EDHEC Global MBA participant spotlight: Mamiko Ogasawara, Japan
Mamiko Ogasawara, an EDHEC Global MBA participant in the class of 2015, has a very pleasant and down to earth personality with rich experience in technology and telecommunication business. Before joining EDHEC, she was the deputy manager of Toshiba Corporation's Transmission & Distribution System for the European market. With experience of working in various leadership roles in markets across the globe, EDHEC Global MBA program's emphasis on diversity and leadership met Mamiko's some of the most important criteria. She says, "Having worked with companies across the globe and especially in Europe, I know how difficult it can be sometimes to coordinate international operations. It was important for me to pursue an MBA in an academically challenging and culturally diverse environment. Often, Japanese culture is so concerned with avoiding conflict that this can limit constructive communication."
Having worked with business partners in many countries for a long time, Mamiko was looking forward to gain new perspective of global project management. Stressing on importance of global leadership to her, she talks about a chaotic project which was ordered by Algerian customer to a subsidiary company in Italy, and controlled by site engineers from Middle East and India. She says leaders today need to be equipped with tools and techniques while operating in a multi-cultural environment, and in her opinion MBA was a way to equip herself.
The advantage of working in multicultural and diverse groups at EDHEC is that despite differences in culture and language, it demonstrates the power of team work and helps understand different styles of working and communicating in different cultures, says Mamiko. EDHEC’s 10 month Global MBA program suited Mamiko’s career plans, and also let her stay close to Germany where she and her husband had recently relocated to from Japan.
One of the most interesting courses that Mamiko mentions is Criminal Risk Management by Professor Bertrand Monnet,“The business environment in real world is surrounded by many criminal risks. Professor Monnet is right when he says that it is more important to detect risks than to just keep distance from risks. This was 180° in the opposite direction of the approach taught at one of the trainings in Japan, in the initial phases of my career.”
Mamiko loves the fact that Nice is connected to many cities of neighbouring countries. Recently she travelled to Genova in Italy, 3 hours by train from Nice. She is also getting used to the French culture which at times can be tough when it comes to timeliness compared to the punctuality of Japanese culture. However, she says, she is pleased to be in a place with warm and hospitable people.
As we near the end of our afternoon break, I ask her about her ambition at EHDEC before joining back at Toshiba. Mamiko happily says, “I look forward to make the most of my MBA program through the wonderful learning experience delivered by world class faculty and to be a part of the school's vibrant community.”
Written by – Vrushali Talekar
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