Chiara Iacopetti’s MBA Weekend at BBS: a journey of professional and personal growth

7 August 2024

Chiara Iacopetti, an alumna of the MBA Weekend at Bologna Business School, has embarked on a successful career in the legal and compliance field. Today, she holds the position of Legal and Compliance Officer and Head of the Legal Department at Lifeanalytics, where she puts into practice the skills acquired during her MBA. In this interview, Chiara shares her experience and offers valuable advice for future participants, illustrating how the master’s program has contributed to her professional development, emphasizing the importance of transferable skills, networking, and continuous learning.

 

What motivated you to choose the MBA Weekend at Bologna Business School? How did you realize it was the right path for you?

I chose the MBA Weekend at Bologna Business School because it was the program that best suited my needs and expectations. I wanted to attend a high-quality master’s program without having to give up my job and personal life. The MBA Weekend allowed me to balance my professional and personal commitments with my educational ones. Moreover, I appreciated the opportunity to interact with professors and colleagues from different sectors and backgrounds, thus enriching my perspective and my network. I knew it was the right path for me when I saw the curriculum, which covered all functional areas of business and offered in-depth courses on current and innovative topics. Among the subjects I studied, the economic and financial ones were particularly useful and stimulating, providing me with tools that I could apply in my work. The master’s also taught me an effective and rigorous work method, which has helped me face work challenges and problems with greater confidence and competence.

 

We often say that at BBS it’s possible to build your own “toolbox” to grow professionally according to a personal and unique vision. Are there tools, methodologies, hard or soft skills learned during the master’s that you consciously use in your work?

Certainly, at BBS it’s possible to build the “toolbox” that allows you to face everyday work challenges. Using the “tools” to the best of one’s ability is then the task of each student!

Among the soft skills I learned and developed during the master’s, teamwork is definitely one of the most important and transferable. Working in a team is a fundamental skill for those who want to operate in today’s business world, also considering the new leadership concepts that are increasingly developing. During the MBA, I had the opportunity to develop this aspect a lot, working closely with my colleagues on case studies, business plans, simulations, and presentations. This allowed me to learn from different perspectives, put the acquired knowledge into practice, and confront real and complex situations.

Teamwork requires commitment, flexibility, communication, and leadership, but also listening, respect, and trust. Trust represents the foundation of every relationship, and certainly, the trust was solid between colleagues and teachers for the journey we were undertaking. I think that trust was built thanks to the climate of collaboration, respect, and transparency that was created from the beginning among the MBA Weekend participants.

Considering my legal background, in terms of hard skills, there are some that have distinguished this journey: economic subjects, but also learning critical data analysis, analytical tools and models that have helped me monitor performance and identify areas for improvement in everyday work.

 

The network of contacts and relationships built during the MBA is one of its most valuable resources. How would you describe the value of these connections in your professional journey?

Without a doubt, the network of contacts and relationships built during the MBA has been one of the most valuable resources in my professional journey. I was fortunate to share this experience with an exceptional group of colleagues from different sectors and companies, who had diverse and complementary skills. This allowed us to support each other, both during the master’s and after, both in study and in projects. The master’s allowed me to broaden my horizons, get to know new realities and opportunities, and create professional and personal synergies that enrich me every day.

The value of the connections I created during the MBA is inestimable. I was fortunate to meet and work with extraordinary people who taught me a lot and supported me at every moment. I established relationships of esteem and trust with my colleagues, who also became friends, and with the professors, who were always available and generous in transmitting their knowledge and experiences. These relationships have been fundamental for my learning and professional development, and they will be even more so in the future. The BBS network is an asset that needs to be cultivated and valued, as it can offer opportunities for growth, exchange, and collaboration at all levels.

 

What advice would you give to future MBA Weekend participants who are thinking of taking this path?

I would advise future MBA Weekend students who want to take this path to approach the course with commitment, trying to absorb as many teachings as possible not only from the lessons but also from other participants. The MBA Weekend is a high-level educational journey that allows you to acquire managerial skills, strategic vision, and innovation capabilities. It’s an intense and demanding experience (there’s a lot of studying, and it needs to be taken seriously!), but also rewarding and stimulating, allowing you to grow both as professionals and as individuals. The MBA Weekend provides the opportunity to interact with excellent professors and colleagues, to learn from real cases and best practices, and to create a network of valuable contacts and relationships. It’s an investment that certainly pays off in terms of professional and personal growth, and that can open new perspectives and opportunities.

My advice is to value what you learn and apply it with consistency and determination. Only in this way will you be able to fully exploit the hard and soft skills that this master’s offers and that make the difference.