted in an incredibly rich and genuinely collaborative learning environment. Third, the alumni network. As a prospective student I reached out to roughly 10 alumni, and everyone agreed to speak with me, offering their insight and advice. These interactions demonstrated the accessibility and generosity of the HEC community.

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

My relationship with HEC never ended; it evolved. Professionally, the alumni network has been invaluable, providing insight into how sectors and roles are changing and surfacing opportunities through conversation rather than through applications. My current position at AVEVA originated in an informal exchange with an HEC alumnus. I try to pay that forward, offering whatever perspective I have when prospective students, current students, or alumni ask for it — contributing to a virtuous circle. Personally, the friendships formed during the program have become the closest in my life — including my wife, whom I met at HEC. She remains my single best investment.

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

Professor Christelle Bitouzet’s “Crises and Opportunities” seminar culminated in a real-time simulation where our team acted as an executive committee during an unfolding crisis. What stood out was that crises and opportunities are not opposites — they frequently arrive together, and both reward preparation done long before either appears. If you begin building the plan when the moment arrives, it is already too late. Since then, I have worked to stay curious about my own business, my customers’ operations, and the broader market — and to stay skeptical when things are going well. That is exactly when the temptation to stop asking questions is strongest.

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

I arrived on campus with three priorities: to extract as much as possible academically, to build genuine relationships with my classmates, and to be selective about the leadership roles I pursued. The biggest challenge was embracing trade-offs — learning that “no” was the most powerful word in my vocabulary, and the hardest to use. Despite the FOMO, I had a lot of fun. I was named to the Dean’s List, received the Academic Award and the Transformational Leaders Award, and served as President of the MBA Council alongside an extraordinary team. I got as much out of the program as I put in.

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

I had managed a sales team before the MBA largely on instinct and trial and error. Professor Roxana Barbulescu’s “Leading in a Diverse World” (course title as of 2021) gave me a set of lenses for reading team dynamics that I still use: how to identify where each person’s strengths are best applied, and how to build shared ownership and, with it, shared accountability. It named what I had been doing well and, more usefully, what I had been getting wrong. Putting that into practice with classmates whose professional reflexes were nothing like my own is what made it stick. I left better at listening, asking questions, and identifying the motivation behind someone’s position.

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

My advice is to find the line where three things meet: your experience, your goals, and what the market actually wants. Be deliberate about it — 18 months passes quickly. My classmates have since built careers worldwide in luxury, finance, consulting, technology, and entrepreneurship; those who went furthest were clearest on that line early on. Finally, if you intend to stay in France, start learning French immediately. It will broaden your options.

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