Sandra Paola Ricci: Global MBA in Green Energy and Sustainable Businesses
23 March 2022Sandra Paola Ricci is an Alumna of the Global MBA in BBS of the academic year 2020-2021, track Green Energy and Sustainable Businesses, now Product Sustainability Specialist at FAAC Spa.
«The architect is often seen only as an artist, when in fact, in addition to creativity, he has project management skills that are essential for the proper management of time, costs, business, administration, and the final customer». Sandra Paola Ricci.
What is your career path?
I graduated in Architecture in 2017, with a dissertation in Urbanism about Mexico City, where I moved after graduation. Here, I worked in an architectural firm (VGZ Arquitectura) for seven months, and then I returned to Italy to work in an architectural and interiors firm in Bologna (Luca Zanaroli Architects).
After almost two years, I wanted to experience something different and I decided to change my perspective by working for a building company, still in the Bologna area. Here, I worked as a buyer for the company. In the meantime, as a freelance, I was managing small renovation projects.
Today, thanks to the BBS Global MBA, I work as a Product Sustainability Specialist at FAAC Spa. I’m in charge of product sustainability: understanding its current environmental impact and encouraging continuous improvement.
Why did you decide to continue your education and how did you choose BBS?
In March 2020, Covid put a big stop to everything. In this new scenario, I had a lot of time to think about my future. I had been planning to continue my studies and to get a master’s degree for years, and finally, I found the right one at BBS.
I wanted to open myself up to the commercial sector. Often the architect is only seen as an artist when it would be more correct to describe him as a project manager, but this is not easy to demonstrate in a business environment. I was looking for a master’s degree that would give me a high-level education in business management, but also focused on sustainability, something I am passionate about, and which was international and in English.
I found these qualities in the Global MBA in Green Energy and Sustainable Businesses. In addition, BBS made a positive impression on me, with its warm welcome and friendliness, both during the open days and when I called for more information.
What skills did the Master give you and how did you apply them in your work?
The master provided me with professional and human skills. It teaches you to look all-round at a company, to understand the different functions of each area, and the topics related. It taught me how to make a Business Plan, how to understand if an investment is profitable with “Finance and Green Finance”, how to read a financial report with “Accounting”, how to make business and intra-business ecosystems with “Strategy”, how to communicate with people of different nationalities in a work context thanks to “Communication across Cultures”, just to name a few examples.
In my job, I applied the learnings from the courses in my track such as “Measuring Sustainable Performance” or “Green Sustainable Businesses”, which provided me with the necessary tools to work as a product sustainability specialist. But, in wider terms, everything I learned in the different courses has been useful.
What role has the post-MBA internship played in your professional development?
My internship was very useful for my integration into the company, it gave me the opportunity to show my skills, and, above all, my way of working.
What are your next professional goals?
I would like to become, in the coming years, a Sustainability Manager, to manage all the activities in the company that concern sustainability and to lead a company in the energy and ecological transition.
What is the added value of being part of the BBS Community?
The opportunity to benefit from continuous training and inspiration, but also to get in touch with many different people.
What would you advise a BBS student to do?
Include your educational choice in the storytelling of your career path, so that you can fully understand how to use your education to achieve your professional goals. In addition, I advise you to study as much as possible because it is a unique opportunity that you are given, and from which you should absorb the maximum value.
