Why do healthcare leaders, from doctors to administrators to investors, choose the HEC Paris EMBA?

Once healthcare leaders approach the upper echelons of their industry, mastering the language of business can become just as valuable as their clinical expertise.

From accounting to operations to management theory, the ability to leverage clinical expertise with a formal business education gives tomorrow’s healthcare leader a competitive edge.

“As healthcare professionals, we focus on patient care. For us, the EMBA makes it possible to better take into account other considerations and aspects (such as financial aspects and business strategy). Health is priceless, but it has a cost.

Patients remain our priority. The EMBA brings added nuance to the choices we make.”

-Dr. Bruno Tchong-Len, EMBA ’24

In this article, we will explore the reasons why these healthcare leaders— physicians, administrators, entrepreneurs, and investors— chose HEC Paris’ EMBA program, and its transformative impact on their careers.

The HEC Paris EMBA: adding an executive’s toolkit to healthcare

For healthcare professionals looking to pivot towards executive leadership roles in their industry, leaning on their considerable clinical expertise alone may be a way of selling themselves short.

Dr. Bruno Tchong-Len, EMBA ‘24, launched French Polynesia’s first-ever radiotherapy department. He also implemented medical physics into that department. He sees the HEC Paris EMBA program as an initiatory journey that has helped him evolve and open a gateway to new skills for his career.

“I am a health professional in a very specialized field. So, to move forward and give life to my projects, I had to evolve, and open a gateway to new skills. Everything was new for me in the EMBA.”

The program enabled him to gain a 360-degree vision of business management, which he believes is essential for healthcare professionals to be successful in their fields.

“As healthcare professionals, we focus on patient care. For us, the EMBA makes it possible to better take into account other considerations and aspects (such as financial aspects and business strategy). Health is priceless, but it has a cost.

Patients remain our priority. The EMBA brings added nuance to the choices we make.”

Using business tools to augment patient outcomes

While maximizing patient outcomes will always remain a priority, the HEC Paris EMBA alumni have found that the program gives them the tools to make more informed choices.

Boston-based urologist Dr. Quoc-Dien Trinh, EMBA ‘22, has been able to use the knowledge and skills gained from the program to make a significant impact on healthcare. His time in the program helped Dr. Trinh consolidate a patient-centric approach that has grown into one of the US Northeast’s most ambitious patient equity outreach projects.

“Healthcare is structured like a business in America, and executives in healthcare organizations tend to be physicians. In many cases, you get to those positions not because of your management merit, but on the basis of your research funding and clinical prowess. I know that I’m going to be doing more administrative work, but I want to be able to do it well.”

“I have been to some degree progressing in my career as a clinician and researcher. If you want to make a difference in research, you have to make operational efforts. I wanted to translate my advocacy in research in prostate cancer equity. I’m creating an outreach clinic for prostate cancer, and I’m using every single thing I’ve learned from HEC Paris to put it together, especially in marketing: value proposition curves, segmentation, making a pitch at leadership and philanthropists, and so forth.”

The EMBA way of applying industry ideas to healthcare

Some healthcare professionals enter the HEC Paris EMBA having already taken positions with a keen business focus.

Vaccinologist and immunologist Dr Bogdana Coudsy, EMBA ’22, remembers Professor Jeremy Ghez’s Business Environment class as among her most cherished EMBA memories.

“The story of the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland demonstrates that in the business environment, no matter how successful an organization is, it’s imperative to keep moving forward to survive. There are changes that you must anticipate. Being able to separate the signals from the noise is about anticipation and agility of mind. Basically, do nothing and fall behind or run hard to stay where you are,” she says.

“You realize that changes happen so fast that you can’t just think about the next step – you have to think about the step after, too.”

When not helping to deliver treatment and healthcare solutions to patients faster through the commercialization of cutting-edge science, biophysicist and startup investor Dr. Karolina Zapadka, EMBA ‘23, moonlights as an EMBA student at HEC Paris, as she adds ‘EMBA’ to PhD and VC.

Like Doctors Tchong-Len, Trinh, and Coudsy, she counts the profound lessons EMBA students learn about themselves and their own leadership styles to be among the most valuable aspects of the program.

“We had a workshop on how innovative you are in operations. I found that I’m very innovative and entrepreneurial, but that I can struggle without the right people around me. I discovered and articulated my strengths and how to consolidate them, as well as which weaknesses I need to work on.”

“It was various aspects that made me think about myself as a person and as a leader, and what kind of leadership style I want to use and that works for me,” she explains.

Start a company, save a life

Bola Bardet, EMBA ‘18, is an entrepreneur in the healthcare sector. Following personal tragedy, she founded Susu, a healthcare startup, as a as a way to offer access to superior healthcare for the individuals in Africa that need it most.

“I think the most life-changing thing to see at HEC Paris was the power of the network. For me that was just huge. You are exposed to the smartest people from very different domains, who you can learn from or can introduce you to people who can teach you.”

An investment banker by training, Bola nevertheless found her true calling planted as a seed following a quick conversation with classmatees during her EMBA.

“The concrete idea for Susu started as a conversation at the HEC cafeteria. I knew I was building a project in healthcare insurance, but I didn’t know how to go about it. I didn’t know the right people. My classmate put me in touch with the right person to get everything started, and everything grew from that point.”

“Like me, the 33 million-strong African diaspora lives far from home, regularly sending money back home to their families. There are very real healthcare challenges in Africa, which is especially true in the pandemic. Chronic diseases are booming, and as I know too well, there’s a lack of specialized doctors. The diaspora’s money is huge leverage to changing the healthcare ecosystem. We created this service to enable the diaspora to take better care of their families by offering those who rely on them better access to healthcare.”

The HEC Paris Executive MBA equips healthcare professionals to make a positive difference in patient outcomes.

These examples demonstrate the impact an EMBA from HEC Paris can have on healthcare professionals’ careers, empowering them to create positive changes in their field by applying business and management skills.

“How has the HEC Paris EMBA program helped me in my career? I’ll start with an easy answer: everything.”

The advantages of pursuing a specialized EMBA can provide healthcare leaders with the network and insight to compete in an industry undergoing transition. With programs that blend business school acumen with the top minds in the medical field today, participants on both the clinical and the corporate side of the healthcare industry can grow their careers with a focused EMBA.

Dr Tchong-Len summarizes his experience aptly:

“How has the HEC Paris EMBA program helped me in my career? I’ll start with an easy answer: everything.”

The HEC Paris EMBA recently added a Healthcare Management and Policy Specialization for those looking to gain a stronger understanding of healthcare as a business and the management techniques that will be relevant in the future.

Our EMBA offers a variety of Specializations that enable students to expand their knowledge of a specific industry, identify strategic opportunities, and fine-tune analytical and decision-making skills. To learn more about the variety of Specializations available to help you tailor your EMBA experience to a perfect fit, click here.

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More CEOs of Fortune Global 500 companies have graduated from HEC Paris than any other university in Europe. Nearly 4,000 graduates are currently CEOs, CFOs, or have founded their own companies. The Executive MBA at HEC Paris perennially ranks among the best in the world; click here to learn more.

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