After joining the ESSEC & MANNHEIM Executive MBA in October 2024, Nicolas Berby reflects on an 18-month journey shaped by leadership experiences, international residencies, strategic projects and strong bonds within his cohort.
ESSEC & MANNHEIM Executive MBA: Nicolas Berby on leadership, international experience and transformation
20.10.2026
The ESSEC & MANNHEIM Executive MBA is an intensive 18-month program built for experienced professionals. It is designed to challenge conventional business perspectives, sharpen leadership capabilities, and provide the strategic frameworks needed to navigate an unpredictable global market. For Nicolas Berby, who joined the cohort in October 2024, the program quickly became a defining experience shared with 48 peers from diverse industries.
"Those we are today will emerge deeply transformed," he notes, emphasizing the profound impact of the program's collaborative environment.
The program kicked off at the ESSEC campus in La Défense, Paris, where Academic Directors Junko Takagi (ESSEC Executive Education) and ESSEC Business teams welcomed the new participants. The cohort immediately dove into intensive workshops and project assignments, which gave Nicolas instant clarity right from the start.
“I felt a strong sense of alignment,” he recalls. “I knew I was in the right place, surrounded by the right people, at the right moment in my life.”
Central to this experience is the cohort itself, a group of 48 professionals from diverse backgrounds who formed a deep, genuine bond within just their first six days together. Far from being a hurdle, the size and variety of the group quickly proved to be its greatest asset.
As Nicolas notes, “This intense blending of cultures and personalities drives daily personal growth and has already created memorable shared moments.”
The ESSEC & MANNHEIM Executive MBA features a dedicated leadership module built around real-world application. Rather than focusing solely on academics, participants learn frameworks they can immediately deploy in their own workplaces.
This theoretical foundation is put to the test during an intensive field exercise with SCYFCO, which Nicolas describes as “an immersive experience spread over seven days where you are truly put under pressure.” The training culminated in a half-day disaster response simulation where the cohort
The training culminated in a half-day disaster response simulation where the cohort had to manage a crisis zone to secure vital medical supplies. Facing high-stakes negotiations and sudden obstacles, the team had to pivot quickly. “Each challenge was intense and engaging,” Nicolas notes. “At one point or another, everyone was placed in a leadership position, allowing us to actively experience and reflect on what it truly means to lead.”
Another key component of the ESSEC & MANNHEIM Executive MBA is the Strategic Project. Over 18 months, participants work in teams on an entrepreneurial project, developing a business venture or product from the ground up.
It forces them to step outside their comfort zones and apply classroom knowledge to a real-world venture. Nicolas outlines the complexity of the assignment: “Self-managed small groups must organize a complex project outside our areas of expertise, involving multiple people and different cultures. We are already seasoned professionals, but it is still a tough challenge.”
Nicolas’ group focused their efforts on tech-driven solutions for families. “We presented our project, FAMQUEST, a platform designed to help families discover local leisure activities during the most convenient time slots and at the lowest prices, thanks to a dynamic pricing algorithm," he explains. The multi-month project serves as the ultimate test of the program”s core focus: turning innovative strategy into execution.
The curriculum incorporates social responsibility directly into the program through the annual ESG Class Project, which challenges participants to blend business strategy with human impact. Nicolas’ cohort focused their efforts on a tangible global challenge by assembling prosthetic hands for individuals in developing countries who lack access to medical care.
“The Hand Project” has been a deep human adventure,” Nicolas notes. “We raised €9,784 from 146 donors, changing 24 lives, along with those of their families, and shifting the perception of disability in the communities involved.”
International residencies are another component of the ESSEC & MANNHEIM Executive MBA, giving participants a firsthand understanding of global economic and political dynamics. The cohort traveled to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where they explored the inner workings of American political and economic institutions and gained insights into the forces shaping the U.S. and its role in the global economy.
"Our alumni had described it as an exceptional experience, and they definitely didn’t oversell it," Nicolas says. "We gained unique insights into American political and economic structures while engaging with high-profile figures, including a former CIA director, political consultants, journalists, and CEOs."
Later on, the cohort shifted its focus to the ESSEC Asia-Pacific campus in Singapore to explore the commercial realities of the region. The intensive week combined academic sessions on regional geopolitics and sustainability with corporate site visits.
"We toured Asian economies, visited facilities at L'Oréal and The Coca-Cola Company, and studied the operations of Singapore Airlines," Nicolas notes. "Sessions on cross-cultural communication and ESG investing with experts at OCBC truly expanded our strategic perspectives."
For Nicolas, the real value of the Executive MBA lies in how participants turn the experience into action. He encourages future participants to challenge the way they work and use the program as an opportunity to bring new ideas and approaches into their professional environment.
“Use the EMBA assignments as opportunities to introduce new ideas, concepts, or corporate improvements within your company”
Beyond the classroom, the ESSEC Talent Center offers personalized coaching to help participants reflect on their aspirations and shape their professional trajectory.
For Nicolas, this support can have a lasting impact well beyond the 18-month journey:
“Half of the MBA program’s value is the individual coaching offer. Don’t ignore it. These close to 20 hours of coaching efficiently help you reshape your connection to the corporate world and build your professional project over the next decade.”
Finally, he stresses that making the most of such an intense experience also requires finding the right balance between professional ambitions and personal life.
What began as a return to “back-to-school” quickly became a much deeper journey of personal and professional transformation. Looking back, Nicolas reflects on the experiences and relationships that shaped his time in the program.
“I am very grateful to have taken part in this exceptional program. I can already feel that profound personal and professional transformations have taken place.”
For Nicolas, the journey has also been about the people alongside whom he experienced it:
“Our cohort built strong, almost fraternal bonds - we’ve all grown a lot.”
Now an ESSEC Executive Education ambassador, he takes these experiences and connections into the next stage of his career.
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